Abdullah Misfir has been appointed the UAE Olympic team coach, replacing Ali Ibrahim, who stepped down after two years on the job, the Football Association announced yesterday.
Misfir takes over the task of leading the age-group side to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The UAE competed at the London 2012 Olympics, their first football appearance at a Summer Games, under the guidance of Mahdi Ali, now coach of the senior side.
Misfir’s job begins with the Under 23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which they host in Fujairah from March 27 to 31, facing Yemen, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.
“To prepare the team for the AFC U23 qualifiers is my first objective but before that, my plan is to have a series of friendlies to provide maximum playing opportunities to the squad,” the Emirati said. “We want to blood more youngsters and more matches also mean we can try out new combinations.
“There are a few players in the Olympic squad who are recovering from injuries and I would like to provide them more time to get fit completely before they return.”
Misfir plans to bring in players from the team he prepared for the AFC U19 Cup in Myanmar last October. The UAE topped Group B but went down 1-0 to the host in the quarter-finals.
Misfir left his job at the Arabian Gulf League club Al Dhafra last season to reunite with the FA and become the U19 coach.
He has been called up several times to take care of the senior national team, on the occasions when the job has fallen vacant, most recently in 2011-12.
Ibrahim stepped down after the Olympic team failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals in the Asian Games and were knocked out in the semi-finals stage of the U23 Gulf Cup by Saudi Arabia and beaten by Qatar in the play-off for third.
apassela@thenational.ae
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