New coach at Al Duhail for Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga
In this handout picture released by Qatar's Al-Duhail football Club on October 12, 2023, former Paris Saint-Germain coach Christopher Galtier poses in Doha with a jersey bearing his name after joining the team. Galtier, 57, will inherit a squad including former Liverpool and Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho, succeeding Hernan Crespo after Al-Duhahil parted ways with the ex-Argentina international.
What you need to know:
- The 29-year-old centre forward was signed by Tunisian-Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi on January 21, 2021 after shining at Kashiwa Reysol in Japan.
- Portuguese Luis Castro took over from Lamouchi before being shown the door on March 18, 2022.
Harambee Stars captain Michael “Engineer” Olunga will have a new coach for the fourth time in less than three years at Al Duhail after former Paris Saint-Germain coach Christopher Galtier took over the reins on Thursday.
The 29-year-old centre forward was signed by Tunisian-Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi on January 21, 2021 after shining at Kashiwa Reysol in Japan.
Portuguese Luis Castro took over from Lamouchi before being shown the door on March 18, 2022.
Al Duhail’s revolving door saw Castro replaced by Argentina legend Hernan Crespo whose reign ended a week ago after the Qatari giants suffered a 1-0 loss to Iranian side Persepolis in their opening match of the 2023-2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in Group “E” at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Galtier, 57, won the Ligue 1 title with PSG in 2022-2023, but lasted just one season at the club after a poor second half of the campaign.
The final weeks of the Frenchman’s reign were marred by accusations of racism during his previous job at Nice. He has vehemently denied the accusations, but will stand trial in December.
At Al Duhail, Galtier will inherit a squad including former Liverpool and Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho who joined on a season-long loan deal from English Premier League side Aston Villa.
Galtier has his work cut out after Crespo won the league with Al Duhail last season in which Olunga retained the top scorer’s gong.
Olunga scored 24 goals as Al Duhail finished the 2021-2022 season in second place and 22 goals in the 2022-2023 campaign.
Galtier’s first assignment is against Al Gharafa in Qatar Stars Cup on Saturday followed by a trip to Al Nassr side spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane in the Champions League on October 24.
Al Duhail have just one point from two matches in Champions League after drawing 0-0 against Istiklol in Tajikistan on September 19.
Additional reporting by AFP
