Al Duhail on Thursday announced the appointment of former Paris Saint-Germain boss Christopher Galtier as their head coach. The Frenchman will replace Hernan Crespo after the Qatar Stars League (QSL) giants parted ways with the former Argentinean striker following a shaky start to the new season.
“Al Duhail Sports Club Management has completed the procedures for contracting with the French Head Coach Christophe Galtier to take over the technical management of the first team, succeeding the Argentine coach Hernan Crespo,” Al Duhail said in a statement without revealing the length of Galtier’s contract with the Red Knights.
After links to clubs such as Marseille and Napoli, Galtier has now joined Al Duhail on a two-year contract. Former Marseille defender Galtier, 57, won the Ligue 1 title with PSG but lasted just one season at the club after a poor second half of the campaign. Under his PSG were also knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16.
At Al Duhail he will inherit a squad including former Liverpool and Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
Al Duhail will face Al Gharafa in their Ooredoo Cup group game tomorrow while Galtier will also face an Al Nassr side spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane in the Asian Champions League group stage later this month. With just one point from two matches in the competition, Al Duhail need a strong comeback to keep their chance alive for the knockout stage. Under Crespo, Al Duhail reached the semi-final of the AFC Champions League besides sealing a domestic treble including QSL, Ooredoo Cup and Qatar Cup titles last season.
Christopher Galtier poses with Al Duhail’s jersey after being named as the new coach of the club on Thursday.
