The UAE Football Association (UAEFA) vice-chairman Abdullah Naser Al Junaibi has shed light on the reason behind the appointment of Alberto Zaccheroni.
Zaccheroni is the new head coach of the UAE national team after being appointed on Monday.
The 64-year-old Italian tactician took over the job from Argentina’s Edgardo Bauza, who quit last month to take charge of World Cup-bound Saudi Arabia.
Al Junaibi believes that the UAEFA has appointed the right man, based on Zaccheroni’s Asian football record who successfully guided Japan to the Asian Cup title in 2011.
“We went to several names, but we chose Zaccheroni because he coached the Japanese national team and he won the same competition,” he said as it was quoted by The National.
“So he is aware of all the Asian teams. That will make it very fast and give a short time for us to understand who we are playing against and to know what we need for the next period.”
UAE will host the Asian Cup finals in 2019 and Zaccheroni has the task of putting together a team that can challenge at the continental championships after the country failed to qualify for 2018 World Cup.