A source from Al-Wehda Club revealed that Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim has officially apologized for not proceeding with the contract agreement with 'the yellow ones' to take charge of the team in the upcoming period. Under these circumstances, Portuguese coach Rui Vitória has become an alternative candidate. The source told 'Emarat Al-Youm' that the Portuguese coach contacted the club's management officially, the day before yesterday, stating that due to family circumstances requiring his presence in the United States to monitor his wife's health condition, he will not be able to finalize the preliminary agreement between the parties, as he will be traveling to America for a period of three to four weeks, which makes it difficult for him to be present to take on the task at this time. The source indicated that the file of Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim and his relationship with Al-Wehda Club has officially ended after recent developments, emphasizing that Jardim was very close to taking over the technical leadership of Al-Wehda, as a preliminary agreement had been reached earlier between the parties to coach the team in the upcoming stage, with the implementation of the agreement being conditional on the developments in his wife's health condition, a condition that Al-Wehda Club had fully understood since the beginning of negotiations. He added: 'The management of Al-Wehda Club continued to communicate with Jardim to learn about the latest developments in the medical tests of his wife, but the results were not positive, which prompted the coach to take a purely humanitarian decision to travel to the United States to follow up on her health condition and undergo treatment there.' He continued: 'The Portuguese coach will remain in the United States for a period of three to four weeks, which makes it difficult for him to be present at this time to take on the task of coaching Al-Wehda, which effectively ended the chances of finalizing the contract, despite the continuous efforts from the club's management until the last hours.' He concluded: 'The Portuguese coach officially informed the management of Al-Wehda Club of his inability to be present in the current period, confirming that family circumstances compel him to postpone any new coaching steps, which prompted the club's management to reopen the file for a new coach.' Based on these new developments, the technical coaching file is now open to several options, and the management of Al-Wehda Club has begun to move to search for an alternative coach capable of leading the team for the remainder of the season, taking advantage of the remaining period of the winter transfer window to secure the identity of the new head coach who will take charge of the team in the upcoming period. On the other hand, 'Emarat Al-Youm' learned that Portuguese coach Rui Vitória has entered the alternative calculations for Al-Wehda Club to lead the team in the upcoming period following Leonardo Jardim's withdrawal. Rui Vitória is considered one of the most prominent Portuguese coaches in the last decade, distinguished by his long experience at the club and national team levels. He began his coaching career after retiring from playing and had a prominent presence with Portuguese club Benfica between 2015 and 2020, where he led the team to win the Portuguese league title three times in a row, in addition to the Portuguese Cup and the Portuguese Super Cup. He also succeeded in leading the team to advanced stages in the UEFA Champions League and achieved remarkable results against major European clubs. On the national team front, Vitória coached the Egyptian national team, where he worked on restoring tactical discipline and enhancing defensive and offensive aspects of the team, and also succeeded in improving the team's overall performance at the continental level, leading the team in the World Cup qualifiers and African tournaments with relative success. The Portuguese coach also has a remarkable experience in clubs in general, distinguished in managing large teams under pressure, and succeeded in achieving technical stability and developing players, applying a balanced collective playing style, which makes him a suitable option to take charge of Al-Wehda in the upcoming period and benefiting from his international and local experience.
