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Rajevac takes over as Qatar football coach

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-02-28 09:55

Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac watches his players before the start of the 2010 World Cup Group D soccer match between Serbia and Ghana at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, in this June 13, 2010 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

DOHA, Qatar - Qatar hired Milovan Rajevac of Serbia Sunday to coach its national side, following the firing of Frenchman Bruno Metsu after the team's quarterfinal exit at the Asian Cup last month.

The 54-year-old Rajevac will take over on March 1 and has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount through the 2014 World Cup. Rajevac coached Ghana until 2010 and most recently was in charge of Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli.

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He said Sunday his immediate goal is qualifying for the next World Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup and felt the country had some good, up-and-coming players.

"All coaches dream of managing a national team and I am thrilled to be leading Qatar," said Rajevac, who also has been an assistant at Qatari club Al Sadd. "I think Qatar can raise its ratings at the Asian level. We saw good performances from Asian teams in the World Cup and Qatar can be one of the teams at the 2014 World Cup."

Qatar Football Association president Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said Rajevac was chosen over several other unnamed candidates due to his extensive experience in the region.

"Rajevac is very experienced. I think he can take Qatar forward," Al Thani said. "There were many names but we opted for him because he knows the players in the Middle East."

The choice of Rajevac, however, may disappoint some Qatari fans who were looking for a bigger name to help rebuild the team ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which the tiny Gulf nation will host. Currently, the team is ranked 90th in the world and considered one of the minnows of Asian football.

Rajevac replaces Metsu, who struggled since taking over in 2008 from Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati. The team missed out on the 2010 World Cup and last year fell in the quarterfinal stage at the Gulf Cup, which sent its ranking tumbling to 114th - its worst ever.

The country improved to 90th after its Asian Cup performance but it was not enough to save the job of Metsu, who guided Senegal to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. Qatar was praised for overcoming an opening loss to Uzbekistan to reach the quarterfinals but Metsu also angered fans after his team squandered a 2-1 lead in a losing effort against 10-man Japan.