Qatar end brief Rajevac reign
Reuters - Monday 08 August 2011, 04:01
DOHA - Qatar have ended Milovan Rajevac's
five-month spell in charge and replaced him with former Brazil
boss Sebastiao Lazaroni, despite the Serbian helping the team
advance to the next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Qatar beat Vietnam 4-2 on aggregate in the second round of
World Cup qualifiers Asian zone last month but the Qatar
Football Association (QFA) said they decided to end the contract
after the "rather alarming fashion" in which they edged the
"humble" southeast Asians.
Qatar, who have never qualified for the World Cup finals but
will host the tournament in 2022, lost 2-1 to Vietnam in Hanoi
in the second leg after easing past the 144th FIFA-ranked side
3-0 in Doha.
"We thank him for his efforts. But we feel this is a time to
move on so we mutually agreed to end the contract," QFA
President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said in a statement
late on Sunday night.
The first task for the much-travelled Lazaroni will be to
ensure the tiny Gulf emirate finishes in the top two of a group
containing Iran, Bahrain and Indonesia in order to qualify for
the fourth round of Asian qualifying.
Qatar travel to Bahrain to begin their Group E campaign on
September 2.
Lazaroni, who was previously in charge of domestic league
side Qatari Sports Club, led Brazil at the 1990 World Cup but
they exited in the second round after a 1-0 loss to Argentina.
He has also coached Italian clubs Fiorentina and Bari,
Turkish side Fenerbahce and had spells managing in Japan,
Portugal and Saudi Arabia.
Rajevac guided Ghana to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World
Cup in South Africa, where they lost to Uruguay on penalties.