Al Ahly appoint Uruguayan Martin Lasarte as coach, sign Angolan forward Geraldo

Egyptians giants Al Ahly have appointed Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte as their new coach.

Lasarte replaces Frenchman Patrice Carteron who was fired in November after Al Ahly finished as Caf Champions League runners-up as well as elimination from the Arab Club Championship.

“Lasarte is officially our new coach after signing the contract following a meeting with club president Mahmoud El-Khatib,” Al Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz was quoted by Al Ahram as having told reporters.

Further details about Lasarte’s contract would be revealed at a press conference on Monday.

Apart from several coaching spells in his home country, Chile and Colombia, Lasarte has also had stints in Spain as Real Sociedad coach as well as in the United Arab Emirates with Al Wasl.

Mohamed Youssef had been Al Ahly caretaker coach sinnce the dearture of Carteron who lasted just five months in his job. 

Meanwhile, Al Ahly have also signed Angola international striker Geraldo from Primiero Agosto.

According to Kingfut, the 27-year-old joins Al Ahly on a four-and-half year deal and becomes the Cairo giants’ third summer acquisitions following the arrival of Mohamed Mahmoud and Mahmoud Wahid from Wadi Degla and Misr El-Makksa respectively.

He also becomes the first Angolan player to be in Al Ahly’s books since the departure of Flavio and Gilberto in 2010.

Geraldo’s arrival means that Al Ahly will have to release one player among Nigerian striker Junior Ajayi, Moroccan forwards Walid Azaro, Tunisian defender Ali Maaloul and Malian defender Salif Coulibaly to free the space for their exhausted foreign quota.