Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim's short career with Al Ain, which began on November 7, 2024 to stem the slide, came to an end following Al Ain’s last night fixture against Qatar’s Al Rayyan, in the Elite AFC Champions League at home.
Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) had reported on 31 January, that Jardim’s time with Al Ain was numbered with the club and fans learning that the coach was in talks with top Brazilian Club Cruzeiro.
Al Ain announced today the appointment of former Watford coach, Vladimir Ivić, as an immediate replacement and is currently handed 18-months contract worth €4M.
Al Ain Football Club has reached an agreement with Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim and his technical staff to terminate their contract by mutual consent. The club extends its sincere gratitude and appreciation to the coach and his staff for their efforts during their tenure, wishing them success in their future endeavors.
Jardim, following Al Ain’s 1-2 loss to Qatar’s Al Rayyan, was queried by journalists on his future with the club but he played it down completely by saying that ‘I will be only answering questions regarding the match today.’
With the loss, Al Ain is currently at the bottom of the table with just two points from 7 matches. Their poor showing in the tournament ends with a last fixture against Iraqi Al-Shorta on 17 February.
In the Pro League from 14 league matches, Al Ain won 6 matches, drew 5, and lost 3. They are currently fourth on the table with 23 points behind Sharjah, Shabab Al Ahli and Al Nasr.
The Venezuelan-born Portuguese national, Jardim, had taken over from Argentinian legend Hernan Crespo, in November last year after Al Ain lost 5-1 to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in the Asian Champions League Elite and 3-0 to Al-Ahly of Egypt in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Al Ain had a remarkable campaign last season, under Argentinia legend Hernan Crespo, clinching the Asian title by eliminating Al Nassr, followed by a stunning victory over Al Hilal, featuring Aleksandar Mitrović and Sergej Milinković-Savić, before sealing the trophy in the final against Yokohama F. Marinos. However, since then they have been on the slide and Jardim too have failed to lift the side since taking over from Crespo last November.
Ivić comes into the scheme of things with a strong support staff which comprise of his close aid and assistant Miloš Veselinović. The presence of the experienced Italian Matteo Lombardo and Greek specialists Nikolaos Amanatidis and Christos Kelpekis make it a strong backroom staff.
Al Ain’s results with Jardim in all tournaments
• 14 matches
• Won 6 times (36% win rate)
• Drawn 5 times (28% draw rate)
• Lost 3 times (36% loss rate)
• Scored 26 goals (1.8 goals per match)
• Conceded 20 goals (1.4 goals per match)
• 3 clean sheets
• 19 points out of 42 possible (45.2% points rate)
Fourth in the UAE league, 14 points behind the leader with 12 rounds remaining
Al Ain’s new coach Vladimir Ivic, in his career, with all teams in all tournaments:
313 matches
Won 192
Draw 68
Lost 53
Scored 577 goals (1.8 goals per match)
Conceded 243 goals (0.7 goals Every match)
157 clean sheets
644 points (68.5% points percentage)
Israeli League Champion 2018/2019
Israeli League Champion 2019/2020
Greek Cup Champion 2016/2017
Israeli Super Cup Champion 2019/2020
Greek U19 League Champion 2013/2014#
