Al Wasl Football Company announced the signing of Portuguese coach Rui Vitória (55 years old) to take over as head coach of Al Wasl Club’s first football team, succeeding the Swede Mesut Meral.

Vitória began his coaching career with the Portuguese team Vilafranquense in 2004. He also coached CD Fátima, Paços Ferreira, Vitoria Guimarães, and Benfica in the same country.

The (most prominent) stage of his coaching career in Portugal was with Benfica, which he took charge of in 2015 and remained with for three years. During that period, he led the team to win the Portuguese Primeira Liga twice in 2016 and 2017, the Portuguese Cup once, the League Cup once, and also won the Portuguese Super Cup twice.

Vitória then experienced coaching in the Arabian Gulf with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC during the 2019–2020 season, leading the team to win the Saudi League and the Saudi Super Cup, and to qualify for the semifinals of the AFC Champions League 2020.

After that, Vitória took charge of Russia’s Spartak Moscow, the Egypt national football team, and Greece’s Panathinaikos, before arriving in the UAE league to coach Al Wasl.