Qatar champions Al Duhail appointed former Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier as their new head coach on Thursday after parting ways with Argentine coach Hernán Crespo.
The Frenchman, 57, replaces former Argentina striker Crespo after he left the Qatari team by mutual consent on Wednesday.
Al Duhail did not state the length of Galtier’s contract.
Crespo, 48, guided Al Duhail to the Qatar Stars League title last season but hopes of qualifying from the group stage of the Asian Champions League took a big hit following the recent 1-0 defeat in Doha by Iranian side Persepolis.
The club is fourth in the QSL standings on 10 points after five matches.
Galtier, who was fired by PSG in July after just one season in charge and winning the French Ligue 1 title, is the latest high-profile name to move to the Middle East from Europe, with many heading to the Saudi Pro League.
Galtier has been summoned to criminal court on Dec. 15 as part of an investigation into racism allegations at his former club Nice.
The coach and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were placed in custody for questioning in July over allegations of racist and anti-Muslim comments while he was in charge of Nice from 2021 to 2022.
After his son was released without charge, Galtier was referred to the public prosecutor’s office and will stand trial on charges of psychological harassment and discrimination.
He will lead his new team against Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr, who include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané, in the Asian Champions League group stage later this month.
