Al Ittifaq, the UAE First Division club that made headlines with the signing of Mario Balotelli last month, are set to appoint Juventus legend Paolo Montero as their new manager.
The Dubai outfit sacked Swiss head coach Ricardo Pinto following Friday night's 3-1 home defeat to Al Arabi. The team is currently languishing at the bottom of the 15-team UAE second tier, with three wins and 13 defeats from 16 matches played.
Balotelli scored his third goal in as many games to briefly give Al Ittifaq parity at 1-1 only for promotion-chasing Al Arabi to score twice more and wrap up a result that sealed Pinto's fate.
Now the club are set to turn to Montero, the 54-year-old former Uruguay defender, in an attempt to salvage their season.
Montero enjoyed a long playing career in Italy with Atalanta and Juventus before returning to South America in 2005 for spells with San Lorenzo and Penarol before retiring in 2007. He rejoined Juventus in 2022 as an academy coach, later taking charge of the club's under-19s.
In May 2024, following the dismissal of Massimiliano Allegri, Montero was appointed interim manager of the senior team for the final two games of the Serie A season. He oversaw a 3-3 draw against Bologna and a 2-0 victory over Monza to close the campaign.
He subsequently took over Juventus Next Gen, the club's under-23 side, in Serie C, but was dismissed in November 2024 after just 15 matches following a poor start to the season.
Despite his dismissal, his contract remains valid, and must be terminated by mutual consent before he can formally join Al Ittifaq.
The Dubai club is owned by the Tre Elle Group, led by Pietro Laterza. The group also owns Serie D club AC ChievoVerona, where Laterza also serves as club president.
Founded in 2020, Al Ittifaq started out in the UAE Second Division and secured promotion to the First Division for the 2024/25 season following the withdrawal of Elite Falcons FC from the competition.
They travel to Fujairah to face mid-table Al Orooba Club on Thursday, with Montero expected to be in the dugout.
