The Al-Okhdood Club officially announced the signing of Croatian Stjepan Tomas to take over the managerial role of the first football team, replacing Algerian Noureddine Zekri, without revealing the contract details or its duration, according to the club’s official account on the platform “X” on Monday.
Tomas, 48, is expected to join the team’s training camp, which began last Friday in the city of Izmit, Turkey, to oversee the team as they prepare for the new sports season.
During its inaugural season in the Saudi Roshn League last year, the southern club was managed by three different coaches. The journey started with Portuguese Jorge Mendoza, who played a key role in the team’s promotion to the professional league but was dismissed after the 12th round. Slovak Martin Sevela took over from the 13th round and was replaced after the 27th round. Finally, Algerian Noureddine Zekri led the team to retain its position in the professional league, managing the team from the 28th to the 34th round, but the management did not renew his contract.
Tomas began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Gaziantep in Turkey. In 2019, he took the helm of Antalyaspor, followed by stints at Çaykur Rizespor, Göztepe, and Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova, before being appointed as the coach of Croatian club Osijek.
As a football player, Tomas was well-known in his home country, Croatia. He started his playing career in 1994, earning 49 international caps and scoring one goal. He also represented Croatia in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, as well as Euro 2004.
In conclusion, the appointment of Stjepan Tomas marks a new chapter for Al-Okhdood as they aim to build on their previous season’s achievements.
