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By Sports Reporter/Doha
Djamel Belmadi has agreed to take charge of Qatari champions Lekhwiya for a second time following the departure of the club's Danish head coach Michael Laudrup.
Contract negotiations with Laudrup officially ended on Thursday and Lekhwiya moved swiftly to appoint the Algerian, who led them to the Qatar Stars League title in 2011 and 2012.
“Laudrup will not continue with the team after we failed to reach an agreement to renew his contract with the team,” Lekhwiya general secretary Adnan al-Ali said in a statement.
Lekhwiya’a media official Saleh Moussa said of Belmadi in a statement on Thursday: “... the club management saw he was the best option to be with the team (for) the next period.”
Belmadi led the Qatar National B team to the West Asian Football Federation Championships and then the full men’s team to the Gulf Cup of Nations title in 2014 but was dismissed following three losses and a group stage exit at the Asian Cup which followed shortly after in January.
He takes over a Lekhwiya side in good health following Laudrup’s highly successful season in charge.
The Dane, a gifted former player with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Ajax Amsterdam, won a double and steered the club through to an August quarter-final meeting with Saudi side Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League.
“The coach made great efforts in the last season, as he guided the club to QSL triumph and Qatar Cup title, and the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League. Certainly we wish him success in his next coaching career,” said Adnan Ali of the Dane.
This news of the departure of Laudrup is in sharp contrast to reports earlier this month that the Dane had extended his contract for another year.
Laudrup’s representative Bayram Tutumlu had ‘confirmed’ that the former Danish international will stay in his current post. “Michael Laudrup, after thinking several offers, has decided to sign a one-year contract extension with Lekhwiya FC,” Tutumlu had written on Twitter.
But on Wednesday, it was reported by Danish state radio that Laudrup had written to Lekhwiya stating that he did not wish to continue.
“Unfortunately, there were things concerning the contract that we could not agree upon, and therefore I will not be continuing in Qatar,” the former Denmark international was quoted as saying by media reports.
Laudrup, who has managed Brondby, Getafe, Real Mallorca, Swansea City and Spartak Moscow, is one of the favourites to succeed Morten Olsen as the Denmark national team coach when he steps down in 2016.
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