Henk ten Cate, the former Barcelona and Chelsea coach, is set to take over as manager of Al Jazira, The National understands.
The Dutchman, 61, was pictured on social media Sunday in Abu Dhabi outside Jazira’s stadium and is due to be announced as manager by the club shortly.
Ten Cate had managed several Dutch clubs before he joined Frank Rijkaard in 2003 as assistant manager at Barcelona, leaving in 2006.
He filled the same role at Chelsea under Avram Grant from 2007-08.
He has also managed Ajax, Panathinaikos as well as taking jobs in Hungary, Qatar and China.
Ten Cate spent an ill-fated month in charge of Dubai’s Al Ahli in 2010, which led to him resigning and offering to return his wages following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Qatar’s Al Sadd in the Asian Champions League.
Jazira have been without a manager since they sacked Abel Braga on December 12 following a run of just three wins in 16 matches in all competitions culminating in a 4-0 defeat at Fujairah.
Under caretaker manager Ali Al Junaibi they beat Emirates 4-0 at home but lost 2-1 at Al Dhafra on Saturday which left them 10th in the Arabian Gulf League table, just three points off the relegation zone.
The appointment of Ten Cate before the January transfer window opens means he will have plenty of time to look for a replacement for last season’s top scorer Mirko Vucinic, who was ruled out for the season in November with a cruciate knee ligament injury.
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