Arabian Gulf League: Dibba appoint Portuguese manager Paulo Sergio as successor to Theo Bucker

East coast club move quickly to install former Sporting Lisbon and Hearts manager as Bucker’s replacement, reports John McAuley.

Paulo Sergio, the former Sporting manager, shown here during a Uefa Europa League round of 32 first leg match against Rangers in 2011, is the new manager at Dibba. AFP PHOTO/GRAHAM STUART
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Dibba have appointed Portuguese manager Paulo Sergio as successor to Theo Bucker.

The east coast club, 10th in last season's Arabian Gulf League, have acted quickly following Bucker's decision last week to reject a contact exte​nsion and instead move to Emirates club.

Sergio, 48, has managed a raft of clubs since finishing his playing career in 2003, including a number of sides in Portugal, chief among those a hugely disappointing nine-month spell at Sporting Lisbon from 2010.

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He joined Hearts the following summer for the 2011/12 Scottish Premier League campaign and led the Edinburgh club to Scottish Cup success, but spent less than a year at Tynecastle before short stints at Romania’s CFR Cluj and Apoel of Cyprus. Sergio last managed at Academia in his homeland, but left his position in February 2015 after only eight months in charge.

Dibba’s hunt for a new manager has been a relatively short one, prompted by Bucker’s reported U-turn on agreeing to another year at the club. He excelled on limited resources during his debut season in the UAE, keeping Dibba away from the relegation battle for the majority of the campaign and thus convincing the club’s management to offer a one-year extension.

However, despite Dibba believing he had accepted their proposal, within one week news emerged that Bucker was about to sign for Emirates. His switch to the Ras Al Khaimah club was confirmed last Tuesday.

The uncertainty in the dugout has not prevented his former employers from adding to their squad, though, with South Korea’s Hae Jae-won joining on Saturday after finishing his contract with Qatar’s Al Khor.

jmcauley@thenational.ae

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