Ex- Real Madrid coach to train Saudi Arabia for 3 years

The Saudi Football Federation signed a 3 year contract with its new Saudi national team coach Carlos Lopez on Monday.

Ahmad Eid, the newly elected President of the Saudi Football Federation, did not disclose how much the contract cost the Saudi Federation.

Carlos Lopez managed the Saudi national team in their victory against China last week, a win that was long awaited by Saudis. They had been on a losing streak for the last few years.

Lopez came to Saudi Arabia a year and a half ago as a consultant for national youth teams. He was chosen for his current position after the federation fired the Dutch Frank Rijkaard.

The sacking came after the gulf tournament in Bahrain where the Saudi team did not manage to make it past the group stages.

Lopez is from Spain, he coached Real Madrid in 2006 for a brief period.

The Spanish born coach selected nine new players for the match against China, they had never played for the Saudi National Team.