Former national soccer team coach Paulo Bento has emerged as the new head coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Portuguese media Hekord reported on the 8th (Korean time), “Former Korean national football team coach Bento is negotiating with the UAE over the coaching position.”스포츠토토

If Bento takes the lead in the UAE, Korea will face him in the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup and 2026 International Football Federation (FIFA) North and Central America World Cup Asian regional qualifiers.

After going through Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Portugal national team, Cruzeiro (Brazil), Olympiacos (Greece), and Chongqing Lifan (China), he was appointed as the Korean national team’s command tower in August 2018.

Coach Bento led Korea for a long time of 4 years and 4 months, and at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, he defeated strong Portugal and set a milestone of advancing to the World Cup round of 16 after 12 years.

After the tournament, he received an offer from the Korea Football Association to renew the contract, but disagreements occurred over the contract period, and the company was concluded. Currently, coach Bento is taking a break in his home country, Portugal, and is preparing for his next move.

In February, UAE coach Rodolfo Aruabarena from Argentina took over the helm. However, under Aruabarena’s managerial system, the UAE is showing a sluggish appearance with 4 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses in 14 matches.