Egypt’s Al Ahly club appointed Danish coach Jess Thorup as the head coach of the first football team for two and a half seasons, replacing Emad El Nahhas who served as interim coach following the dismissal of Spanish coach José Ribeiro last month.

An official statement from Al Ahly club said the management completed the contracting procedures with Thorup after meetings led by Chairman Mahmoud El Khatib with the planning committee, sports director, football director, contracts management, and scouting department.

Thorup, 55, became the first Danish coach in Al Ahly’s history. The club has not disclosed the contract value with the coach or his current staff.

Thorup started his career as a striker in 1989 with Danish club Odense, and his playing career included German club Ordingen, Austrian club Tirol, Danish club Esbjerg, and Norwegian club HamKam before retiring at Esbjerg in 2006.

He began his coaching career with Esbjerg in 2011, leading them to promotion to the first division that same season, then winning the Danish Cup for the first time in the club’s history in 2013.

Thorup then coached Denmark’s U20 and U21 national teams between 2013 and 2015, before managing Midtjylland from 2015 to 2018, winning the Danish league title in 2018.

He later moved to Belgium to coach Gent and Genk, then returned to Denmark in 2020 to coach Copenhagen, winning the league title in 2022. In October 2023, he took over Augsburg in Germany until his dismissal in May this year.

Currently, Al Ahly ranks third in the Egyptian league with 18 points, level on goal difference with Al Masry and Zamalek. The team will start its campaign in the CAF Champions League facing Eagle Noir from Burundi on October 18.