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| Saeb Jendeya (R) will take over in an interim role. |
Jamal Mahmoud has resigned as Palestine’s national team manager. No direct causes were cited for the resignation but the former Hilal Al-Quds and Wehdat boss had said that he had intended to tender his resignation earlier.
Reports say that Mahmoud was upset at the lack of communication with the WBPL and felt that the upcoming league schedule should have been set up around national team preparations for the Asian Cup. Moreover, Al-Ghad has reported that the manager had gone eight months without pay.
In his steed, the PFA has announced that former national team captain Saeb Jendeya will take on the role. Joining his staff will be Fahed Attal- who is Palestine’s all-time leading scorer (14 goals) and is still an active player with Shabab Al-Khaleel.
These appointments are expected to be temporary and it remains to be seen who the PFA will approach to take the job on full-time.
Mahmoud leaves the post as the most successful manager in Palestine’s history. He guided Palestine to the semifinals of the Pan-Arab Games upon taking the post in late 2011. Four months later, Palestine made the semifinals of the Challenge Cup losing to eventual champions Korea DPR.
In regional tournaments, Mahmoud had less success although he guided Palestine to their first ever WAFF Championship victory (1-0 v. Lebanon) and did manage draws against Saudi Arabia in the 2012 Arab Cup (2-2) and the 2014 WAFF Championship (0-0).
Unfortunately for Jamal Mahmoud a series of logistical problems often prevented him from fielding his best lineup. Despite this, Mahmoud took an undermanned, underprepared side in 2013 and again in 2014 and led them to a historic Asian Cup qualification without playing a single home game. In the process, his teams won six games and drew twice- never conceding a goal (+16 GD).
