RIYADH — Brazilian football team Internacional de Minas has appointed Saudi national Muhammad Abduljawwad as the coach of its youth squad, at the club, for a one-year term with the option of it being renewed at the end of the term, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Saturday.

Abduljawwad, the former Saudi international player, dubbed by the Kingdom media as the ‘flying left-back’, was a veritable shoo-in to the national squad in his heydays.

He earned his nickname for his flamboyance in mixing attack and defense during play in a speedy display that made him a veritable stand out.

Though his principal role was as a defender in the left back position, his speedy runs down the left flank in tandem with the midfielders and strikers saw him do the star turn in nearly every match he played.

A sound defender and an efficient winger for his club and national team, Abduljawwad is the first ever Arab manager to coach a Brazilian team.

Born in 1962 in Jeddah, the veteran left-back played for a long time as one of the main players for the Jeddah-based Al-Ahli team and was among the legendary Saudi squad that took the World Cup finals by storm in 1994.

Among his paramount achievements was winning back-to-back the Asian Cup, in 1984 and in 1988, but was ever ready with his singular performance for club and country. Abduljawwad also took part in the Los Angeles Olympiads. — SPA