Former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Jarko Lazetic has reportedly found his next job about five months after being fired by the Israeli club. According to Russian media cited in the report, he has finalized terms with Al Taawoun of the Saudi league.
The report says Lazetic is returning to the Middle East for what it describes as an ambitious project. Although he had also been on the radar of several respected European clubs, the Saudi offer was presented as impossible to refuse. The club’s management, it said, was determined to bring him in and would give him complete freedom to build the squad.
Lazetic is said to receive a net salary of more than $2 million per season. The club also reportedly promised “maximum quality of life” for him and his family. Lazetic, for his part, required that his entire professional staff come with him, and the deal was completed only after the club agreed and offered his staff high salaries as well.
The contract is also said to include a special clause guaranteeing at least one proven reinforcement from Serbia in the upcoming transfer window, chosen by Lazetic. He previously coached Maccabi Tel Aviv for a year and a half and won the league title, but a poor run last season, including heavy losses to Beitar Jerusalem, Lyon and Maccabi Haifa, and then a 2-1 derby defeat to Hapoel Tel Aviv, led to the end of his spell in Israel.