SINGAPORE -- Reigning Singapore Premier League champions Lion City Sailors have appointed Spaniard Jesús Casas as their new coach, following the dismissal of Aleksandar Ranković at the start of the month.
The 52-year-old Casas, who was last in charge of Iraq, has put pen to paper on a contract which runs until the end of the 2027-28 season.
Just over a fortnight ago, the Sailors made the decision to part ways with Ranković despite the fact that they were sitting on top of the SPL with a perfect streak of eight wins to start the campaign -- along with a staggering of 36 goals scored and just four conceded.
Instead, it was their disappointing results in other competitions that ultimately cost Ranković his job -- just eight months after he had signed a two-year contract extension.
Having done brilliantly to reach the AFC Champions League Two final last season, making history in the process by becoming the first Singaporean club to contest a continental decider, the Sailors failed to even get out of the group stage this term.
Meanwhile, Ranković's hopes of a reprieve in the form of regional glory were extinguished with LCS finishing fourth in Group B of the ASEAN Club Championship -- officially known as the 2026 Shopee Cup.
Their final game in that tournament -- a shock 2-0 home loss to Cambodia's PKR Svay Rieng -- on Feb. 5 saw Ranković get the sack three days later.
Still, Ranković remains the Sailors' most-successful coach in their relatively-short history after ending their three-season wait to reclaim the SPL crowd last term, to go along with the two Singapore Cups they won under him -- as well as their landmark ACL Two final appearance.
His replacement Casas comes with creditable experience albeit largely from his most recent three-year spell with Iraq, where he had a record of 18 wins, eight draws and eight losses from 36 matches.
The highlight of his tenure came when Iraq lifted the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup at the start of 2023 ahead of hot favourites Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Nonetheless, his Iraq reign finished last March after a 2-1 loss to Palestine put their hopes of progressing from the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in jeopardy.
Intriguingly, Iraq would ultimately progress to the fourth round and fifth rounds and, subsequently, an inter-confederation playoff against either Bolivia or Suriname at the end of March -- meaning they could still reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Last year, Casas was reportedly in the race for the Singapore vacancy after the departure of Tsutomu Ogura -- although the Football Association of Singapore ultimately decided to promote caretaker coach Gavin Lee to the role on a permanent basis.
Prior to his time with Iraq, Casas had notable assistant roles with Watford in the Premier League under Javi Gracia, and Spain -- where he supported both Luis Enrique and Robert Moreno.
Casas' first game at the helm will be this Saturday's visit to third-placed Albirex Niigata (S), with the Sailors still leading the SPL by seven points after picking up two wins and a draw under interim coach Varo Moreno.