06.02.2019 12:40 h

AEK Athens bring back Manolo Jimenez for third term

Manolo Jimenez has returned to manage AEK Athens for a third time, the Greek Super League club announced Wednesday saying the Spaniard had signed a one-and-a-half-year contract.

The deal has an option for another year if both sides agree.

"The champion has returned home. The AEK family wishes Manolo good luck in his third term in the club and hoping to add another title like the previous two," an AEK announced.

The Spaniard first managed the club for the 2010-2011 season when he guided them to the Greek Cup.

He returned to AEK in January 2017 and last season led them to their first league title in 24 years but lost the Greek Cup final to PAOK.

Jimenez, 55, replaces Greek coach Marinos Ouzounidis who resigned on Monday with AEK third in the table, with 37 points from 19 games. They are 14 points behind leaders PAOK Thessaloniki.

Jimenez will take charge for the first time on Thursday when AEK face Atromitos Athens in the first leg of the Greek Cup quarter-finals.

Jimenez started this season in Spain with second division Las Palmas but was fired in November. He has also had stints at Al-Rayyan in Qatar (2013-2015) and Real Zaragoza (2011-2013) and Sevilla (2007-2010) in Spain.

As a player he was a left back and appeared more than 350 times for Sevilla over 13 seasons and was capped 15 times by Spain.