It wasn't the start to the joint 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifications that UAE had hoped van Marwijk was able to achieve but at the midway point of the qualifiers, the supposed favourite of the group are languishing in fourth spot behind three Southeast Asian teams in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.
The cull was swift and decisive, with the former Netherlands head coach forced to part ways and in comes 57-year-old Serbian, Ivan Jovanovic. UAE Football Association (FA) made the appointment with the believe that Jovanovic's experience in the UAE domestic league will help him ease into his new role.