Who is Issame Charai? The new Rangers assistant who helped catapult Hamza Igamane to stardom
The Belgian revolution at Rangers continues as promising coach Issame Charai has been named Philippe Clement's No.2.
It wasn't so long ago it looked a long way back for Clement but four domestic wins on the trot and passage to the Europa League knockout phase (despite a narrow defeat to Manchester United) have got him out of the dog house for now. And in one of the biggest signs of faith in the manager yet, it appears he is being allowed to bring in a new assistant manager – and on a three-and-a-half-year deal, no less.
The Belgium-born 42-year-old, who has also worked on the coaching staff with the Moroccan Under-23s as well as OH Leuven, Mechelen and Beerschot, will replace Andries Ulderink. The former Royal Antwerp coach joined Gers last summer but has now returned home to deal with a family situation.
Charai will now join Stephan Van Der Hayden, Alex Rae, Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart on Clement's staff.
So who is the new man? And what does his arrival mean? Record Sport have taken a deep dive into his life and career to find out.
Who is Issame Charai?
Born in Merksem to north of Belgium, Charai had a reasonable if unremarkable playing career as a striker. He made his breakthrough with Berchem in the early 2000s, scoring consistently at regional level under manager Marc Brys – a man who would go on to define his career as a coach.
He steadily rose through the leagues and, after his 15 goals fired Mechelen to top-flight promotion in 2007, he made his breakthrough into the Juliper Pro League as a 25-year-old. But he only ever scored twice in the top league – once for Mechelen and once for Sint-Trudinese - and by 2012, after suffering from a few injuries, he decided on retirement to focus on coaching at just 30 years old.
That's where Brys, who identified coaching potential in him as an emerging youngster, gave him his break. He named Charai his assistant at Al-Faisaly, and while that specific Saudi team up lasted just one year, it was a partnership that persevered.
Charai became Brys' assistant in three separate jobs back in Belgium, with Beerschot, Sint-Trudinese and OH Leuven, before they finally parted ways and broke out on his own with the Morocco U23 team in 2022.
He's a trophy winner
And that's where his real coaching potential shone through. In 2023, he led Morocco to the U23 Africa Cup of Nations, evidently his proudest achievement to date, judging by the cover photo on his LinkedIn – which shows him gleefully celebrating with his team.
He was also the manager who gave, you guessed it, Hamza Igamane his breakthrough at U23 level, and he was part of the squad who lifted that trophy. Since stepping down from that role, he's worked with Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg, but is ready for the biggest step in his career yet.
He's well known to Clement too. As assistant to Brys in many guises, he's been in the opposing dugout to the current Ibrox boss eight times – although only on the winning side once, when his Leuven team upset Brugge 2-1 in October 2020.
Style of play?
There's an interesting contrast in styles between Charai and the man he served for so long. Brys was known for his rigid 4-2-3-1 shape, described in Belgium as a route one coach – a tactic proficient at getting teams with lower budgets punching above their weight
Charai, it's thought, was largely responsible for implementing quick attacking transitions at Leuven between 2020 and 2022 – who were noted for their ability to go from front to back in the blink of an eye. In 2020/21, they finished 11th in the league with the most goals outside of the top eight to their name.
When Charai was let off the leash to lead things himself with Morocco, his team were even more fluid, scoring 12 times in six games on their way to the U23 AFCON in 2023.
What does it mean for Rangers?
What stands out straight away is the length of a deal. Over the piece it's been a sub-par season for Rangers and the jury is still out on the manager as far as the supporters are concerned. Just this month, CEO Patrick Stewart called a press conference to throw his support behind the manager – but admitted he needed to see a significant improvement in results.
All that in mind, you might have thought the board would have steered clear of any long-term decisions. And yet they have, seemingly, allowed him to hand-pick his new No.2, on a reported contract which runs beyond that of the manager himself.
That's a show of faith in Clement however you slice it, but may it also be a show of faith in Charai, who they see as having a long-term role at the club independent of Clement? At 42, he does appear to have a promising career ahead of him as a coach, while he's shown himself capable of breaking out on his own. You wouldn't quite call it succession planning – but it may be a sign that their long-term recruitment strategy extends beyond the players.