The 43-year-old Romanian vacated his position on Sunday following Al Wahda’s 2-1 derby defeat to Al Jazira in the UAE Pro League less than 48 hours earlier – a loss which left the 2019 AFC Champions League hopefuls sixth in the table.

Reghecampf, who guided Al Wahda to a second-place finish in last season’s UAE Pro League, had previously taken Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC to the final of the 2014 AFC Champions League before seeing his side lose to Western Sydney Wanderers.

Islamic Republic of Iran's Persepolis, who lost 2-0 to Kashima Antlers on aggregate in this year’s final, will begin their campaign in the West Zone’s Group D where they have Qatar's Al Saad SC, Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli Saudi FC and the Play-off 1 (UAE/UZB/IRQ) winners for company.

In the AFC Champions League – which is already one of the richest continental competitions in world football – clubs stand to earn over US$60,000 per match from the group stage to the semi-finals, with the total contribution rising from US$4.2 million last year to US$8.4 million next year.

Meanwhile, in the AFC Cup, the total travel contribution has doubled from US$2.94 million in 2018 to US$5.88 million in 2019.

The 20-year-old Hong Konger scored a dramatic winner in Matchday Four against Kashiwa Reysol that ensured a historic first AFC Champions League win for both his club Kitchee SC and, indeed, the first victory in the competition for Hong Kong.