Brazilian head coach Marcos Castro “Paqueta” will succeed former Argentine boss Gabriel Calderon as Saudi Arabia coach, Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced on their official website on Monday.

The 50-year-old coach, who agreed to sign a two-year contract that ends in 2007 with SAFF, will lead the Saudi team throughout the 2006 World Cup in Germany and next season’s AFC Cup.

The Saudi football governing body decided to sack Calderon after the team’s disappointing run in the West Asian games in which they came in fourth place after their shock defeat at the hands of Iraq twice.

SAFF vice president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal will oversee Paqueta’s signing on Tuesday at the main headquarters.

It remains uncertain about Saudi club Hilal’s position from their coach’s new assignment.

Paqueta, who led Hilal to win all of the local competitions last season, also led Brazil to grab the World Youth Championship title in 2003.