RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former Real Madrid and Brazil boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo has been named manager of Vasco da Gama for a second time, the Rio de Janeiro club announced on social media.

The 68-year-old replaces Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto, who was sacked earlier in the week after a poor run of results that has left Vasco fighting to avoid relegation.

"I'm very happy to return to this great club. We're going to work as hard as we can so that we can keep Vasco in the top division," Luxemburgo said in a video posted on Vasco's Twitter account.

Vasco said Luxemburgo agreed to lead the club until the end of the current Brazilian domestic season, with an option to extend the contract if both parties agree.

Luxemburgo is the only manager to win five Brazilian Serie A titles. He was Brazil's national team boss from 1998 to 2000 and had an 11-month spell in charge of Real Madrid in 2005.

In his first stint as Vasco manager in 2019, Luxemburgo helped the club avoid relegation before quitting to join Palmeiras.

Luxemburgo's appointment comes less than a month after he was admitted to a Sao Paulo hospital with COVID-19. He was discharged on December 22.

Vasco is currently 17th in the 20-team league standings with seven wins, seven draws, and 12 losses. Enditem

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