World Soccer - UK (2019-10)

EUROPE

Bulgaria’s joint-record goalscorer

and former Manchester United striker

DIMITAR BERBATOV announced his

retirement at the age of 38.

CONCACAF

Veteran Uruguayan GUSTAVO

MATOSAS stood down as coach

of Costa Rica.

AFRICA

African Player of the Year a record

four times and a triple UEFA Champions

League winner – with Barcelona

(2006, 2009) and Internazionale

(2010) – SAMUEL ETO’O announced his

retirement after leaving Qatar Sports Club.

FRANCOIS ZAHOUI, who led Ivory

Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations Final

in 2012, left his post as coach of Niger.

ASIA

Croatian coach ROMEO JOZAK

parted company with Kuwait.

Asian Player of the Year in 2006,

former Qatar winger KHALFAN

IBRAHIM retired at the age of 31.

16 WORLD SOCCER

“Winning the cup was the trigger.

It was a secondary competition and it put

Champions League qualification at risk”

EUROPE

Former Spain under-21 coach

ALBERT CELADES replaced Marcelino

in charge of Valencia. His most recent

position was as an assistant to Julen

Lopetegui at Real Madrid.

QUIQUE SANCHEZ FLORES returned

to manage Watford for a second time

after Javi Gracia was sacked with the side

bottom of the Premier League.

Former Bayern Munich and Germany

goalkeeper OLIVER KAHN will join the

club’s board in January and eventually

replace the chairman, Karl-Heinz

Rummenigge, in December 2021.

Appointments, sackings & loans

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Maradona back in Argentina

DIEGO MARADONA was appointed coach of an

Argentinian top-flight side for a third time, taking charge

of Gimnasia y Esgrima until the end of the season.

Based in the city of La Plata in greater Buenos Aires,

Gimnasia were 18th in the Superliga and in danger of

relegation at the time of Maradona’s appointment.

Most recently, the 58-year-old Maradona coached

second-tier Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa but failed to

take them into Liga MX and quit, citing health reasons.

Marcelino believes he was sacked by Valencia owner Peter

Lim for winning the Spanish Cup

AFRICA

RENE WEILER replaced Martin

Lasarte as coach of Egypt’s Al Ahly.

HOSSAM EL BADRY, who led Al Ahly

to the 2012 CAF Champions League, was

named coach of Egypt, while Cameroon

appointed TONI CONCEICAO. Guinea

replaced Paul Put with DIDIER SIX, while

MOLEFI NTSEKI took over from Stuart

Baxter as South Africa coach.

India Super League side NorthEast

United signed Ghana’s all-time leading

goalscorer ASAMOAH GYAN.

ASIA

VADIM ABRAMOV replaced Hector

Cuper as coach of Uzbekistan.

16 WORLD SOCCER

THE WORLD THIS MONTH

Home...

Diego

Maradona

Retiring...

Samuel Eto’o

Al Ahly boss...

Rene Weiler

Gone...Francois Zahoui

Main man...

Albert Celades

Guinea job

...Didier Six