Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: The Japan Football Association has confirmed that former Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire boss Vahid Halilhodzic will be the Samurai Blue’s new head coach.
Thursday’s announcement, made in the wake of a Japan Football Association (JFA) executive board meeting, comes after Javier Aguirre vacated the role following Japan’s AFC Asian Cup 2015 quarter-final exit in January.
Halilhodzic, who played for Yugoslavia at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Friday, and JFA technical director Masahiro Shimoda confirmed that the 62-year-old Bosnian is now set to oversee friendlies against Tunisia and Uzbekistan on March 27 and 31, respectively.
“We collected information on a lot of managers, but when we considered results and experience and then met them in person, Halilhodzic was the first person we wanted to negotiate with,” said Shimoda.
“He turned down offers from big clubs to take the Japan national team job. He is very motivated and hungry to take on this new project with Japan.”
Halilhodzic, who left Turkish outfit Trabzonspor last November, helped Cote d’Ivoire qualify for the 2010 World Cup, before guiding Algeria through to the Round of 16 at last year’s global extravaganza in Brazil.
Photo: AFP