Tbilisi (AFP) – Former France and Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol has been named manager of Georgia’s national football team, the Caucasus country’s federation said in a statement Monday.
“The high quality of the exchanges with the committee (of the federation) and the potential of the team convinced me to take on this incredible challenge,” Sagnol said in a video posted on the national team’s Facebook page.
“With a lot of hard work, discipline and determination, I am sure we will write a beautiful chapter in Georgian football history together,” he added, speaking in English.
Sagnol, 43, has not managed a team since 2017, when he was Bayern Munich’s interim manager.
The former right-back began his managerial career in 2013, when he coached the France under-20 team.
The following year he took charge of French Ligue 1 club Bordeaux but was sacked before the end of the 2016 season after a string of disappointing results.
Sagnol will be the second Frenchman to manage Georgia — 89th in the latest FIFA rankings — after Alain Giresse, who led the side from 2004 to 2005.
Sagnol played 58 times for France including the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
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