GUWAHATI: The NorthEast United FC have appointed former Israeli footballer Marco Balbul as the head coach of the team.
With the squad building buzz around the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) season and just a few days left for the Durand Cup kick-off which starts Tuesday, August 16, the NorthEast United camp finally updated their fans with their new team plans.
The Highlanders, in a tweet on Thursday, announced the signing of Marco Balbul as their head coach for the 2022-23 season. The northeast club was left without a manager since the departure of Khalid Jamil, who became the first Indian coach at the helm of an ISL team with his NEUFC signing in 2021 after the disaster last season, where they finished tenth only a spot shy of the wooden spooners.While the club was known to be in an advanced stage of talks with the Israeli gaffer, the tweet on the club's official handle confirmed the signing of the 55-year-old as their man-in-charge.
Balbul has played as a defender for most of his career with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa FC, as per media reports. He was the former assistant coach of the Israel national team and has managed 160 games in Israeli first division while recording 74 wins, 42 draws and 44 defeats. He began his coaching career in 2002 at the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, as per media reports.
The first challenge for the new Highlanders manager will be to guide the northeast team in their first Durand Cup campaign which will be held on Wednesday, August 17.
With all ISL clubs set to compete at the domestic tournament, which Assam will be hosting for the first time, NEUFC could have the advantage of playing at their home ground of Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.