KOCHI: Gokulam Kerala on Wednesday announced
Vincenzo Alberto Annese
as their new head coach replacing Santiago Varela. The former Serie A midfielder (Venezia 1999-2001) becomes the fourth head coach of the Kozhikode-based
I-League
side.
Announcing their new boss,
Gokulam Kerala FC
chairman Gokulam Gopalan said that the Italian is their most experienced coach ever. "The coach brings considerable international experience to the club. He is young and has several achievements already. He is the most experienced coach we have had so far," said Gopalan in a media release.
Interestingly, at 35, Annese is younger than Gokulam’s three former tacticians - Santiago Varela (47), Bino George (43) and
Gift Raikhan
(40).
Outgoing manager Varela had spent most of his time in the lower leagues in Catalonia before taking up his first major assignment, with Gokulam, in 2017-18. Raikhan, who was initially the technical director of Gokulam in early 2019 had worked mostly at the youth level before grabbing the NEROCA job in 2015 that launched his career. Bino, the current technical director of Gokulam, has a wealth of experience as a coach, starting as an assistant coach at Viva Kerala in 2006, but it wasn’t until about six years ago that he launched himself as a head coach.
By comparison, Gokulam’s new boss has been managing teams, clubs and national sides included, for a decade. Annese first started managing in 2010 with Serie C side AS Andria Bat Young. After spending three years in his home country, he set out on a coaching pilgrimage of sorts, managing teams in Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, China, Ghana, Palestine, Indonesia, Kosovo, and most recently as the national team coach of Belize.
"I am delighted to be part of the GKFC family," Vincenzo Annese was quoted by the club. "I aim to make the fans happy and make them dream big. I have already seen how GKFC played last season and I believe the squad can reach new heights."
Annese’s appointment, however, comes with a rider. "We believe that he would be able to bring more trophies and glory to Kerala," said Gokulam Gopalan. Considering Gokulam won the Durand Cup and were in the race for the I-League title early on in 2019-20, the Italian would need all his experience to live up to the expectations in Malabar.
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