Paul Put appointed Guinea coach
The Belgian, who resigned last month as Kenya’s tactician, was among more than 80 coaches who applied for the Guinea job.
Paul Put has been named as the new head coach of Guinea on a four-year deal, the country’s Football Federation (FGF) announced in a news conference in Conakry on Friday. The 61-year-old Belgian tactician, has previously been in charge of coaching Burkina Faso, Gambia and Kenya’s national sides.
Close to 100 candidates
Put was among 86 applications received for the succession of Kanfory Mohamed 'Lappé' Bangoura, who was sacked from his post with the Syli Nationale in January after a disastrous performance at the African Nations Championship in Morocco.
Put’s task: AFCON qualification
Put’s main task will be to qualify Guinea for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon. His first game in charge of the National Elephants will be against Mauritania in a friendly on 24 March.
“I want to work, I also have a vision so I can’t sit down. Guinea is a country that has qualified for several times for the Cup of Nations, they have a lot of talented players but because of one reason or the other they are not working as a team. I think I can do a good job there,” Put told Kenyan daily Nation. “They have players playing in high level competitions. It will be a good challenge and opportunity for sure, it feels nice for me.”
In qualifying for the 2019 AFCON, Guinea are currently top of Group H, ahead of Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Central African Republic.
Back in 2013, while coaching Burkina Faso, Put guided the team to a runners-up place in the finals of the AFCON held in South Africa.