[Official] Hong Myung-bo Team's 'Algeria Tragedy' Head Coach Takes Over French First Division Nantes At Age 74

*This content was translated by AI.

Former Japanese national soccer team coach Vahid Halilhodzic (74, Bosnia), who caused Hong Myung-bo Team's "Algeria Disaster" during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and was once mentioned as a candidate for the head coach of the Korean national team, took the helm of France's professional soccer league 1 Nantes.

The Nantes club announced on the 11th (Korea Standard Time), "Amed Kantari will step down and Halilhodzic will take the helm until the end of the season," adding, "Coach Halilhodzic was a symbolic player for Nantes when he was a player and he led the team from 2018 to 2019, so he knows the club well."

Nantes eventually broke up with Kantari after being ranked 17th in the relegation zone with four wins, five draws and 16 losses (17 points) in the French Ligue 1 this season, and took the helm of Halilhodzic, who was born in 1952. Coach Halilhodzic returned to the field after three years and seven months after failing to find a new team after stepping down as coach of the Moroccan national team ahead of the Qatar World Cup in August 2002.

Halilhodzic was a legendary player who played for Yugoslavia as a player and scored 93 goals in 163 appearances for Nantes. After his retirement, he led French teams such as France Lille, Stade Rennes, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Trabzonspor (Turkiye), Al-Itihad (Saudi Arabia), and Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia).

In addition to club teams, he also led the Ivory Coast, Algeria, Japan, and Morocco national football teams. In particular, he led the Algerian national team and gave a "shock" by defeating South Korea, which was led by then coach Hong Myung-bo, 4-2 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He led the Japanese national team for three years and a month, but was dismissed just two months before the opening of the 2018 Russia World Cup, citing conflicts with the team and sluggish East Asian Cup.

Halilhodzic, who returned to Nantes as a player six months after being replaced by the Japanese national team and led the team for about a year, took over as the head coach of the Moroccan national team and prepared for the Qatar World Cup. However, after three years in charge of the team, he was dismissed just over three months before the opening of the Qatar World Cup this time, so he could not lead the Qatar World Cup. Coincidentally, Morocco, where coach Halilhodzic was replaced, has written the myth of the semifinals at the Qatar World Cup.

It was previously mentioned as a candidate for the next head coach of the Korean national team, who was looking for a replacement for head coach Shin Tae-yong after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Korea Football Association dismissed it as a "rumor" at the time, but rumors of contact were reported in Algerian daily newspapers, and coach Halilhodzic also had a positive interview on the appointment of the Korean national team. However, with the appointment of Paulo Bento (Portugal), he had no relationship with Halilhodzic.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.