|
Birmingham City have confirmed the appointment of Gianfranco Zola as their new manager. Zola replaces Gary Rowett, who was sacked earlier on Wednesday despite leading the club to seventh in the Championship. Club director Panos Pavlakis told Birmingham's official website: "We are delighted to welcome Gianfranco and his backroom team to the club. "His pedigree, philosophy and ambition fits with what we would like to achieve as we move in a new direction. "Gianfranco has a wealth of top-level experience as both manager and player and we are extremely excited about his appointment." Sources had told ESPN FC that Birmingham's new Chinese owners Trillion Trophy Asia had been seeking a high-profile name to replace Rowett and had identified Chelsea legend Zola as the right candidate. Zola has been out of work since June when he was sacked as coach of Qatari side Al Arabi after just one season in charge. The Italian spent two years in charge at West Ham and he guided Watford to the Championship playoff final in his first season in charge only to lose to Crystal Palace. He had a spell at former club Cagliari in Serie A in December 2014, but was sacked three months later before taking charge at Al Arabi in July 2015.
|
