#INSERT type:image caption:Uruguay's Sergio Markarian has been named Greece's new national team coach.END#
ATHENS, Greece -- Sergio Markarian of Uruguay has been named Greece's new national team coach, after the country made a disastrous start to its European Championship qualification campaign.
The Greek Football Association said the 70-year-old Markarian was approved for the position on Thursday, formally replacing Italian coach Claudio Ranieri who was suspended after Greece lost 1-0 at home to the Faeroe Islands last November.
Markarian, who has also coached the national teams of Peru and Paraguay, is well known to Greek fans, having spent six years at the helm of clubs Panathinaikos, Ionikos and Iraklis.
Greece, which reached the second round of the World Cup in Brazil, is currently at the bottom of Group F in Euro qualifying with a point from four matches and travels to Hungary on March 29.