adminClaude LeRoy is the new coach of Togo having signed a deal to lead the team until 2019, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.
It was reported on Wednesday that Frenchman LeRoy will take over from former Free State Stars coach Tom Saintfiet and be joined by his long-time assistant Sebastien Minier.
Togo are currently third in their qualifying group for the African Nations Cup in Gabon, two points behind leaders Liberia, who they meet next away from home in June. The side took a single point from home and away matches against Tunisia last month, and in November were dumped out of the qualifiers for the World Cup in Russia after a surprise 4-0 aggregate loss to Uganda in the second knockout round.
Le Roy, 68, will hope to persuade striker Emmanuel Adebayor to return to the national team on a more consistent basis – the Crystal Palace forward missed the away match in Tunisia but then suddenly pitched up for the return tie in Lome.
Le Roy has been working on the continent for almost 30 years and in that time coached at a record eight African Nations Cup finals, including winning the tournament with Cameroon in 1988.
He has had a record 35 matches at the finals and only once failed to reach the quarter-finals.
He took Congo to an unlikely last eight place at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea in January, before resigning from the job last November despite leading the country to the next stage of World Cup qualifiers. – KICKOFF.COM
Online Reporter