Former Atletico coach Murcia agrees terms with Levski

SOFIA (Reuters) - Levski Sofia have agreed a two-year coaching contract with Spaniard Jose "Pepe" Murcia, the 26-times Bulgarian champions said on Thursday.





The 49-year-old, who will sign his deal on Monday, previously coached several Spanish clubs including Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo as well as Romanian side Brasov.

"Murcia is a very serious man," Levski's sporting director Georgi Ivanov told local media. "Even before we reached an agreement, he knew everything about our club and the players."

"We know what kind of football is played in Spain and we believe that this couch will be able to enrich the team," former Bulgaria and Levski striker Ivanov said, adding that previous coach Elin Topuzakov will be one of Murcia's assistants.

Murcia will have to deal with a hugely demanding and impatient fan base at Levski with 17 coaching changes being made since 2008.

Last October, Ivaylo Petev resigned as Levski coach a day after being stripped and forced out of his first news conference by hostile fans, who believed he was a supporter of bitter rivals CSKA Sofia.

Levski, who mark their 100th anniversary this year, finished fifth in the league on 62 points from 38 matches, 22 behind champions Ludogorets.

The Blues are one of the two most popular clubs in the Balkan country alongside CSKA but have failed to win a trophy since 2009.





(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov, editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world