GENEVA, August 9 (EFE) – The Swiss Football Association confirmed today that the Swiss coach of Turkish origin, Murat Yakin, will be the new coach of Switzerland, replacing Vladimir Petkovic, who will leave the bench to coach France’s Bordeaux.

Yakin, 46, who was already a player in the national team between 1994 and 2004, signed a contract until the end of the qualifying stage for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with the option to extend this agreement, highlighted national television. RTS.

In his phase as a player, Yakin particularly shone during his time in Basel, although he also played in the German Bundesliga (Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern) and in Turkey’s Fenerbahce.

In his coaching career, he sat on the bench for several teams in the Swiss league (he was currently the manager of Schaffhausen) and was also the manager of the Russian Spartak Moscow in the 2014-2015 season.

Yakin has the difficult task of continuing the good path set by Petkovic, who at the last European Championship made Switzerland one of the revelations, beating France in the last 16 and making it very difficult for Spain to reach the semi-finals.

The new coach will participate for the first time in a friendly match against Greece next September, in Basel, and qualifying for Qatar will play in a complex group with the European champions (Italy), Bulgaria, Northern Ireland and Lithuania. EFE

ABC/JAG