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The legendary Dutch footballer Ronald Koeman has been appointed as the new head coach of Lisbon. The strategist has signed a two-year contract.
Koeman will replace the successful Italian Giovanni Trapattoni, who decided to leave his position last week due to personal reasons. Under Trapattoni's guidance, Benfica won the Portuguese championship title last season.
"I am very happy to be able to coach a team like Benfica," said the 42-year-old coach at a press conference. "Since the team led by G. Trapattoni won the championship, defending the title will not be easy, but the club has enough talent to repeat the success."
Ronald Koeman, whose brother Erwin recently became the coach of Feyenoord, left the team in the summer due to poor performance. With the legendary Dutch club, the coach won two national championship titles, but this season failed to match the team's success.
The new Benfica coach is the second Dutchman recently employed in Portugal. The former AZ Alkmaar coach Co Adriaanse, who lost both the championship title in Portugal and the Champions League, has been appointed as the coach.
