© EuroFootball.com
For the next two years, the Georgian national team will be coached by German Klaus Toppmoller, announced the President of the Georgian Football Federation on Sunday.
"He agreed to be our coach," said Nodar Akhalkatsi, President of the Georgian Football Federation, adding that the German will officially sign the contract within two weeks.
K. Toppmoller will replace Gaio Darsadze at the helm of the national team, who resigned after an unsuccessful qualification for the 2006 World Cup cycle, in which Georgia finished second to last in their group.
G. Darsadze took over the Georgian team as interim coach, replacing the Frenchman Alain Giresse who was fired in July.
"My main goal is to secure a spot in the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland," said K. Toppmoller. "I believe I can get more out of a team that includes players like Levan Kobiashvili from Schalke and Kakha Kaladze from Milan."
54-year-old K. Toppmoller has been unemployed since October 2004, when he was dismissed from his position as head coach of Hamburger SV.
"I am eager to work again," the German said about his time without a job. "Football is my life. It's like a drug. I can't wait to start a new challenge, which will be my first job abroad."
In 2002, the new Georgian coach was named the best German coach of the year, as he helped Bayer Leverkusen reach the final of the German Cup and the UEFA Champions League, as well as finishing second in the German championship. However, the German was fired from Bayer in the summer of 2003.
