ISL 2020-21: Bengaluru FC appoint Marco Pezzaiuoli as new coach

Bengaluru, February 12: Former Indian Super League (ISL) champions Bengaluru FC have appointed Marco Pezzaiuoli as their new head coach on a three-year contract.

The German-born Italian, replaces Spaniard Carles Cuadrat, who parted with the club midway through the ISL 2020-21 campaign.

"I'm very proud to be a part of Bengaluru FC, and excited about the challenge to bring the team back to the top. I'm always keen to gather experiences in life and football and to be able to make a difference wherever I go. I'm also keen to share my experience to help Indian football grow. I'm really looking forward to joining the team as soon as I can," Pezzaiuoli told the club website after inking deal with the Blues that runs till the end of the 2023-24 season.

“I’m very proud to be a part of Bengaluru FC, and excited about the challenge to bring the team back to the top."

The Blues have appointed experienced Italian Marco Pezzaiuoli on a three-year deal. Read more! #WeAreBFC #BenvenutoMarco 🇮🇹https://t.co/buRtDjGvSQ

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) February 12, 2021

The 52-year-old's most recent stint was with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt where he served as Technical Director.

His first assignment will be leading BFC in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup preliminary stage two game that takes place on April 14.

Interim coach Naushad Moosa is in charge of BFC's ongoing ISL campaign, where the Blues are languishing seventh in the table.

ISL 2020-21 feature: Bengaluru FC's play-off hopes on the line

Pezzaiuoli started his coaching career as the Youth Director at Karlsruher SC, while his first stint outside Germany was with Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC in South Korea, where he won the K League and K-League Cup in 2004.

He returned to Germany after and took charge of the German youth teams. With the likes of Mario Gotze, Marc Andre ter Stegen, Shkodran Mustafi and Bernd Leno, his Under-17 side won the European Championship in 2009. Along with Matthias Sammer, he put together a new football philosophy and training program for the national team ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also worked as the team analyst for Germany at Euro 2008.

Pezzaiuoli then joined Ralf Rangnick as an assistant at TSG Hoffenheim, coaching players like Robert Firmino, Gylfi Sigurdsson and David Alaba. He also acted as the interim coach of Hoffenheim and played a key role in making sure the young team staved off relegation from the Bundesliga.

His experience in Asia also includes stints with Cerezo Osaka (Japan) and Guangzhou Evergrande FC (China).

(Source: BFC Media)