German tactician Torsten Frank Spittler, on Thursday, November 2, was named as the new head coach of the Rwanda national team, Amavubi.
ALSO READ: Is Spittler the right man to save Amavubi
The 61-year-old takes over from Carlos Alos Ferrer, a Spanish coach who resigned from the post in August 2023 to take up the Belarusian national team job.
Spittler becomes the fourth German to handle Amavubi after Otto Pfister (1972 to 1976), Rudi Gutendorf (1999 to 2000) and Antoine Hey (2017 to 2018).
The former German U16 national team assistant coach is a journeyman who has held tactical positions in over ten different nations including Mozambique and Sierra Leone.
In this article, Times Sport takes a look at five things you may need to know about Spittler.
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Why he has only coached in less developed countries.
Despite being a holder of the UEFA Pro License, the highest coaching qualification in Europe, Spittler has not quite worked with top footballing countries during his career.
Splitter himself, in an interview with Zeitonline, said he has only coached in developing countries.
After working with the German Football Federation, his contract was not renewed due to financial constraints.
The Federation put him on a list of coaches available for Special Assignments abroad. That is why he ended up in countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Yemen and others.
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Biggest defeat in Spittler&039;s coaching career
As a coach of Bhutan in March 2017, his team suffered a 14-0 defeat at the hands of Oman in the Asian Cup qualifiers.
This remains the biggest defeat in his coaching career.
During the same qualifiers, his side was also subjected to a 10-0 defeat by Palestine.
ALSO READ: Who is Torsten-Frank-Spittler, the leading candidate for Amavubi job
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Best country he has coached so far is Yemen
Having worked in many developing countries in Asia and Africa, Spittler admits the most impressive country he has coached is Yemen.
He said it is a beautiful country with many things to treasure.
ALSO READ: Spittler appointed as new Amavubi head coach
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The country he would "never coach" is North Korea
In an interview with German portal Zeitonline, Spittler stressed that he can never coach a country like North Korea.
"I don't want to coach there because of the massive human rights violations," he stated in an interview with Zeintonline.
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Spittler believes in integrative nature of football
Spittler is a student of the game and believes in the integrative nature of football.
He is convinced that when two countries are enemies and the first contact is made through a football match, it usually has a good influence.