APR to name new coach next week

APR FC will name the new head coach next week, club chairman, Brig. Gen. Alex Kagame has confirmed.

Monday, March 17, 2008

APR FC will name the new head coach next week, club chairman, Brig. Gen. Alex Kagame has confirmed.

"There is no need to make rush decisions. We want to take our time in studying every applicant’s profile before coming up with who we think is the best for the job,” Kagame told Times Sport by telephone yesterday.

According to reliable sources within the club inner circle, over 20 foreign coaches have tendered applied for the job, which fell vacant following Andy Mfutila sacking nine days ago.

As it has become a characteristic of APR managers to conceal vital information when it is needed, the identities of the 20 applicants have remained a mystery, at least up to this point.

However, one name, Times Sport has managed to establish is among the 20, is that of the current Eritrea national team coach Rene Feller.

Although APR have remained tight-lipped about Feller’s presence in the country, the Dutch coach has been seen in Kigali for the last one week.

The Dutch, who at least until last week was still the Eritrean national team head coach, is reported to have held initial talks with the military side officials who have searching for Mfutila’s replacement.

The ex-Dutch international guided Eritrea to the quarter-final stage where they lost 1-2 to Burundi during last year’s Cecafa Cup championship which was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mfutila was booted out of the club after just one year in charge, a time in which he steered the club to an unprecedented quadruple that included the national league, Cecafa/Kagame Cup, Amahoro Cup as well as Lotto Cup.

The DR Congo born trainer also helped APR reach the second round of last year’s CAF Champions League before being eliminated by Togolese side Maranatha de Fiokopo.
By the time he was sacked, APR had just been eliminated from this year’s competition at the first round hurdle by of Egyptian side El Zamalek, 4-2 on goals aggregate.
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