February 21 – Croatia’s Dragan Talajic (pictured) has been appointed the new manager of Bahrain, the country’s football association confirmed on Tuesday.
He succeeds the Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi, who departed following the recent Asian Cup by mutual consent.
Talajic steps up from his role as technical director with the federation to become the new head coach. He has managed a series of clubs in the Middle East, including Al Wehdat, Kuwait Sc and Al Ittihad. At the Asian Cup, Bahrain reached the last 16 after topping Group E ahead of South Korea, but they exited the tournament at the first hurdle in the knockout stages losing to Japan 3-1.
In a statement, the Bahraini FA said: “The appointment of Croatian coach Dragan to head the technical management of the first national team comes based on the recommendation issued by the National Teams Committee, which was approved by the Board of Directors, headed by the President of the of the Federation and Chairman of the National Teams Committee, His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.”
The technical backroom staff is still to be appointed.
In March, the Bahraini return to action in the World Cup qualifiers with a doubleheader against Nepal. They sit in second, three points behind leaders the United Arab Emirates. The top two teams qualify for the third round.
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