HomeFootballValerien Ismael Named Watford Head Coach

Valerien Ismael Named Watford Head Coach

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Watford have appointed Valerien Ismael as their new head coach, replacing Chris Wilder who was appointed in March on a short-term deal through to the end of the season. The Hornets finished 11th in the Championship, six points adrift of the play-off places. Ismael was most recently with Turkish club Besiktas, having been appointed by them just a month after being sacked by West Brom in February 2022. Watford’s technical director Ben Manga said that “being able to appoint a new coach so soon in May means we can prepare very well together for next season” and that “to be able to welcome someone of Valerien’s experience to Watford is good news for our club. We are all looking forward to working with him.” Ismael had agreed a four-year contract when he took over at West Brom following their relegation from the Premier League in 2021 and won four of his first five games in charge, but only eight of the next 24. His approach had proved successful at Barnsley, where he was appointed in the autumn of 2020 and led them to the second-tier play-offs before losing on aggregate to Swansea City. Ismael is Watford’s 10th head coach since 2018 and seventh since the end of the 2020-21 season. He is a former defender who played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace in 1997-98 and his coaching career has also included spells at clubs in Germany, Greece and Austria. Since Sean Dyche left Vicarage Road in 2012, Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia, Billy McKinlay, Slavisa Jokanovic, Quique Sanchez Flores, Walter Mazzarri, Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson, Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Wilder have all had spells in charge.

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