THE Philippine Azkals have hired Spanish coach Josep Ferre Ybraz to take over the team for the upcoming campaign in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
The national squad announced the appointment on its Facebook page. He replaced Thomas Dooley, who had a second run with the Azkals during the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
[READ: Pampanga governor Delta Pineda is new Converge team manager]
Azkals team manager Dan Palami was quoted as saying that the 39-year-old Ferre “is suitable for our mostly young and dynamic squad.”
Fondly called 'Coach Coco' by the team, Ferre’s resume include stints as FC Barcelona Escola academy director and manager at Kitchee SC in Hong Kong, and Buriram United in Thailand.
He was a former head coach of Nike Japan, Ratchaburi FC and Bangkok Glass in Thailand, and FC Bayamon in Puerto Rico.
Ferre was also an assistant at Quess East Bengal in India before becoming part of the Barca Foundation of FC Barcelona.
The Azkals have been training in the Philippines for the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, formerly the Suzuki Cup. It is bracketed in Group A and will open the campaign against Cambodia on December 20 in Phnom Penh.
The Azkals will play at home on December 23 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium against Brunei, before facing defending champion Thailand on December 26 at the Thammasat Stadium in the outskirts of Bangkok.
The team returns to the Rizal stadium for a match against Indonesia on January 2.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
