Anelka named Mumbai City player-manager
By Nicholas McGee
Jul 3, 2015 12:00:35
The Frenchman will take over the additional responsibility of manager for the ISL after they decided not to renew the services of Peter Reid
Nicolas Anelka has been appointed player-manager of Indian Super League side Mumbai City.
Anelka was retained by Mumbai in June after making seven appearances for the club in the inaugural Super League season, and the former Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea player has now been given the manager's job after the exit of Peter Reid.
The Frenchman's only previous coaching experience came at Shanghai Shenhua, where he spent a brief stint as player-coach in 2012.
Mumbai City co-owner Ranbir Kapoor said: “I'm thrilled to have Nicolas as our marquee player-manager. Last year he impressed us all with his tactical knowledge and excellent motivational skills. It's a role both parties have been discussing for a couple of months and it's been a great start. We will provide Nicolas all the support required to try to win the league this year.”
Anelka expressed his excitement at the development and hopes that his side can better their performance from last season when they finished seventh in the ISL table.
“I would like to say thank you to the Mumbai City staff for giving me the opportunity to coach the club. We are all very excited to start this new season. I'm personally very eager to take on this new role for the club and put a strong competitive team on the pitch! See you very soon," said Anelka.
Anelka's first game in charge comes on October 5 as Mumbai host Pune City in their season opener.
