TIRANA, Dec. 14 – The Albanian football federation declared on Wednesday that it had hired Giovanni De Biasi as the new national team coach.
The 55-year-old Italian replaces Croatian coach Josip Kuze, who left in October after poor results in the European Championship qualifiers.
Under Kuze, Albania finished next-to-last in Group D with nine points after only two victories in 10 matches.
De Biasi was hired after an Albanian football federation agent met a number of Italian and also Slovenian candidates for the post. Federation head Armand Duka also went to nearby Italy during the last days to meet them all personally.
Albania will play Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Cyprus and Iceland in its qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup.
De Biasi’s previous coaching jobs include stints with Italian clubs Modena, Brescia, Torino and Udinese.
He has signed a two-year contract with Albania. No more details were given other than that his contract ends in November 2013.
On Monday he will come to Tirana to introduce himself and meet with the football authorities.
Albania hires Italian Giovanni de Biasi as new coach for national team
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