Former United and England player Steve Coppell to manage Kerala Blasters
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Steve Coppell, former Manchester United and England winger, has been appointed as the manager of ISL team Kerala Blasters for the 2016 edition of the football league. This comes close after Tollywood superstars Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna joined Sachin Tendulkar as co-owners of the Kochi team.
A right winger known for his speed and work-rate, Steve Coppell appeared for the Red Devils 322 times scoring 53 goals and donned the England jersey 42 times. Coppell managed a number of clubs in his managerial career, some of which included Reading, Crystal Palace, and Manchester City. Crystal Palace had won promotion to the top division and reached the FA Cup final in 1990 under Coppell. He also helped Reading gain promotion to the top division and to their greatest-ever success in the Premier League. He was twice named League Managers’ Association ‘Manager of the Year’ when he was in charge of Reading FC.
Coppell, who is in India to interact with the management and visit the facilities said, “Indian Super League has laid a strong foundation in its last two seasons nurturing quality Indian football. Also, its unique format gives an opportunity to Indian players to play and compete against international talent, learnings that will strengthen the roots of football in India.
“I have heard a lot about the strong fan support of Kerala Blasters FC, as also Kerala’s strong legacy in Indian football. I believe in creating an environment for the players to win matches and am looking forward to working with the team and sharing my passion for the game with them,” PTI quoted him as saying.
Coppell is credited with the discovery of players like Ian Wright - a Premier League and European Cup winner with Arsenal. He had also worked as director of football for Crawley Town and Portsmouth.
Kerala Blasters had welcomed Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, film producer Allu Arvind, and industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad in early June to join Sachin Tendulkar as co-owners.
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