IFTWC can exclusively confirm that Chennaiyin FC has appointed Božidar Bandović as their new coach.
Chennaiyin FC suffered a forgettable 2020-21 season as they finished 11 points off the top 4. Csaba Laszlo endured a demanding spell with the two-time champions which ultimately culminated in the Hungarian leaving the club. With Božidar at the helm, CFC would hope to get back to its golden days in the ISL.
Božidar is from Montenegro and has played as a professional footballer from 1986-2002. He kicked off his coaching career by becoming the assistant coach of Greek club Akratitos FC. He also donned the role of an assistant coach with another Greek club, Kerkyra, before moving on to become the assistant coach of Olympiacos in 2008.
Božidar remained with Olympiacos until 2010 donning multiple roles during his tenure. He worked as the head of analysis and the scouting division in Olympiacos. He was the assistant coach to Jose Segura from January 2008 – June 2008 where Olympiacos won the Greek cup and the championship. Following his success as an assistant manager, Božidar was appointed as the interim manager of Olympiacos in September 2009 following the departure of Temur Ketsbaia. He had a good run with Olympiacos managing them in three matches including a Champions league game against AZ Alkmaar, before paving way for Zico as head coach of Olympiacos.
Božidar had a second tenure as head coach of Olympiacos when he was handed over the reins from Zico in January 2010. He was rehired by Kerkyra FC where he remained manager for one year. He then had a brief stint with AEL 1964 before moving to Azerbaijan to manage Baku FC in 2012-13 season. Božidar then moved to Thailand with Buriram United in 2014 where he propelled his side to an impressive 3rd place finish.
He remained with Thailand for the next 6 years where he managed BEC Tero Sasana and Sisaket. He has been the manager of Buriram United since 2017, winning significant honors for his team, which included consecutive Thai premier league titles during his tenure. Božidar was also named the coach of the year of the Thai Premier league in 2018.
Chennaiyin FC is looking for a significant overhaul this season, with Rafael Crivellaro the only foreign player to be retained as of now. Chennaiyin has already signed goalkeeper Debjit Majumder and defender Salam Ranjan Singh. With his vast array of experience both in Europe and in Asia, Božidar will bring in something different on to the table. CFC fans would hope that Božidar can quickly adapt to Indian football and turn around CFC’s fortunes in the upcoming ISL.
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