Northeast United are in talks with Israeli coach Marco Balbul to take charge for the upcoming season, IFTWC can confirm.
Talks were held with Vincenzo Annese, the former head coach of Gokulam Kerala, but nothing more came of them.
Marco Balbul began his coaching career at Maccabi Haifa in 2005 as an assistant manager before receiving his first senior team role at Hapoel Beer Sheva. He later continued his career at Israeli clubs Bnei Sakhnin, Petah Tikva, and Maccabi Haifa. Balbul’s only stint outside Israel was when he worked as Partizan’s assistant manager in Serbia.
Balbul has also been associated with the Israeli National Team; serving as the manager of the U21 side between 2018 and 2020. He led the Israeli U21 team in seventeen games, winning seven and losing four matches in the Euro U21 Qualifiers.
His most recent position was also at the Israel team as an assistant manager, which he left in February of this year. He was appointed as the interim manager after Willi Ruttensteiner left the national team, but was sacked soon after over differences in selection of players for the national team with the General Manager of Israel’s football federation.
In the 160 games he managed in the Israeli First Division, the 54-year-old has recorded 74 victories and 44 defeats. He managed Maccabi Haifa and Bnei Sakhnin for three seasons apiece, which were his longest spells. He served multiple times for both clubs.
Under Khalid Jamil’s leadership, Northeast United finished tenth in the league last season, one spot shy of the wooden spoon. Since parting ways with The Highlanders, Jamil has been hired as FC Bengaluru United’s new head coach. While Northeast has been less active in the transfer market compared to other teams so far, it is anticipated that once the new coach is hired, their activities will gain more momentum.
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