Romania great Munteanu appointed Kuban coach

FC Kuban Krasnodar have appointed former Romanian international midfielder Dorinel Munteanu as their new head coach.

The 45-year-old replaces Igor Osinkin who had been coaching the Russian Premier-Liga side on an interim basis since Leonid Kuchuk's June departure for FC Lokomotiv Moskva. Munteanu, capped a record 134 times by Romania over a 16-year period, has already worked in Russia's top flight: his most recent managerial assignment came at FC Mordovia Saransk from December 2012, though he was unable to prevent the club being relegated.

The 45-year-old began his coaching career with CFR 1907 Cluj before going on to manage FC Argeș Pitești, FC Vaslui, FC Universitatea Cluj, FC Steaua Bucureşti and FC Oţelul Galaţi, where he won the Romanian title in 2011 and participated in the UEFA Champions League. Munteanu then had a brief spell as FC Dinamo Bucureşti boss before making the switch to Saransk.

Under Kuchuk's tutelage, Kuban claimed a best-ever league finish of fifth last term to earn a place in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, where they meet Motherwell FC of Scotland in Thursday's away first leg. Munteanu's new charges have made an unbeaten opening to the 2013/14 league campaign with one win and two draws.