Greece hand reins over to Markarián

The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) has named Sergio Markarián as the new coach of Greece on the recommendation of Giorgos Karagounis – the current director of Greek national teams, who played under the Uruguayan at Panathinaikos FC.

The 70-year-old Markarián will fill the void created by the departure of Claudio Ranieri, who left in mid-November after just four months in charge. Markarián will sign a deal until the end of Greece's UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign, with the contract to be automatically extended until July 2016 if he succeeds in steering Greece to the finals in France. His contract requires him to take up permanent residence in the country.

"Being given the responsibility of coaching the Greece national team is a great honour for me," said Markarián. "I would like to thank the federation for choosing me. We have a tough task ahead, but I believe in my ability and in the potential of Greek football. We will all do our best to achieve our aims, starting with our upcoming encounter in Hungary."

Twice coach of Paraguay (from 1992–93 and 1999–2002), Markarián – who is of Armenian extraction – occupied the Peru helm from 2010–14, with both of those national sides enjoying their highest ever FIFA rankings (eighth and 19th respectively) under his tutelage.

Markarián also understands Greece, having worked at three different Super League clubs. He first crossed the Atlantic in 1998 to manage Ionikos FC for a season, before returning in December 2001 to coach Panathinaikos. He guided the Greens to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2001/02, where they were eliminated by FC Barcelona, 3-2 on aggregate.

He departed in May that year, but was reinstated in the autumn after Fernando Santos stepped down as Panathinaikos boss. His team challenged Olympiacos FC for the league title but just missed out, also making it to the 2002/03 UEFA Cup quarter-finals where they lost to José Mourinho's FC Porto. Between 2004 and 2005 he coached Iraklis FC.

Markarián impressed in Greek football, learning the language and winning over his players, and showing great tactical awareness. His sides showed plenty of spirit and a never-say-die mentality – something which will be useful as UEFA EURO 2004 winners Greece attempt to make up for a poor start to Group F, culminating in a 1-0 home loss to the Faroe Islands. Markarián will lead Greece for the first time in their qualifier against Hungary in Budapest on 29 March.