Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o is Antalyaspor joint-manager
Thursday 17 December 2015 13:30, UK
Samuel Eto'o has taken his first step into management after being appointed joint-manager of Turkish top-flight side Antalyaspor.
The former Barcelona striker, who joined the Mediterranean side this season, will remain as player and captain while co-managing alongside technical director Mehmet Ugurlu, the club said.
The move comes after the exit of former boss Yusuf Simsek, who lasted only half a season at the newly-promoted club, with the current mid-table position not sufficient to satisfy the team's ambitions.
On Tuesday night Eto'o oversaw his first game in charge, a 2-1 Turkish Cup victory against Giresunspor, with pictures showing him gesticulating wildly from the touchline.
"I thank my team-mates for the fight they showed. What goes on in the dressing room stays there. I can't give details but the players are fulfilling my philosophy," he said quoted by the Turkish press Thursday.
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Hasan Ali Ceylan, the vice president of Antalyaspor, said that Eto'o and Ugurlu would remain in charge for the next matches up to the New Year break "when the new coach will be determined".
"The board believes both in Mehmet Ugurlu and captain Eto'o. We want to continue with attacking football in the upcoming matches," he said.
With Antalyaspor ninth in the Super Lig, Eto'o will be in charge for critical league clashes with Trabzonspor on Saturday and Gaziantepspor on December 26 before the three-week winter break.
It is unclear if Eto'o will have a role in the new coaching set-up, with Ceylan saying the club wants to have a Turkish figure appointed.
Turkey is the latest stop in Eto'o's eclectic career which has seen him perform for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Sampdoria.
He also played between 2011-2013 for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in the Caucasus region of Dagestan before the owner pulled the plug on its ambitions.
