Gokulam Kerala FC has appointed Belize national team coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese as their new manager for the upcoming I-League season.
The 35-year-old coach has immense experience in coaching clubs from Italy, Ghana, Indonesia, Latvia, and Palestine. He has also coached the Armenian under-19 national team.
“I am delighted to be part of the KFC family. My aim is to make the fans happy and make them dream big. I have already seen how GKFC has played last season and I believe the squad can achieve a lot,” said Annese in a statement.
Annese also had a five-year stint as a professional football player. He started his career at then Serie A club Venezia FC and has played in three other Italian clubs. In 2010, Annese had his first job as a manager at Italy Serie C (third division) club AS Andria Bat Young.
After a three-year coaching period at the club, he moved to Latvian First Division club Saldus FK in 2014. Later he joined Estonia Premier League club Paide L. FK as an assistant coach.
“The coach brings considerable international experience to the club. He is young and has already accomplished several achievements. He is the most experienced coach we had so far. We believe that he would be able to bring more trophies and glory to Kerala,” said Gokulam Gopalan, chairman of Gokulam Kerala FC.
During the 2015 season, he managed Armenia Under-19 national team before moving to Ghana Premier League club Bechem United FC. At Bechem United, he helped the club qualify for the Confederation of African Football club competition for the first time.
After gaining considerable experience in Africa he moved to Palestine, where he coached Al Ahli club and helped them to finish runners up in West Bank Super Cup. The club was also runners-up in the Palestine Premier League that year.
He had a brief stint at Indonesian club PSIS Semarang and Kosova Premier League club Liria KF before managing Belize national team last season. He has also experience working as a mentor coach in China.
