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East Bengal have confirmed Brazilian Marcos Falopa as their new head coach following a press conference at the club tent on Wednesday evening.
The 64-year-old will replace the highly successful Trevor James Morgan, who left at the end of the 2012-13 campaign. Falopa has signed a one-year contract and will be assisted by his son Americo Falopa, who will operate both as the goalkeeping coach and physical trainer.
Until Tuesday evening, 1990 Netherlands World Cupper John Van Loen and Argentinean Rodolfo Zapata had emerged as the favourites to take charge of the red-and-gold brigade but Falopa came back in the reckoning when he acknowledged the financial difficulties that the club are going through at the moment and agreed to sign the deal that East Bengal offered him.
Among the three, only Falopa had considerable coaching experience in Asia, having also been in charge of the Myanmar national team back in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, where the South-East Asian nation was beaten 1-0 by India in the semi-finals. Thus, East Bengal eventually decided to name the Brazilian as Trevor Morgan’s successor.
Falopa, who was also the assistant coach of the Brazilian masters national team between 1986 and 1988, was also reportedly recently approached by Mohun Bagan to be the technical director of their academy in Durgapur.
The FIFA instructor becomes the second Brazilian to be appointed as the head coach of East Bengal after Carlos Roberto Pereira, who was in charge in 2006-07.
