Football news: Gerard Houllier and Roberto Donadoni linked with Aston Villa job
The vacant manger position at Aston Villa has been attracting attention from all corners, many big names have been thrown in the hat but no one has been given the job yet. Previously, the USA coach Bob Bradley was believed to be favoured due to the American connection with the club owner Randy Lerner who is also an American. Since Bradley has extended his contract with USA football team, speculations of him holding the throne have died. Mark Hughes was also a candidate but he went to Fulham and just last week former Charlton and West Ham boss Alan Curbishley was also in the picture for holding the position.
Now there is one more man who is fast emerging as one of the favourites to take the manager’s job at Aston Villa. Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier who left Reds in 2004 is believed to be close to sealing the deal.
Houllier parted ways with the Reds 6 years ago and made his way to Lyon. He won 3 French League titles with them, and later in 2007 became the technical director at the French Football Federation.
He is believed to have met Aston Villa management and also had an interview with the club owner Randy Lerner. It is reported that the club is quite impressed by Houllier and he might be the man for the job.
If Aston Villa owner is actually convinced that Houllier is the man to manager his club, then the deal is expected to be finalised next week. Villa plays their next match against Stoke City on September 13th.
Gerard Houllier had a decent spell with Liverpool. He managed to guide the team to a treble in 2001, which included UEFA cup, FA cup and the Carling cup.
Aston Villa strongly believes that he has the credential to keep the club moving in the right direction. Club management has repeatedly said that they want a man who can at least keep the club in top 6, and also fight for a top 4 finish this season.
Gerard Houllier did not manage to win Premier League with Liverpool, but in his job before joining the Reds, Houllier won the French league with Paris st Germaine. He spent more than 10 years at the French club and developed it into a league-winning club.
Meanwhile Roberto Donadoni, the former Italian coach is also believed to be in the race for the Manager’s job at Aston Villa. His UK representative has stated that Donadoni applied for the currently vacant position.
The Italian is said to be quite keen on getting the job and to try his luck in English football. The former coach of Italy’s national team, who took Italy to the quarter finals in 2008 European championships, has been out of work. He left Italian club Napoli last October and has been looking to a new club since then.
For now, Aston Villa have an open door to interview candidates to appoint a manager, and a large number of high-profile names are being considered.
Donadoni’s UK Representative Charles Collymore confirmed that the former AC Milan player is looking forward to entering English Premier League, and believes that a club like Aston Villa may be the perfect place for him to start.
Collymore said that Donadoni has been a great admirer of the English game and has wanted to apply his trade here. He added that Roberto knows that Aston Villa is a club on its way up, and he would love to take them to the top 4 place and compete in the champions’ league next season.
The final decision for the post at Aston Villa maybe taken next week, without any certainty as to who would be the final choice.
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