All Nepal Football Association named Italian manager Vincenzo Alberto Annese as the head coach of the Nepal national men’s football team on Wednesday.

ANFA had received a total of 168 applications for the head coach position. The Recruitment Committee had shortlisted 20 applicants.

“The fourth executive committee meeting of the ANFA decided to appoint UEFA Pro License certificate Annese to the hot seat,” ANFA said in its website.

“Annese has signed a one-year deal with Nepal,” ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang told the Post.

Nambang added that Annese has been appointed as head coach with focus on the SAFF Championship 2023, which will be held in India in June-July this year.

The 38-year-old will replace Abdullah Almutairi, who left the Nepal job following a controversial one-and-a-half year stint with the national side.

Nepal had remained without a coach since Almutairi decided to stay in his home country Kuwait following an embarrassing campaign at the AFC Asian Cup Group ‘A’ Qualifiers in June last year. The Kuwaiti formally announced his resignation in September.

Since then Nepal played two international friendly football matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan under caretaker managers Pradip Humagain and Prabesh Katuwal.

Humagain led Nepal to a 3-1 victory against Bangladesh in September last year. Nepal beat Pakistan 1-0 under Katuwal two months later.

Annese, a former midfielder of Serie B side Venezia, has managed teams in Latvia, Ghana, West Bank, Indonesia, Belize, Kosovo and India. The Italian led Ghanaian Premier League club Bechem United to the Ghana Super Cup final in 2017. He also led West Bank Premier League side Ahli Al-Khaleel to the finals of 2016-17 Palestine Cup and 2017 West Bank Super Cup.

A former coach of Belize national football team, Annese is best remembered for his two-year stint with I-League club Gokulam Kerala. Under Annese, Kerala became the first club to win consecutive titles in the I-League history in the 2021-22 season. He also guided Kerala to the record longest unbeaten streak of 21 games.