EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Ghana coach Stevanovic appointed boss of Greek side Veria

Published on: 27 August 2013
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Ghana coach Stevanovic appointed boss of Greek side Veria
Goran Stevanovic (second from the left) was the Ghana coach

Ex-Ghana trainer Goran Stevanovic has been appointed as coach of Greek top-flight side Veria and has already hit the ground running in the Super League, GHANAsoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.

The appointment is the Serbian coach's first since he was fired as the manager of the Black Stars in March last year.

Stevanovic took over the squad that struggled last season and was tasked with reviving the team to win laurels in the Greek top-flight.

He has so far excelled in the job after the first three matches in the Greek top-flight, that has left them second on the table behind giants Olympiakos.

They held Platanias to a 2-2 away draw in their opening game before defeating OFI Crete 2-0 in their home game over the weekend.

His decision to join the club could mean that he could poach some Ghanaian players to play for him at Veria.

His decision to sign for Veria also ends his exile from the game and revives his hopes of getting another post with a big club in Europe if he excels in Greece.

After plenty of delay and deliberation, the Ghanaian FA (GFA) eventually chose to dismiss the Serb with ten months left on his contract in March last year.

His downfall came after losing the 2012 Nations Cup semi-final to Zambia, the sole competitive defeat his side suffered during his reign.

Stevanovic was appointed in January 2011, pledging to win an Africa Cup of Nations during his time in charge.

During his 14-month spell, Stevanovic steered the Black Stars through an unbeaten qualification run for last year's Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

However, the failure to win the tournament - as the Black Stars finished fourth - proved his biggest undoing and the former Partizan Belgrade boss expressed his surprise over being sacked for that.

During the Serb's reign, the Black Stars secured a historic 1-1 draw against England at Wembley before narrowly losing another friendly to Brazil as the five-time world champions won 1-0.

However, last year's 1-0 defeat to Zambia in Bata proved the coach's undoing as the GFA displayed its ruthless streak after a month of meetings.

Since Stevanovic left, his then assistant Kwesi Appiah has excelled in the position steering the Black Stars to an impressive run with an overly impressive scoring record.

Appiah, a former Ghana defender, is on the verge of sending the Black Stars to their third successive World Cup.

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