Sport
Italian appointed as head coach of Afghanistan national football team
The 40-year-old Italian replaces Uzbek coach Usman Toshev, who resigned following a series of poor results.
The Afghanistan Football Federation has announced the appointment of Vincenzo Alberto from Italy as the new head coach of the country’s national football team.
The federation made the announcement on Tuesday, April 26, confirming that Vincenzo Alberto will take charge of the team starting with the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, where Afghanistan will face Syria on June 10.
The 40-year-old Italian replaces Uzbek coach Usman Toshev, who resigned following a series of poor results.
Vincenzo Alberto began his coaching career in 2010 in Italy’s third division and moved to Armenia in the 2015–2016 season to become the technical coach of the national U-19 team. Since then, he has coached several teams in different countries, though without notable success.
In 2020, he joined India’s top-tier football league as the head coach of Gokulam Kerala FC, where he won the league championship twice.
Several Afghan national players, including Islamuddin Amiri, Farshad Noor, and Sharif Mohammadi, have previously played under Vincenzo Alberto at Gokulam Kerala.
In 2023, he became the head coach of the Nepal national football team, where he recorded three wins, three draws, and four losses in international matches.