Exclusive- FC Pune City set to appoint Iceland's Helgi Kolviðsson as new head coach

The tactician was the assistant coach of the national team at the FIFA World Cup.

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Pune City are set to appoint Iceland's Helgi Kolviðsson as the club's new head coach for the upcoming season, Khel Now understands. Kolviðsson is currently the assistant coach of the Iceland national team. If the Maharashtra club manages to get him, it will be something of a coup as the tactician recemtly particated at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The 46-year old former defender has a pretty impressive resume, with tenures in places like Austria and Germany. His playing career is also pretty decent, with his time with 1. FSV Mainz 05 standing out. He appeared 61 times for the Bundesliga outfit from 1998-2000.

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He started his playing career with IK in 1988, but the club closed down in 1991 due to financial problems. Along with his teammates, he joined his town's handball side HK, where he played for sometime, before shifting abroad. He is also one of his country's few international players to have played in Iceland's lower leagues, but never in the top division.

After his time at SV Reid, he joined the Iceland national team as second-in-command to manager Heimir Hallgrímsson in 2016. His arrival to the national team's setup came after its heroic performances at UEFA Euro 2016 - where the Nordic nation lost to eventual runners-up France in the quarterfinals.

Under Hallgrímsson and Kolviðsson, the European nation qualified for their first-ever FIFA World Cup in Russia. They finished on top of Group I in European Qualifying, winning seven matches, drawing one, and losing two. During the tournament, the European nation drew their opening game against Argentina, lost to Nigeria, and lost to Croatia - thereby getting knocked out after the group stage.

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The club had initially appointed Brazilian Marcos Paqueta to take over ahead of the upcoming ISL season, replacing Ranko Popovic, but he terminated his contract weeks later, after receiving an offer from Botafogo back home for the managerial role.

Subsequent to that, according to a report by the Daily Record, Heart of Midlothian assistant coach Austin MacPhee and former Rangers manager Paul Le Guen had been shortlisted by the Pune club. Although the Northern Ireland assistant coach has rejected the offer, there was no further news regarding Le Guen.