BRATISLAVA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Slovak national soccer team has their first foreign coach ever, Czech Pavel Hapal, Slovak Football Association's (SFZ) president Jan Kovacik confirmed on Tuesday.
The post of the Slovak A team coach was left vacant following the resignation of Jan Kozak after losing 1-2 to the Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League Group 1 of League B derby some weeks ago.
"First of all, I have to say that it's a great honor for me to lead the Slovak national team. Not everyone manages to get this post. Maybe it helped that I have worked in Slovakia for a long time and I also achieved good results with the Slovak national U21 team. I appreciate this opportunity and it is very binding for me," said the 49-year-old Hapal, who also headed the Slovak U21 team between 2015-2018.
SFZ president Kovacik said that Hapal will be offered a contract for the duration of one qualification round with an option to extend the contract if the team qualifies for the 2020 UEFA Champions League.
