19 times Belgium league champions Club Brugge have clarified the role of former Nigeria international forward Joseph Akpala who has joined the club as part of their coaching crew, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
In confirming our reports on his employment, the coach said the 38 year old will work as the Player Development Coach within the technical setup, with a focus on the individual development of players expected to be a part of the first team in the nearest future A-core.
He will also be a part of the first team crew of Head Coach Nicky Hayen, Game Preparation Coach Hayk Milkon, Physical Coach Eddie Rob and Goalkeeper coach Wouter Biebauw.
Capped 9 times by Nigeria at senior level during his playing days, the 38 year old was picked by the his former club as a replacement for Michiel Jonckheere who took over as the head coach of fellow top division League side KV Kortrijk.
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Akpala was on the books of Club Brugge from 2008-2012 and distinguished himself as their top marksman with 39 goals from 105 games before leaving for the German Bundesliga, where he played for Werder Bremen.
He will resume in his role in pre season, and it will be the second time in his short managerial career that he will be playing the role of assistant coach as he occupied the same role at Kortrijk under various coaches.
Below is the list of coaches he assisted at his previous club.
Assistant Manager of: Freyr Alexandersson (38 Games), Bernd Storck (29 Games), Adnan Custovic (10 Games), Glen De Boeck (9 Games), Yves Vanderhaeghe (8 Games), Edward Still (8 Games).
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
