Football: Brahim Hemdani appointed as Algeria's national team coach

Former Marseille captain Brahim Hemdani was appointed Algeria's coach on Saturday by the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), following the departure of Vladimir Petkovic, state television reported.

Born in Colombes, near Paris, the 48-year-old former defensive midfielder was trained at AS Cannes, before joining Strasbourg then Marseille (2001-2005) and ending his career at Glasgow Rangers (2005-2010).

He earned two caps for Algeria during his playing career and has limited coaching experience (having led FC Marignane-Gignac to promotion to the French third division between 2022 and 2025). However, he takes the reins of the Fennecs after guiding the Algerian under-21 team to a gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, last week. This marks the first title for the Greens in 51 years.

Former national team captain Antar Yahia has been appointed assistant to Hamdani, while another former captain, Moussa Saïb, has been named general manager. Hamdani is expected to take up his duties in the coming days, notably to prepare the squad list for the upcoming training camp in September, in preparation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. Algeria will face Zambia at the Tizi Ouzou stadium on September 25, followed by Burundi four days later.

The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) terminated Petkovic's duties in early August, despite a contract extension that was supposed to keep him in his position until 2028. Under the Swiss coach's leadership, Algeria qualified for the World Cup in North America this summer.

The Fennecs were eliminated in the round of 32 by Switzerland (2-0). Algeria had also disappointed at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in January, exiting the competition in the quarter-finals after a 2-0 defeat against Nigeria.

AFP