Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Odisha FC have signed Stuart Baxter as their head coach ahead of the 2020-21 season.
The 66-year-old will be the club's sixth coach in seven seasons as the English-born Scot is set to take over from Josep Gombau who led the club over the last two seasons at Delhi Dynamos and later Odisha FC.
On joining the club, the experienced coach said, "I'm pleased to say that Odisha FC and I have reached an agreement for the upcoming ISL season. The vision of the Sharma family for the club representing the sporting state of Odisha is an exciting one with development, teamwork and cooperation with our stakeholders serving as cornerstones for the task ahead.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of Indian football and the opportunity to develop players and coaches in India. I'd like to wish all the supporters, players and staff good health during these testing times. Together we will bring joy and success to the region."
Baxter's had two stints with the South African national team including his last assignment when he famously defeated Mohammed Salah's Egypt in the 2019 African Cup of Nations to make it into the quarter-finals. His previous stint with the Bafana Bafana was preceded by him leading the England U-19 team between 2002 and 2004.
Goal
In his overall coaching career, Baxter has managed 455 games in all competitions, won 220, drew 75 and lost 160 times in his time in Europe, Africa and Asia. He won two Premier Soccer League titles with South African outfit Kaizer Chiefs besides winning the MTN8 Cup once and the Nedbank Cup thrice including twice with SuperSport United.
He had a fair amount of success in Sweden as well where he led AIK into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League after winning the Swedish championship with them and a Swedish Cup each with AIK and Helsingborgs IF.
Delhi Dynamos/Odisha FC's best performance so far is making it to the play-offs twice, in 2015 and 2016, under former managers Roberto Carlos and Gianluca Zambrotta respectively.
