KATHMANDU, March 14: The Nepal men’s national football team has appointed Guglielmo Arena as its new head coach. The decision was announced on Thursday by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). Arena will lead the national team for the next one year.
Born in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1973, the 52-year-old coach is an Italian citizen, although he was born and raised in Switzerland. He did not play for the national teams of either Switzerland or Italy, meaning he was not an international player, but he was involved in club football during his playing career.
After retiring from playing, Arena turned to coaching and has been active in the field since 2003. He holds a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching certification in European football.
Maharjan announced acting head coach of nat’l football team
Over the years, Arena has coached in several countries including Singapore, Morocco, Laos, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Among his notable roles, he served as head coach of the Laos U-23 men’s team as well as the Laos national football team.
Before managing national teams, Arena worked with various clubs across Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Despite having limited achievements as a player, his coaching career has been comparatively successful.
While in Laos, Arena gained experience in regional tournaments and international competitions, and he also worked on promoting young players into the senior national squad.
One of his notable club achievements came in 2018–19, when he helped Moroccan club RC Oued Zem earn promotion to the country’s top division. He also guided Étoile FC to win the Singapore Premier League title.
Since beginning his coaching career in 2003, Laos has been the only national team he has previously managed.
With Nepal, Arena’s primary goals will be to improve the country’s FIFA ranking, win the SAFF Championship, and qualify Nepal for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
