Toshack takes over at St Etienne turn to Toshack

The former Real Madrid coach, John Toshack, was appointed as the new manager of French first division strugglers St Etienne yesterday.

The former Real Madrid coach, John Toshack, was appointed as the new manager of French first division strugglers St Etienne yesterday.

Toshack, who was sacked amid acrimony by Real in November last year and has not worked since, has agreed a 10-month contract with Les Verts, club president Alain Bompard announced.

Toshack takes over a team that have won only two of their 10 league games this season and are marooned in the relegation zone. He succeeds Robert Nouzaret, who parted company with St Etienne last week, and Bompard said he would officially take up his post on 11 October. The club's vice-president Gerard Soler said Toshack would sign a contract on Tuesday, before taking up his duties ahead of the following Saturday's match at Sedan.

"Toshack is available immediately and that was very important for us," Soler said. "He is a charismatic coach who has been in charge of some of the biggest clubs in Europe."

Toshack has coached Swansea City, the Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, Spanish side's Real Sociedad (twice), Real Madrid (twice), and Deportivo La Coruña as well as Besiktas of Turkey. He was also manager of the Welsh national side for a month.

He won 40 caps and scored 13 goals for Wales in his playing career. At club level, he played for Liverpool, Cardiff City and Swansea, where he began his managerial career as player-manager in 1979.

Toshack was in charge of Real Madrid for six games in the first group phase of last season's Champions League, which Real went on to win. In February this year he was awarded 172 million pesetas (£724,000) after a fight in the Spanish courts with the Madrid club over compensation. He was later awarded a further 40 million pesetas in bonus money.

St Etienne preferred Toshack to the Argentinian coach Oswaldo Piazza, who is with Independiente.

"After the difficulties that Piazza encountered in trying to get a release from his contract, we met last night in London with Toshack and reached an agreement," Bompard said.

Toshack is the 23rd coach in the 80-year history of St Etienne, and becomes just the second overseas-born coach in the French first division, joining Brazilian Abel Braga, who is in charge at Marseilles.