Former Indian national team coach Bob Houghton is one of the front-runners to take over the charges of the Icelandic national team. Reports by Icelandic media indicate that Houghton might replace current coach Ólafur Jóhannesson, who will leave after the conclusion of the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers in October.
Jóhannesson was named as the Icelandic national coach in December 2007 and football fans in the country were hoping that the new coach would give their team a boost. But the team failed to perform under Jóhannesson and dropped from a promising 69th rank in the FIFA World Rankings to a miserable 124th.
Bob Houghton has been strongly linked with the vacant position in the recent days along with Roy Keane, Lars Lagerbäck, Steve Coppell, Lars Olsen, Guðjón Þórðarson, Eyjólfur Sverrisson and Teitur Þórðarson. Bob is considered as one of the front-runner by football experts in Iceland, as the former India boss would bring a wealth of footballing knowledge and experience to the Icelandic set-up.
Bob had resigned as the coach of the Indian national team in April.
The Football Association of Iceland (KSÍ) is expected to take a decision by the end of September, but it is learnt that an official statement might be made after the final UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier only.