The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) has appointed Indian origin Mariano Barreto as the new head coach of its senior national team.
The 57-year-old Portuguese national signed a two-year contract with the EFF earlier this week, which will see him earning a salary of $18,000 a month. Barreto replaces Sewnet Bishaw, who was sacked in February due to poor performances by the Ethiopian national team.
Barreto is looking forward to a tough task and he is fully aware of the expectations in Ethiopia. Talking to BBC Sport, Barreto told that his success would “depend on the level of my work”. His first target will be the qualification for the 2015 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
“I know Ethiopian players have natural talent but most of the national team players are above the age of 26 and more so we have to look for the young boys if we want to qualify for tournaments, so we’ll work to improve and change this situation,” Barreto continued in his conversation with BBC Sport.
“In all the countries I have worked I have produced top players, so I hope when I leave Ethiopia I’ll see a top player on TV and he says I helped.”
Mariano Barreto was born in Ribandar, Goa before he moved on to settle in Portugal. He started his coaching career with the national team of Ghana, before he continued to coach Portuguese club C.S. Marítimo, Al-Nasr SC (Dubai), FC Dynamo Moscow (Russia, Assistant Coach), Associação Naval 1º de Maio (Portugal), AEL Limassol (Cyprus), FC Kuban Krasnodar (Russia, Assistant Coach), C.R.D. Libolo (Angola) and Al-Qadisiyah FC (Saudi Arabia).
Ethiopia is ranked 101th in the FIFA World Ranking.