Italian Maldera appointed Ukraine coach

May 18 (Reuters) - Italian Andrea Maldera has been appointed Ukraine's head coach, Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) ​President Andriy Shevchenko said on Monday. The ‌55-year-old will be the first foreign coach of Ukraine's national team following Serhiy Rebrov's exit ​in April after their failure to ​qualify for the World Cup. "Andrea Maldera is ⁠an Italian with a Ukrainian soul. ​He worked with our national team for ​five years. And after that he continued to progress, working in top teams," Shevchenko told reporters. "Andrea has ​a background of working with great ​coaches, clubs, and achieved results. "It is important that ‌Maldera ⁠now has ambitions as a head coach. The most important thing is that he understands how to work with the national ​team." Maldera served ​as ⁠a technical coach until 2021 under Shevchenko during his tenure as ​manager of the Ukraine team. After ​ending ⁠his contract with the UAF, he also worked with Roberto De Zerbi as an ⁠assistant ​at Brighton & Hove Albion and ​at Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab