Former Bournemouth and Fulham boss Scott Parker will be managing in the Champions League this season having been surprisingly appointed as the new head coach of Belgian giants Club Brugge.
The ex-midfielder was sacked by the Cherries earlier this season in the aftermath of a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield. He has been out of the game since August and after being linked to a series of vacancies, has finally found a new position.
Belgian side Club Brugge confirmed on Saturday evening that they have appointed the former England international as Carl Hoefkens’ replacement - the previous boss being sacked earlier this week following a down-turn in domestic form. Parker’s first outing as Brugge boss is likely to come next weekend with a trip to face league leaders Genk.
The reigning Belgian champions already sit 12 points behind in fourth after just 18 matches of the campaign. Whilst Parker will be aiming to better his new side’s fortunes domestically, he will also get the chance to manage in the Champions League this season.
After progressing from a group that included Porto, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, they were drawn to face Portuguese giants Benfica in the last-16. Should they progress, that will likely rank highly among Parker’s career achievements having previously led former club Bournemouth to promotion from the Championship.
Speaking back in November, the former midfielder suggested that he was waiting for the right opportunity to get back into the game. As quoted by BT Sport, he said: “I have been out now for some months, spent some time with the family and probably not took a lot of football in.
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“I'm excited about today, as always you come to these stadiums, get the buzz of it and the blood starts flowing again. I was 20 years as a player and three years going into the management straight away, with a couple of promotions and a bit of success but it's been right in the heat of it.
“So it's time to take a little bit of stock. I'm enjoying my time, a lot of things that I probably have not been able to do due to pure routine and certainly when you go from a player when you're more flexible to being a manager these last three years, has been pretty hectic really.
“The little bits with the kids, where you can go and watch them play football, I'm enjoying. Learning still, and this is part of it now.
“But of course, it's what I have always known really since and it's in our blood. No doubt when the time is right and the right opportunity comes up, I would want to get back into it.”
Before his coaching career. Parker enjoyed a hugely successful career having represented Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham and more. He will be formally unveiled as Brugge boss next week, as per the club's official website.
