SEVILLA, Spain (AP) — Manolo Jimenez was named Sevilla’s new coach on Saturday following the departure of Juande Ramos.
Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido presented Jimenez to the players before the former Spain defender guided his first training session Saturday morning, after Ramos quit Friday night to make himself available for the vacant job at Tottenham.
"Today is a very special day," Jimenez said. "Sevilla has an extraordinary team which has been phenomenally coached until yesterday and I hope I can lead it the same way."
Jimenez leads Sevilla with 354 playing appearances over 14 years, and spent the last seven years coaching the club’s second-division side. Terms of the 43-year-old’s deal were not announced.
"We’ll approach these days with the same normality," Jimenez said. "We can’t improvise or change anything radically. We have to continue with the current dynamic which is working."
Jimenez played 15 times for Spain, including at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He will make his debut on Sunday when Sevilla hosts second-place Valencia.
Ramos led Sevilla to consecutive UEFA Cup titles and its first Champions League appearance.