Claude Le Roy

MUSCAT: Veteran French coach Claude Le Roy was on Tuesday named as the new boss of the Oman national team, the Omani news agency reported.

Le Roy, 60, who led Ghana to third place at the African Nations Cup this year, replaces caretaker coach local Hamad Al Azzani after Oman's failure to reach the final Asian round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After leading Ghana to the 14th position in the FIFA World Ranking in February, their highest ever, Le Roy turned down a new deal in May.

The Frenchman, who has had most of his career glories in Africa with the likes of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana, is no stranger to the Asian scene after having done a short stint with the UAE’s Al Shabab in 1985 before taking over the reins of the Malaysian national team from 1992-95.

Oman’s next serious tournament is the Gulf Cup in early 2009 which they are hosting but have not won till date.