Exit Kenichi,enter Sergio?
Portuguese-born tactician, Daniel Sergio Moniz Traguil, is set to take over the technical reins of Accra Hearts of Oak following the sudden departure of Japanese-born American, Kenichi Yatsuhashi, a maverick who revived the flagging fortunes of the club.
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Coach Traguil was yesterday locked up in a meeting with Hearts management which sources indicated would end with him taking charge of the technical bench.
When the Graphic Sports reached him, he was not ready for an interview and only stated, “I’m currently at the club secretariat. Let’s talk later”.
But in a tweet later, the Portuguese sent his best wishes to the Japanese trainer: “I wish Kenichi the best of luck for his future. I’m sure soon we will see him again in the Ghana Premier League”.
But long before he assumed duty, Traguil was linked to the Hearts top job due to the frosty working relations between Yatsuhashi and the top hierarchy of the club, which was occasionally characterised by confrontations at meetings.
The speculations were fuelled by the revelations that while the Japanese coach’s enhanced salary as the technical head of Hearts was pegged at $2,000, Traguil was to receive $3,500 as coach of the club’s youth side, Auroras.
But just days after taking up his new job, Yatsuhashi and Hearts parted ways by “mutual termination”, which according to a director of the club, Frank Nelson Nwokolo, had nothing to do with the arrival of the Portuguese trainer.
“Traguil’s job is specified in the contract he signed with Hearts and will be in charge of our youth side,” Mr Nwokolo stressed.
Coach Traguil is widely associated with youth development, having worked with some top academies in Europe particularly, Benfica in Portugal.
He holds a UEFA Pro Licence and has also handled clubs such as Estrela SC, Athletic Club, Nigerian side Kaduna United, among others.