Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 8 (ANI): Indian Super League (ISL) team NorthEast United FC on Thursday announced the appointment of Italian Vincenzo Alberto Annese as their new head coach.

Former Gokulam Kerala FC head coach Annese will succeed predecessor Marco Balbul, who left the Highlanders earlier this week, as per the Indian Super League website.

Annese is a well-known personality in Indian football, having led Gokulam Kerala FC to back-to-back Hero I-League championships in 2020 and 22. They were the first Indian club to accomplish this feat. The team also competed in the AFC Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stages. In June, he parted ways with Gokulam Kerala FC.

Annese has extensive coaching expertise, having worked in countries such as Italy, Estonia, Ghana, Indonesia, Latvia, Palestine and Kosovo. He has also coached the Armenian under-19 national and Belize national teams at the international level.

NorthEast United FC will be hoping that Annese's arrival will help them turn around their fortunes, as they currently sit at the bottom of the ISL 2022-23 rankings. The Guwahati-based team has not won in eight games and will face Chennaiyin FC on Saturday.

ATK Mohun Bagan made it three wins by a 1-0 margin in a row after a late Hugo Boumous penalty gave them three points over a 10-man Jamshedpur FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.

Mumbai City FC lead the league table with 21 points while Hyderabad FC sits second with 19 points and ATK Mohun Bagan are at third with 19 points. (ANI)