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Omonia wasted no time in hiring Yannick Ferrera

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Omonia Nicosia was quick to replace former Celtic boss Neil Lennon who was axed this week, after just seven months in charge, with Belgian coach Yannick Ferrera.

On Friday, Omonia announced the hiring of the 42-year-old Belgian coach with a contract until the summer of 2024.

“We welcome Mr Yannick Ferrera to the OMONIA family and wish him every success.”

After a short stint as a football player, Ferrera pursued a coaching career.

In 2004, he was appointed head coach of the Anderlecht youth team, which included Belgian internationals Romelu Lukaku and Adnan Januzaj.

In 2010, he joined the technical staff of KAA Gent, serving under manager Michel Preud’homme, whom Ferrera later followed to Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab.

In 2012, Ferrera landed his first job as a manager at Belgian topflight side Charleroi FC.

In September 2015, Ferrera was appointed manager at Standard Liège.

Despite winning the domestic cup that season, he was sacked early into the 2016–17 season due to disputes with the board of directors.

Aleksandar Janković replaced Ferrera. In a twist of fate, Janković’s former club, Mechelen, decided to hire Ferrera for two seasons.

On 14 October 2019, Ferrera was appointed as the new manager of the Saudi Professional League outfit Al-Fateh. He left the club by mutual consent on 9 January 2022.

Neil Lennon was dismissed in a surprise move, sending shockwaves to the UK, where he is highly esteemed.

Omonia Nicosia – serial title winners — said they had agreed to part ways with the Northern Irelander, citing poor performances in the domestic league.

Lennon, 51, stepped into the Omonia job in March, his first time managing a club outside the UK and his first job after departing Celtic in 2021.

He had signed a deal that would have seen him end the 2023-24 season.

Lennon rekindled spirits in the dressing room and led the team to last season’s FA Cup victory.

This season he navigated Omonia to the Europa League group stage, where they narrowly lost home and away to Premier League giants Manchester United.