Czech national team manager Pavel Vrba has quit the job and signed a contract with Anzhi Makhachkala, the Czech Football Association and the Russian Premier League club said yesterday.

The Czech team suffered two defeats and drew once at the group stage of the Euro 2016 before being eliminated from the tournament.

The result was a big disappointment for the Czech fans who had hoped for much more after the team won their qualification group which included last World Cup bronze medal winners, the Netherlands.

Vrba, 52, joined the national side in January 2014. He had successfully managed top Czech league team Viktoria Plzen, winning two titles and bringing the club twice to the group stage of the Champions League.

The Czech takes over from Ruslan Agalarov, who resigned from his position last month. Anzhi, which narrowly avoided relegation from the Russian top flight in the last season, did not say how long Vrba’s contract was.

At Anzhi, Vrba will have former Malta coach Dusan Fitzel as his right-hand man.

Fitzel has also relinquished his post as technical director of the Czech FA to take up a new job as a key member of Vrba’s coaching staff.

The move represents a return to coaching for Fitzel who enjoyed a positive spell in charge of Malta between 2006 and 2009.

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