Malaga confirm Javi Gracia as first team coach

Madrid, May 30 (IANS) Spanish Primera Liga outfit Malaga Friday confirmed former Osasuna coach Javi Gracia as the successor to Bernd Schuster as first team coach.

Gracia has agreed a two-season contract with the club, which ended this season in mid-table after flirting with the bottom three for much of the campaign, reports Xinhua.

Gracia, who was at the helm of Osasuna for much of this season but was unable to save the Pamplona based outfit from relegation. 

Nevertheless he gained recognition for having done a good job with a limited squad and arriving after a poor start to the season in which Osasuna had lost their first three matches.

He had previously led Almeria to promotion to the Primera Liga and had a short spell coaching in Greece.

His appointment appears to have put an end to a hectic fortnight following the end of the Spanish season in which several clubs have changed coaches. 

Gracia's predecessor at Osasuna; Jose Luis Mendilibar, was named as the new coach of Levante Thursday, while former Levante coach, Joaquin Caparros was confirmed as the coach of Granada 24 hours earlier.

Meanwhile, the biggest appointment of the summer saw Luis Enrique abandon Celta Vigo to take over FC Barcelona after the club decided to part ways with Gerardo 'Tata' Martino with Celta appointing Eduardo Berizzo as Luis Enrique's replacement.