Algeria football federation has appointed recently-sacked Mamelodi Sundowns Coach Henri Michel to lead the Desert Foxes in the final round of the 2010 World/Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.

According to Kickoff.com, the Frenchman has signed a two-year contract to lead the Algerian national team to the 2010 World Cup finals due in South Africa.

The Desert Foxes managed a draw in their first final stage qualifier away to Rwanda in Kigali last month, but Michel’s next task will be a much tougher one against current African champions Egypt.

Michel took over at Sundowns in November and initially had some good results, but the love affair soon faded as the ‘Brazilians’ faltered in the title challenge and then crashed out of the Ned bank Cup to Platinum Stars.

Soon after the Cup exit president Patrice Motsepe announced that they had agreed an ‘amicable’ parting with Michel, with Head of Youth Ted Dumitru taking over until the end of the season.

Michel managed the French national team, guiding it to a third-place finish in the 1986 World Cup.

In 1994, he switched his career to Africa, managing Cameroon. He had two stints with Morocco national team in 1995 and 2007.

His second stint beginning in 2007 was short-lived with a poor showing at the Africa Cup of Nations 2008 where Morocco failed to progress past the first round. This resulted in his sacking from the post in February 2008.

From 2001-2002, he was fired from the Tunisia job after the 2002 African Cup of Nations, despite qualifying the team for the 2002 World Cup.

In 2006 he managed the Cote d’Ivoire national football team at the 2006 Fifa World Cup, where went out in the first round after defeats at the hands of Argentina and the Netherlands, before beating Serbia & Montenegro 3-2 in their final match.
After the 2006 World Cup he joined the Egyptian club Zamalek. He left the club in 2007 to return to Morocco.

A big task awaits him now as he must qualify Algeria past Rwanda, Zambia and Egypt to the 2010 World/Africa Nations Cup finals.

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