Today's match between the Azerbaijan national team and Estonia in Tallinn holds special significance for head coach Fernando Santos.
Idman.biz reports that the 70-year-old Portuguese manager is set to surpass Danish legend Morten Olsen by starting his 167th match as head coach of European teams.
Olsen, who led Denmark from 2000 to 2015, held the record for 166 matches. Santos has also coached 166 matches, including 49 with Greece, 109 with Portugal, and six with Poland. The encounter with Estonia marks his third match in charge of the Azerbaijan national team.
With this achievement, Santos will secure the fourth position in terms of matches coached for European national teams. He currently shares this rank with Olsen but trails behind three other prominent coaches.
The record holder in Europe is Lars Lagerback, who has managed the national teams of Sweden, Iceland, and Norway, amassing a total of 228 matches. In second place is Berti Vogts, the former head coach of Azerbaijan, who coached Germany, Scotland, and Azerbaijan in 205 matches. The third position is held by Joachim Löw, the former German national team coach, who has 198 matches under his belt.
Following his milestone with Olsen, Santos aims to close the gap with the top three coaches. Currently, he is 32 matches away from reaching Löw's record, which he aspires to surpass.
The match between Estonia and Azerbaijan is scheduled to kick off at 20:00 Baku time.
Vugar Kheyrullayev
Idman.biz
