Meet Scotland's new men's football manager
Sebastien Pocognoli has signed a two-year deal as Scotland head coach
- Published
Scotland's men's football team has a brand-new manager, and he knows what it feels like to make history.
Sébastien Pocognoli, a former Belgium defender, once led a club to its first league title in 90 years. And now he's hoping to bring that same magic to the Scottish national team.
He has replaced Steve Clarke, who ended his seven-year reign earlier this summer after Scotland failed to progress from the World Cup group stage.
"I'm very proud to be here," Pocognoli said on Monday.
"It's a very strong challenge, with a project to develop the future of Scottish football."
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Who is Sébastien Pocognoli?
Seen here tackling Danny Welbeck, Sebastien Pocognoli played in the English Premier League for West Brom
Pocognoli used to be a footballer himself. He played in defence as a left-back and won 13 caps for Belgium.
He also played for lots of clubs, including for English sides West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion.
His biggest achievement as a coach came at Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium.
In his first season as a senior head coach, he led them to the Belgian Pro League title, which was their first league title in 90 years.
He also won the Belgian Super Cup and helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time.
Most recently he was sacked as manager of Monaco in early June, having finished seventh in the French league.
He said he had learned lessons and would take time to prepare for his next job "with calm and determination".
Pocognoli said: "Scotland's supporters are famous for their passion - most recently at the World Cup in the USA - and I have experienced it myself as a player for Belgium when we played in 2013.
"Along with my coaching staff, I will do everything I can to give them a team to be proud of and build on the success that has been achieved already by my predecessor [Steve Clarke]".
Pocognoli follows Steve Clarke, who gave Scotland fans plenty to cheer about by leading the men's team to three major tournaments, including their first FIFA World Cup in 28 years.
His first match as Scotland's new manager is due to be against Slovenia in the UEFA Nations League on 26 September 2026.