Frederic Kanoute joins Sevilla's youth coaching staff

Malian former player Frederic Kanoute, a great idol and legend of Sevilla, will work for a month as part of the coaching staff of the first youth team of Sevilla as part of his training process as a coach, which he is carrying out in England to obtain the official title.

Kanoute, 37 years old and who retired as a professional footballer at the end of 2013 in the Chinese Beijing Guoan, will carry out his internship under the orders of Agustin Lopez, head coach of Sevilla's youth honor division, the club reported on Monday.

The Franco-Malian will be another coach of Sevilla's first youth team, both in daily training sessions and in preseason matches.

The club considers this will be "a relationship of reciprocal formation, because Kanoute will learn from the successful coaching staff of the youth honor division" led by Lopez, but also the young players from Sevilla's academy "will be able to benefit from Kanoute's extraordinary knowledge as the most decisive player in Sevilla's history".

The former striker, a legend for Sevilla fans, has stated to Sevilla's television that "the first thing" will be to train "as a coach to obtain the coaching title in England and then help the kids. For me, it is always a pleasure to return to this club," stressed the 'giant' from Mali.

Kanoute arrived at Sevilla in the summer of 2005, coming from English side Tottenham Hotspur, and in his seven seasons at the Andalusian club, until June 2012, he contributed decisively to the conquest of six titles, being the foreign player with the most appearances with Sevilla's shirt (290) and the fourth highest scorer in its history with 136 goals.

In addition to being known for his commitment to the most disadvantaged, especially the most needy children in Mali, through the foundation that bears his name, he was one of the main protagonists of Sevilla's six-title winning period between 2006 and 2010 (two UEFA Cups, one Spanish Super Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and two Copa del Rey).