'Welcome to the Army, Mr Pardew' – CSKA appoint new technical director

Alan Pardew has joined CSKA Sofia as their director of football. The former Crystal Palace and Newcastle manager, who left ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands after his contract was cancelled in April, will take up his post with the Bulgarian side known as “The Armymen” immediately having worked as a media pundit in recent months.

“Army men, English football specialist Alan Pardew will henceforth be part of the big red family of the Army,” read a statement on the club’s website on Monday. “He will take the position of technical director and will help with his vast experience and contacts in the overall development of the club and attracting players to the representative team. The 59-year-old Briton has already signed his contract and started working immediately. Welcome to the Army, Mr Alan Pardew!”

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CSKA, which stands for Central Sports Club of the Army, have won the Bulgarian title on a record 31 occasions but not since 2008, having finished runners-up last year.

They are third in the standings, trailing leaders Ludogorets by five points, and are bottom of Group A in the Europa League having picked up one point from three games. Bruno Akrapovic’s side face Swiss team Young Boys on Thursday knowing defeat will knock them out of the competition.

The former Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov, who helped Bulgaria reach the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup, is among the club’s shareholders having spent six years at CSKA before moving to Spain. Pardew’s last job in England was at West Brom, where he left in April 2018 having guided them to just three victories in 21 matches.