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| Christian Damiano |
Former Fulham assistant manager Christian Damiano will not be able to take up his new position as Liverpool first-team coach until next month as he is actually still under contract at Fulham and being paid until June 30.
Liverpool want to maintain their French connection with Gérard Houllier appointing Damiano as his new first-team coach just 24 hours after it was announced that another Frenchman, Jacques Crevoisier, would be leaving the coaching post for family reasons.
The Liverpool manager has consistently employed French coaches he has worked with either at the French FA or at their Clairfontaine youth academy. Damiano is no exception; he was Houllier's assistant when the pair took the French Under-18 side to victory in the 1996 European youth championships.
Since then Damiano has coached Nice and then acted as Jean Tigana's No 2 at Fulham before leaving when their contracts were not renewed at the end of the season, with Chris Coleman taking over at the west London club.
Houllier said: "All things being well, Christian will join us for next season. He's an excellent coach who is responsible for helping to nurture some of the biggest talents in France, including Thierry Henry and William Gallas."