PARIS: French second division club Clermont have appointed another woman coach to replace Helena Costa who resigned without ever having started work. He feplacement or successor is former France captain Corinne Diacre.

Last month Portuguese coach Costa had become the first woman appointed to manage a men’s professional team in the top two divisions in Europe. But the 36-year-old quit on Monday, claiming that players had been hired without her authority.

Diacre, who has signed a two-year contract, made 121 appearances for France between 1993 and 2005. The 39-year-old has been assistant coach to the national team for the last seven years, as well as managing her former club Soyaux since 2010.

A Clermont statement said: “Corinne Diacre has accepted the position of coach of Clermont Foot for the next two seasons and will take up the post early next week.”

In 1999, Carolina Morace was appointed coach of Serie C1 club Viterbese in Italy. She resigned after two matches, blaming media pressure.

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