Lucescu appointed new Turkey coach

Former Zenit coach Mircea Lucescu has been appointed by Turkey, replacing Fatih Terim in the role.

Terim departed last month following an altercation with a restaurant owner in a west-coast holiday town.

Turkish media reported that Terim and his sons-in-law injured five men in the incident and he left by mutual consent two weeks later.

Lucescu has been out of work since he was sacked by Zenit in May, with the club having missed out on Champions League qualification, but he will now be charged with leading Turkey to next year's World Cup in Russia.

The 72-year-old Romanian is best known for his 12-year spell in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk between 2004 and 2016, during which he claimed eight Ukrainian league titles.

Turkey sit third in Group I, two points behind leaders Croatia and Iceland, with Lucescu set to make his bow as coach in a qualifier in Ukraine next month.

Qualification for the World Cup is in Turkey's hands as they are due to host both Croatia and Iceland in their four remaining qualifiers.