Algeria coach Georges Leekens quits after surprise first round exit

fiifi anaman

January 24, 2017 1:10 PM

The Belgian was in charge for barely two months.

Georges Leekens has confirmed that he will leave his post as coach of Algeria following the North African sides humiliating group stage exit at this years Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

READ MORE: AFCON 2017

The Belgian only joined The Desert Foxes at the end of October last year, following the exit of Serbian Milovan Rajevac, who had left them after just three months and two games.

Currently ranked 5th in Africa, a star-studded Algeria side - featuring Africa Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez - crashed out of the AFCON after a 2-2 draw with Senegal on Tuesday. They finished Group B on two points, ranked third, after two draws and a loss.

READ MORE: AFCON 2017

"For the good of all I decided to quit even though I do it with heartache," Leekens told the Algerian Football Federation website.

"Given the pressure on the federation and the national team, I preferred to end my contract out of friendship for the president of the FAF (Algerian Football Federation) who deserves respect," Leekens added.

This is the second time that Leekens, 67, has left the Algerian job: he had quit for 'family reasons' after a brief four-month stint back in 2003.

Out of 17 AFCON appearances, this is the sixth time Algeria have crashed out of the Group stages. They hosted and won the tournament in 1990, their only win. Two years ago in Equatorial Guinea, they reached the quarter final.

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