Former Zamalek coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic has been appointed as the Zambian national football team's new coach, the country's football association announced on Sunday.

"Once the name was picked from a 13-canditate short-list on 20 January, it was then forwarded to the ministry of sports for approval," reads a statement on the Zambian Football Association's (FAZ) official Facebook page.

"Micho is expected in the country this week to close the two-year deal that will see him bring an assistant and goalkeeper trainer," the statement added.

The 50-year-old Serbian coach was a free agent after being fired by the Cairo giants earlier in December after a series of poor results and losing the Egypt Super Cup title to rivals Ahly. During Micho's stint, Zamalek won the Egypt Cup title after the 3-0 win over Pyramids FC in the final.

Zambia is playing back-to-back African Cup of Nations qualifiers in March, with the African Nations Championship taking place in April.

The Zambian team was recently drawn alongside Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers' draw.

At the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Zambia is in group H with holders Algeria, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Micho has extensive experience in African football, guiding several clubs including South Africa's Orlando Pirates, Tanzania's Young Africans FC, Sudan's Al-Hilal and finally Zamalek.

Micho won the Ugandan Premier League three times in 2002, 2003, and 2004 upon taking charge for Villa SC. This was before winning the Ethiopian League title four times while in charge of Saint-George SA from 2005 to 2010.

The former Rwanda and Uganda coach also won the Sudanese league title once in 2010 with Al-Hilal Omdurman.

Under Micho's guidance, the Orlando Pirates ended the domestic league in second place last season to ensure a place in the African Champions League; marking their first appearance since losing the final to Egypt's Ahly in 2013.

At the international level, Micho's prominent achievement was helping Uganda qualify to its first ever African Cup of Nations qualification in 38 years in the 2017 edition.

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