Former Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Argentina legend Ossie Ardiles has been appointed the new manager of Israeli club-side Betar Jerusalem.

Until recently it had been widely assumed that former Israel national team coach Avraham Grant would be taking charge, but Gaydamak was known to have preferred a big name foreigner who could attract quality players from outside Israel.

In recent weeks, former England manager's Kevin Keegan and Terry Venables, along with Romania’s legendary captain and ex-Head Coach Georghe Hagi had all been linked with the position.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United manager had met with Betar's billionaire owner Arkadi Gaydamak and club chairman Vladimir Shklar during a trip to Israel a couple of weeks ago, and days after, Gaydamak offered Ardiles a contract worth a reported $500,000 per year.

53-year-old Ardiles has now returned to Jerusalem and completed the deal to replace Frenchman Luis Fernadez, who quit in April.

Following the announcement, Shklar said: "[I am] very happy that Ardiles is going to train Betar."

"We are sure he will be a success here and we hope he gets the fans' support," Shklar added.

Full name Osvaldo César Ardiles, Ossie Ardiles won the 1978 World Cup as an integral part of the Argentinian national team.

He became a cult hero in England, along with former England Head Coach Glenn Hoddle and fellow Albiceleste star Ricardo Villa, as an attacking midfielder for Spurs in the early 80's.

As manager of Tottenham in the mid-90s, he famously played several Premiership matches utilizing a formation that had an amazing five strikers, a formation that hadn't been used in English football since the 1950s.

Betar assistant coach Guy Azuri said that he is "very excited" to work with Ardiles.

"I think Ardiles was a tremendous football player and I am sure we will gain a lot from his experience at the club.

"All I hope is that together we will bring Betar to the place the club want to be. We all want to win the championship next season."

Betar - nicknamed Gehinnom ("The Hell") - are the second biggest team in Israel, and play at the Teddy Kollek Stadium in Jerusalem.

The quotes were published by the Jerusalem Post's reporter Jeremy Last, whom we forgot to mention and we apologise.

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