Fulham Appoints Alvaro Arbeloa as Head Coach on Three-Year Contract

Fulham appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as head coach on a three-year contract. The 43-year-old succeeds Marco Silva, who agreed to join Benfica. Arbeloa said the appointment marked a new stage at the oldest club in London.

"It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London," he said. " Chairman Shahid Khan described Arbeloa as ambitious and noted his experience with top clubs. Khan said Arbeloa has great interest in the academy and believes in giving young players a chance.

He added that he liked Arbeloa's intent on playing attacking football. Arbeloa's candidacy received support from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and manager Jose Mourinho. Arbeloa left Real Madrid at the end of last season after serving as interim manager for the final 28 games, during which the team finished second in La Liga and exited the Champions League in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.

Marco Silva had received contract offers from Fulham but chose Benfica after Jose Mourinho departed the Portuguese club. Fulham vice-chairman said last month that Silva had indicated he wanted to stay before changing his mind after five years at the club. Arbeloa is keen to bring attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, full-back Fran Garcia and forward Gonzalo Garcia to Fulham.