Alan Pardew joins CSKA Sofia as technical director

Former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has joined Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia as their technical director.

Pardew, 59, left his previous job as boss of Dutch club Den Haag when the Eredivisie season was cancelled in April because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is Pardew’s first director of football role, having managed eight teams during his career.

CSKA Sofia, nicknamed the Reds and the Armymen, have won a record 31 Bulgarian titles, but none since 2007-08.

The club said Pardew was now “part of the big red family of the army”.

They added: “He will help with his vast experience and contacts in the overall development of the club and attracting players to the representative team.”

CSKA Sofia are in Group A of this year’s Europa League but have lost all three of their matches so far.

After stints at Reading, West Ham, Charlton and Southampton, Pardew moved to Newcastle in 2010 and was named 2011-12 Premier League manager of the season after guiding the Magpies to fifth.

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He signed an eight-year contract extension with Newcastle in 2012, only to move to Palace in January 2015.

His Palace side were beaten by Manchester United in the 2016 FA Cup final, his second defeat as a manager in the final of the competition after West Ham’s defeat by Liverpool in 2006.

Pardew was sacked as Palace boss in December 2016 and took over at West Brom just under a year later before leaving in April 2018 with his side bottom of the Premier League.

He was announced as the head coach of Den Haag in 2019 and his side were seven points from safety when the season was cancelled.