MADRID, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Liga Santander club Espanyol on Thursday named B team coach David Gallego as their new first team coach to replace Joan Francesc Ferrer 'Rubi'.
The Barcelona based club, which is the current home of Chinese international Wu Lei, confirmed Gallego as Rubi's successor just minutes after Liga Santander rivals Real Betis had confirmed Rubi as their coach on a three-year contract.
The 47-year-old, who has been with Espanyol for six years, will take over the helm for the second time in his career after stepping in at the end of the 2017-18 campaign when he was named as caretaker coach following Quique Sanchez Flores' sacking by the club.
Gallego's brief spell in charge saw Espanyol take 13 points from a possible 15, with four wins and a draw from his five games in charge to ensure the club climbed away from the relegation zone.
He is a popular figure with many of the players in the Espanyol first team, many of whom such as Marc Roca or Oscar Melendo previously worked with him in the Espanyol youth system.
Gallego's first game in charge will be a qualifying game for the Europa League on July 25th with Espanyol needing to pass three rounds in order to reach the group stage of the tournament.
