| Raymond Zarpanelian | |
| Birth Date: | 17 May 1933 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Death Place: | Paris, France |
| Manageryears1: | 1993–1994 |
| Managerclubs1: | Sierra Leone[1] |
| Manageryears2: | 1997 |
| Managerclubs2: | ASF Bobo Dioulasso |
| Managerclubs3: | Al-Ansar |
Raymond Zarpanelian (17 May 1933 – 29 March 2011) was an Armenian-French football coach who was last known to have been based at Al-Ansar in Saudi Arabia.[2]
In 1993, he was appointed manager of Sierra Leone.[3]
Assisted by Sam Obi Metzger, Zarpanelian guided Sierra Leone to a 4–0 defeat to Ivory Coast and a 0–0 stalemate with Zambia at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, causing him to step down as coach and go back to Paris.[4]
Working with ASFA Yennenga in early 1997, the Franco-Armenian took charge of ASF Bobo Dioulasso by summer of that year, driving them to a runners-up position in the league and a national cup trophy.[5]
Visited Uganda with French journalist Frank Simon to watch the 2000 CECAFA Cup and observe East African football.[6] [7]
The former Sierra Leone mentor was said to have been a magnanimous person.[4]
Diagnosed with kidney cancer, Zarpanelian died at a hospital in Paris at the age of 78 in 2011 and was buried on 6 April.[8] Previously, he was linked with the Central African Republic technical director position.[6] The Raymond Zarpanelian Trophy was launched in 2014 to honor an African-based French football technician each year,[9] with Pascal Janin getting the award for his achievements with Stade Malien.[10] [11]
French Wikipedia Page