French club Montpellier have appointed ex-Nigeria international John Utaka as coach of their U19 team.
The 38-year-old featured for the former French Champions between 2011 and 2013, making a total of 68 appearances and scored 12 goals.
Utaka was instrumental in helping La Paillade win their first-ever Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 season.
And now he has returned to the French to help Stade de la Mosson with the ambition of earning his coaching badge in the Ligue 1 club's youth set-up.
“And the journey in coaching begins for John Utaka, the attacker with the Montpellier youth coach post. All the best poacher,” the Nigeria National team sent him a congratulatory message via its official Instagram account wrote.
His former International teammate, Joseph Yobo, also wished him well on Instagram.
John Utaka scored six goals in 49 appearances for the Super Eagles. He featured in the 2002 and 2010 FIFA World Cup tournaments and he was also part of the team that won bronze at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
He retired from football in 2018.
