Hakim Malek named FC Villefranche head coach after Fabien Pujo exit | OneFootball

Hakim Malek was appointed FC Villefranche-Beaujolais head coach on Sunday morning, replacing Fabien Pujo after a 3-0 defeat at Amiens left the club bottom of Ligue 3.

According to Le Progres, the 54-year-old will take charge for the first time on Friday at 19:30 in the Coupe de France fifth round tie at Andrézieux-Bouthéon, who play in National 1.

Between January and June 2025, Malek came close to securing FC Martigues’ Ligue 2 survival on the pitch, only for the club to be relegated administratively. That was his most recent post.

He succeeds Pujo, who was dismissed on 21 September, after which assistant Mathias Laforest oversaw two matches, both defeats. Malek had been in contact last summer to replace David Le Frapper at Bourg-en-Bresse, with Le Frapper also on Villefranche’s shortlist.

Villefranche are four points behind Valenciennes, the first side outside the relegation places, shortly after the quarter mark of the season. Their start reads one win, one draw and seven defeats, including three in succession.

A former Paris Saint-Germain reserve player, Malek featured for Vitrolles, Toulon in Ligue 2 and Martigues in National before moving into coaching in 2001.

He has extensive experience across National 3, National 2 and National 1 with Consolat-Marseille, Le Pontet, Hyères and Alès, and has worked in Algeria with Paradou. He was assistant at Nîmes Olympique under José Pasqualetti, then at MC Alger and Al Khor in Qatar alongside Bernard Casoni.

Source: Le Progres

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