Defending Ethiopia Premier League champions St. George FC have appointed Portuguese national Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto as new coach on a two-year contract.

Carlos, 43, succeeds Dutchman Mart Noolj as the Horsemen keep in the tradition of hiring foreign managers.

Mart left the Addis Ababa giants after guiding them in the CAF Champions League first leg group match away to Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa in May due to illness.

Unverified reports from Tunisia indicate that Mart may have joined top league side Jeubesse Sportive Kairuanaise.

Carlos, who holds UEFA and CAF A badges, previously coached Angolan sides Caala and Recreativo de Libolo since 2012. He has also handled youth sides in the country.

St. George have bagged the EPL a record 14 times and Ethiopia Cup 8 times.

The team has increasingly grown ambitious and is now laying emphasis on impressing in the CAF club championships.

For the first time this season they reached the group phase of the CAF’s premium club tournament a feat Carlos will be expected to meet or surpass.