Former Dinamo Zagreb coach takes charge of Rwanda

Former Dinamo Zagreb coach Josip Kuze, seen here in Zagreb in 2005, officially took charge of the Rwandan national football team, promising to take the "Amavubi" (wasps) to a new international level.

Former Dinamo Zagreb coach Josip Kuze on Friday officially took charge of the Rwandan national football team, promising to take the "Amavubi" (wasps) to a new international level.

The 54-year-old Croat replaces Germany's Michael Nees, whose contract was not renewed after the national squad failed to qualify for the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana.

"I will focus on improving the performances of Rwanda's young players at the international level," Kuze told reporters in Kigali.

The former Dynamo Zagreb defender and coach added that his main target would be to clinch Rwanda's qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations and World Cup.

"Recruiting a new coach was an important step in building a new structure for our under-performing national team," said the head of the Rwandan federation, Brigadier General Jean Bosco Kazura.

Rwanda has never made it to the World Cup and only qualified once for the African Cup of Nations, in 2004.