TIRANA, Albania - Former Ghana nationa coach & Italian international Giuseppe Dossena will coach the Albanian national team from July, the country's soccer federation said on Tuesday.

Dossena, who is deputy coach for Paraguay, will be the first Westerner to coach the small Balkan state's national side.

He replaces Sulejman Demollari who was sacked last month after Albania lost 2-0 to Andorra. Dossena will be paid $200,000 to train the team for 16 months during the qualifiers for the 2004 European Cup.

"We have agreed he will take over on July 1 but he will come as soon as Paraguay's journey in the World Cup ends," Albanian soccer federation chief Armando Duka said.

Albania will face Russia, Ireland, Switzerland and Georgia in group 10 of the European championship qualifying round.

It finished bottom of its group in the World Cup qualifiers, winning just one of its eight matches - 2-0 against Greece.

The failure of Albanian coaches to take the team away from its traditional bottom place despite improving the quality of play has forced the federation to seek a more experienced foreign coach to head its team.

Dossena, who played for Sampdoria and Juventus in the 1980s, beat compatriot Sergio Brio and Germany's Hans Peter Briegel for the job.

Under the contract, Dossena, who will live in Albania most of the time, will be free to choose his deputy and travel freely to follow his players' club matches abroad.

Dossena is currently assisting Paraguay's coach Cesare Maldini in the World Cup matches in South Korea and Japan. Paraguay face Spain, Slovenia and South Africa in group B.