Former Italian international Giuseppe Dossena is set to return to his former job as coach of Ghana as favourite among three applicants for the post which was made vacant earlier this month.

Dossena's two-year contract with the Black Stars was not renewed in July last year due to financial reasons, according to the former government.

Although the former Torino and Sampdoria midfielder failed to take Ghana beyond the quarter-finals of the 2000 African Nations Cup, the Black Stars opened the World Cup qualifying campaign with an emphatic 5-0 win over Sierra Leone in Accra.

They have since only taken one point from their next three matches.

Nations Cup failure

However, Ghanaians were divided over the 42-year-old coach's future with the side.

Some wanted Dossena sacked because he failed to win the Nations Cup as co-host and lost to eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals of the Under-20 World Cup in Nigeria in 1999.

Dossena won the Under-20 African Youth Championship at home two years ago and led Ghana to almost a dozen matches without defeat before a 2-0 loss at the hands of Tunisia in December 1999.

Also in the running are two Germans, Rainer Bonhoff and Burkhard Zeise, who was Ghana's coach 10 years ago. A fourth name from Holland has not yet been disclosed and, according to the GFA, more applications are expected to inundate their offices.

Legal battle

The Romanian and Czech Republic embassies based in Accra have been contacted to recommend coaches from their various federations.

It is not known how soon the new coach will be appointed, but the GFA would want to finish with their legal battle with Jones Attuquayefio, who was sacked on April 18, following a contract dispute.

Attuquayefio is suing the FA for $80,000 for a breach of contract, while the football authorities deny there was an agreement in black and white.

Fred Osam-Duodu is the current caretaker coach, who will guide the Black Stars to Freetown for the World Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone on Saturday.