Italian legend Nevio Scala has become the first big name to declare his interest in the vacant Hibs manager hot-seat. John Hughes stepped down yesterday, and a number of managers have already been linked with the post, including Shamrock Rovers boss Michael O’Neill, Gus McPherson, Jimmy Calderwood and even a return for Tony Mowbray to name a few. 62-year-old Scala would certainly bring the experience the Easter Road job is crying out for, and he speaks good English which is another plus. Scala has managed at the highest level, having had spells with Borussia Dortmund, Parma, Spartak Moscow and even a spell in charge of Turks Besiktas. He started his career with Perugia, winning the Serie B title in 1988, he then moved on to Parma, where he won THREE European trophies, including the Cup Winners Cup and European Super Cup in 1993. He then won the Uefa Cup in 1995. Scala then moved on to Borussia Dortmund, and won the Intercontinental Cup, which pitches the European Champions against the winners of the South American Copa Libertadores. He then had spells with Besiktas (2000), Shaktar Donetsk (2002) and Spartak Moscow (2004 and his last post in football). He recently applied, and failed to become Scotland manager, losing out to Craig Levein. Scala said: "Yes, I'm certainly interested. Many of my friends from Italian football, like Giovanni Trapattoni and Fabio Capello are now working in the British Isles. “The greatest successes in my career have come when I've been working with young players. At Parma, I took a team of kids and won promotion Scala certainly has an impressive CV, but he’s been out of football since leaving Spartak Moscow in 2004, and his lack of in-depth knowledge of Scottish Football will probably count against him.
"I have always loved Scotland and Edinburgh is a very beautiful city. I am ready to go there.
"In Italy, we do not see too much Scottish football, but I know the club have a history of producing some very good young players.
"I read recently that Scott Brown, who started with Hibernian, was even linked with Juventus in Serie A.
"I brought through Fabio Cannavaro and Gigi Buffon as young men at Parma. And I helped develop Gianfranco Zola, Thomas Brolin and Filippo Inzaghi.
"I have a great respect for Scottish football and I speak the language. Believe me, I know a lot about the country. I also had Paul Lambert with me in Dortmund and we spoke a lot about it.
"I've been out of football for the past couple of years, I've had a nice holiday, now I am ready to work. The Hibernian chairman can call me - I will be ready to talk."