ANDY Hessenthaler will arrive in his new post as Eastleigh’s assistant manager with the words ‘World Cup winner’ on his CV.
The ex-Gillingham, Watford and Barnet midfielder was part of the England /Harrogate Veterans’ team that won the global Seniors' title in Thailand.
And it was a former Eastleigh player, Jamie Cureton, who helped fire them along the road to glory, culminating in a 2-0 win over Iran in the final.
Hessenthaler, 51, announced as right-hand man to Richard Hill at Eastleigh at the very end of last season, wore the captain’s armband during the course of the week-long tournament in the Far East.
England kicked off with a 7-0 win over the USA with veteran sharpshooter Cureton among the goals.
The 41-year-old, who made seven National League appearances for the Spitfires last season, scoring once, then found the net twice in a 2-1 result over New Zealand.
A 2-2 draw with Scotland followed before Cureton struck twice more in a 6-1 semi-final breeze over Australia.
Cureton found the net yet again in the Phitsanulok Stadium final and was joined on the scoresheet by ex-Swansea forward Lee Trundle.
He tweeted: "So we only went and won it 2-0 got the opening goal and @LeeTrundle10 killed the game off late on #champions been a wonderful experience."
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