LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Major League Soccer´s Club Deportivo Chivas announced that they have tabbed former US international Preki as the club´s fourth head coach.

The 43-year-old is a two-time MLS Most Valuable Player and one of the most prolific attacking players in the American league´s history.

Preki replaces former Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley, now at the helm of the US national team, after serving as assistant to Bradley during the 2006 MLS season.

Preki becomes the eighth former MLS player currently coaching in the 13-team league. He started his career in his native Yugoslavia with Red Star Belgrade, helping the club to a league title in 1984.

After playing indoor soccer in the United States from 1985-1992, Preki returned to Europe to play two seasons for English Premiership club Everton, and he then spent one season at English first division club Portsmouth.

Preki gained US citizenship in 1996 and played 28 games for the United States, including two games in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Preki´s task at Chivas will be to continue the improvement the Mexican-owned, Los Angeles-based club showed in its second season.

After a rough inaugural season, they finished third in the Western Conference in 2006 and secured the franchise´s first playoff berth.

"I would like to thank (team president and co-owner) Antonio Cu and Chivas USA for this opportunity," Preki said. "To the fans, I promise to bring the same approach as coach as I did as a player and assistant: hard-working, determined, technical, willing to take risks.

"Chivas USA achieved great things in 2006 and I look forward to building on that in 2007, and to making Chivas USA the dominant soccer club not only in Los Angeles but in all of Major League Soccer."

The other Los Angeles-based MLS team, the Galaxy, is poised to make a splash in the upcoming season after acquiring David Beckham in a blockbuster five-year deal worth an estimated 250 million-dollars to the former England captain.