Rio de Janeiro, Nov 23 (IANS): Former Brazil international left-back Roger Machado has been named head coach of Palmeiras for the 2018 football season, the Sao Paulo club said.

The 42-year-old, who was sacked as manager of Atletico Mineiro in July, will replace interim Palmeiras boss Alberto Valentim in January, reports Xinhua news agency.

"(We) reached a deal to sign Roger Machado ... until the end of the 2018 season," Palmeiras said in a brief statement on their website.

Valentim has been in charge of the nine-time Brazilian Serie A champions since the sacking of Alexi Stival in October.

Having won last year's title, Palmeiras have struggled for consistency in 2018 and are third in Brazil's 20-team top flight standings, 11 points behind newly crowned champions Corinthians with two games left.

Machado has been out of work since July, when he was sacked by Atletico Mineiro amid a poor run of results.

His coaching career has included spells at Gremio, Juventude and Novo Hamburgo.

As a player, he represented Gremio, Fluminense and Japan's Vissel Kobe. He earned one national team cap in 2001.