KIEV (AFP) - Former Soviet and Ukrainian international defender Oleg Luzhny was appointed interim manager of Ukraine's champions Dynamo Kiev after Josef Szabo was hospitalised with a heart attack, the club announced on Monday.

Szabo was rushed to a local hospital late on Saturday after Dynamo suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Metalist Kharkiv - the team's third defeat of the season.

Dynamo president Igor Surkis said 39-year-old Luzhny, who was Szabo's assistant, would lead Dynamo in the next eight matches of the league, Champions' League and the national cup before the winter break in the middle of December.

Luzhny's previous managerial experience was as player coach of Latvian outfit FK Venta in 2005.