MADRID - Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was sacked just over 11 months after taking charge of the nine-times European champions.
The 53-year-old Brazilian, who was Real's fifth coach in the space of two and a half years, was dismissed following an emergency board meeting at the club's Bernabeu stadium, a
day after the team's lacklustre 1-0 win at home to Getafe.
Real Madrid Television said that reserve team boss Juan Ramon Lopez Caro would replace Luxemburgo as first team coach on a caretaker basis.
Juventus coach Fabio Capello, who led Real to the league title in 1997, former Celta Vigo and Porto boss Victor Fernandez, England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Liverpool's Rafael Benitez have all been mooted as possible long-term replacements for Luxemburgo.
Former Brazil and Santos coach Luxemburgo was appointed at the end of December 2004 when the club was in fifth place in the Primera Liga, 13 points behind arch-rivals Barcelona.
He leaves the team in fourth place in the standings with 25 points from 14 games, six behind joint leaders Barcelona and Osasuna. Real have also booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The club spent nearly 90 million euros in reconstructing the squad during the close season, bringing in Brazilian strikers Robinho and Julio Baptista, promising Spanish international defender Sergio Ramos and Uruguayan duo Pablo Garcia and Carlos Diogo.
But the expensive makeover failed to bring about an improvement in the team's performances and they slumped to defeats against Olympique Lyon, Celta Vigo and Espanyol in the opening weeks of the season.
Further defeats against Valencia and Deportivo Coruna, and a 3-0 thrashing by arch-rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu in which fans ended the game applauding the opposition and whistling the home players further undermined confidence in Luxemburgo.
- REUTERS
