Bundesliga relegation-battlers Eintracht Frankfurt have sacked coach Michael Skibbe as the departures in Germany continue.
The 14th-placed outfit are three points from the relegation play-off and recorded their first league win of 2011 against St Pauli on Saturday.Skibbe is the 10th Bundesliga coach to be shown the door this season and will be replaced by former Fenerbahce and Bayer Leverkusen manager Christoph Daum.”I am very disappointed,” the departing boss said.
Bundesliga relegation-battlers Eintracht Frankfurt have sacked coach Michael Skibbe as the departures in Germany continue.
The 14th-placed outfit are three points from the relegation play-off and recorded their first league win of 2011 against St Pauli on Saturday.Skibbe is the 10th Bundesliga coach to be shown the door this season and will be replaced by former Fenerbahce and Bayer Leverkusen manager Christoph Daum.”I am very disappointed,” the departing boss said.
Hercules have sacked head coach Esteban Vigo after slipping to the foot of the La Liga table following a 4-0 defeat to Osasuna.
Vigo orchestrated the club’s return to the Spanish top flight for the first time since 1997 after finishing runners-up in the Segunda Division last season.
Hercules scored an upset 2-0 win away to Barcelona in September – still the champions’ only home defeat of the season – and also managed victories over Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
But the team have collected just seven points from a possible 39 in 2011 and have lost nine of their last 11 matches.
They went bottom of the table after Malaga’s 2-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday and are now four points adrift of safety with nine matches left.
The 56-year-old Vigo, who was contracted until June 2012, has paid for the team’s poor form with his job.
The club is yet to name a replacement.
Following the international break, Hercules’ next match is away to mid-table Real Sociedad on April 3.
Mon 21 March, 2011
Liverpool has at least four weeks of GerrardRight, so it’s the Friday news and notes, coming at you faster than a rabid chipmunk on crystal methamphet- amine. Of course, given the vagaries of time zones, the prime blogging time of just after lunch in the eastern half of North America means all the cool kids across the pond are getting ready to head out and eyeball vodka, so assuming they can still see when a night of debauchery is said and done one would expect this to end up more a Saturday morning news and notes, consumed alongside a full English in the hopes that the grease will help pave over the previous evening’s excesses. And meanwhile over in the Land of Oz the sun hasn’t quite risen on a new day, but since we’re talking Australians here they’re probably already out wrestling Great White Land Sharkodiles in the sun baked outback (and even if it’s still dark outside the outback is sunbaked). Or something. What I’m saying is that I’m fairly sure everybody in Australia is Chuck Norris, including the ladies and your beard is incredibly sexy ma’am please don’t punch my throat out.
In any case, I guess this is the news and notes for whenever you get to it…
* Right off the top we have an unfortunate news story so brief that 67% of it fits into the the header at the official site, a passage short enough to comfortably fit in a 140 character Tweet:
LFC can today confirm that Steven Gerrard has undergone successful surgery on his groin and will be out for up to four weeks.
Well, so much for any hope of having him back next week to help with Liverpool’s painful lack of depth and a goal deficit in the Europa tie. In less painful news, you should probably follow the Liverpool Offside’s mostly updated by Ed but occasionally by Noel where he annoyingly refers to himself in the third person to try to avoid too much confusion, because Noel’s just awesome like that, Twitter account. We plan on using it to shortly begin a fundraiser to fly Jan-Jan the Hammer Man in from Holland to help Gerrard with his recovery.
* Meanwhile, the reserves are in the news again, as up until now u18 coach Pep Segura will step in to manage both groups until the end of the season, with John McMahon being let go. We’ve talked before about the role former Barcelona youth coach Segura has had with the new group of young talents since joining, and though it’s only speculation, it would seem odd to let McMahon go before the end of the season if there wasn’t some intent to move Segura to coach the reserves permanently come the end of the season. It would make some sense to move the coach along with the players as more and more of the promising youngsters like Conor Coady, Jack Robinson, Suso, and Raheen Sterling take the step up into the reserve level and inch closer towards roles in the first team in a couple of years, but for now nobody seems to know exactly what it means for the club’s youth set up going forward.
* And from the reserves, let’s keep moving down to the u18s, who will still have Segura in the technical area when they face off against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals at Anfield on Sunday. It may not be first team football, but with all the hype surrounding the young wave of talent at the club there’s likely to be more familiarity and interest than might have existed in years past. For those with access, the match will be shown live at noon GMT (which means the rather uncomfortable 7AM on a Sunday morning in New York, or the rather more comfortable but still a touch awkward 11PM in Sydney) on both LFCTV and whatever the United equivalent is if you have access to those stations somewhere on your 897 channel digital package. It will also be available online to those with an e-season ticket.
[Addendum: And sometimes I can be a bit thick, since as Guthmate points out in the comments, Josep Segura was the academy technical director and has now added temporary Reserves coach to his duties, while Rodolfo Borrell has been the u18 coach all along and will not be changing his duties in the coming days.]
In the meantime, while you try to figure out if it’s socially acceptable to start drinking in your time zone yet…
Category: Premier League, Team News
Tags: Causes of Alcoholism, FA Youth Cup, Links!, Manchester United, Premier League, Reserves, Steven Gerrard, Team News
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AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso appeared to be in the mood for a scrap the moment the referee blew the first whistle, and that is all well and good, but there is no justification for the Italian international to attack the Tottenham assistant. We are talking about a 59 year old, who to be fair would probably take Gattuso apart any day of the week.
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Sevilla defender Fernando Navarro refuses to be drawn on speculation surrounding the future of coach Gregorio Manzano.
Manzano has only been in charge for six months but with the club 13 points off the Champions League qualification places, the 54-year-old is reportedly already fighting to keep his job at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Out-of-favour players Martin Caceres and Javi Varas have publicly criticised Manzano’s methods in the past week, but full-back Navarro opted not to join the dissenters.
“At the moment, Gregorio Manzano is our manager,” Navarro said.
“He is the one leading us as we look to reach our targets. It is not for me to talk about managers or signings.”
Sevilla face Racing Santander away from home in La Liga on Saturday and Navarro is expecting a tough challenge.
“We have a tough game on Saturday and there is little time for us to make a comeback, so we have to win on Saturday and get back on form,” he said.
“The reality of the situation is that we are seventh and we will need to have a very good second half of the season if we are going to finish third or fourth.”
“We have to go step-by-step, aiming for the Champions League but being realistic about the fact that sixth is closer at the moment. Whilst there are still points to be won and we still have the squad, I’m sure that it is possible.”
Fri 11 February, 2011Sevilla defender Fernando Navarro refuses to be drawn on speculation surrounding the future of coach Gregorio Manzano.
Manzano has only been in charge for six months but with the club 13 points off the Champions League qualification places, the 54-year-old is reportedly already fighting to keep his job at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Out-of-favour players Martin Caceres and Javi Varas have publicly criticised Manzano’s methods in the past week, but full-back Navarro opted not to join the dissenters.
“At the moment, Gregorio Manzano is our manager,” Navarro said.
“He is the one leading us as we look to reach our targets. It is not for me to talk about managers or signings.”
Sevilla face Racing Santander away from home in La Liga on Saturday and Navarro is expecting a tough challenge.
“We have a tough game on Saturday and there is little time for us to make a comeback, so we have to win on Saturday and get back on form,” he said.
“The reality of the situation is that we are seventh and we will need to have a very good second half of the season if we are going to finish third or fourth.”
“We have to go step-by-step, aiming for the Champions League but being realistic about the fact that sixth is closer at the moment. Whilst there are still points to be won and we still have the squad, I’m sure that it is possible.”
Fri 11 February, 2011Juan Carlos Osorio was appointed new Honduras coach after Juan de Dios Castillo left the post.
After Mexican Juan de Dios Castillo quit the national team post despite leading Honduras to Copa Centroamericana last month, the national team chiefs elected Juan Carlos Osorio as the new boss.
“We decided the right person to lead the national team process, which we hope concludes in Brazil in 2014, is professor Juan Carlos Osorio,” said Honduran Federation official Rafael Ferrari.
The 48-year-old Osorio enjoyed a spell as Manchester City assistant manager from 2001 to 2006, while he also spent two years as New York Red Bulls boss.
Osorio’s first game in charge will be the friendly match against Ecuador on 9th February.
Thu 3 February, 2011Juan Carlos Osorio was appointed new Honduras coach after Juan de Dios Castillo left the post.
After Mexican Juan de Dios Castillo quit the national team post despite leading Honduras to Copa Centroamericana last month, the national team chiefs elected Juan Carlos Osorio as the new boss.
“We decided the right person to lead the national team process, which we hope concludes in Brazil in 2014, is professor Juan Carlos Osorio,” said Honduran Federation official Rafael Ferrari.
The 48-year-old Osorio enjoyed a spell as Manchester City assistant manager from 2001 to 2006, while he also spent two years as New York Red Bulls boss.
Osorio’s first game in charge will be the friendly match against Ecuador on 9th February.
Thu 3 February, 2011Saudi Arabia have sacked coach Nasser Al-Johar for failing to rescue the proud nation’s Asian Cup campaign in Qatar.
Al-Johar lasted just eight days at the helm of the Green Falcons after replacing Jose Peseiro, who was given his marching orders following a first-up 2-1 loss to Group B rivals Syria.
But they fared no better under Al-Johar, going down 1-0 to Jordan before a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Japan sealed Saudi Arabia’s exit in the group stages.
It was a humiliating early departure for the Green Falcons, who were runners-up in 2007 and considered one of the favourites to challenge for the title this time around.
Instead, Saudi Arabia failed to make the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for only the second time in the history of the tournament.
Team manager Fahd Al-Misaibeeh and his entire staff have also reportedly resigned, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.
“The Saudi Soccer Federation has accepted the resignation of Fahd Al-Misaibeeh, manager of the Saudi national team, and his crew, and relieved Nasser Al-Johar of his post as the current team’s coach,” read a statement from Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, president of the Saudi Football Federation (SFF).
“We vow to immediately replace them by a highly-qualified international crew and domestic aides.”
Prince Newaf was promoted to head of the SFF to replace Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, who was removed by King Abdullah following the loss to Jordan.
Tue 18 January, 2011Saudi Arabia have sacked coach Nasser Al-Johar for failing to rescue the proud nation’s Asian Cup campaign in Qatar.
Al-Johar lasted just eight days at the helm of the Green Falcons after replacing Jose Peseiro, who was given his marching orders following a first-up 2-1 loss to Group B rivals Syria.
But they fared no better under Al-Johar, going down 1-0 to Jordan before a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Japan sealed Saudi Arabia’s exit in the group stages.
It was a humiliating early departure for the Green Falcons, who were runners-up in 2007 and considered one of the favourites to challenge for the title this time around.
Instead, Saudi Arabia failed to make the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for only the second time in the history of the tournament.
Team manager Fahd Al-Misaibeeh and his entire staff have also reportedly resigned, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.
“The Saudi Soccer Federation has accepted the resignation of Fahd Al-Misaibeeh, manager of the Saudi national team, and his crew, and relieved Nasser Al-Johar of his post as the current team’s coach,” read a statement from Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, president of the Saudi Football Federation (SFF).
“We vow to immediately replace them by a highly-qualified international crew and domestic aides.”
Prince Newaf was promoted to head of the SFF to replace Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, who was removed by King Abdullah following the loss to Jordan.
Tue 18 January, 2011Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic said he was proud of his young squad, despite their 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
Kuwait fought back bravely after going a goal down just before half-time, when a Maksim Shatskikh free-kick took a cruel deflection past goalkeeper Nawaf Alkhaldi.
They equalised through a penalty from Bader Al Mutwa just after the break, but Server Djeparov sealed the win for Uzbekistan with a spectacular long-range effort on the hour mark.
Tufegdzic said while he was disappointed with the result, there was a lot to like about his young team’s efforts.
“Now this is a very bad feeling,” the Serb said. “Our team lost this match but we have one match remaining against Qatar. Our target is to win that match and pick up our first three points of the tournament.”
“Maybe my players need more experience but what can you do? These things happen and one thing is for sure is that these players have a good future.”
“They are very young; the average age of our squad is under 23.”
“You saw today our team have the players to get a good result but they need experience.”
Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov – whose side became the first to qualify for the knockout stage with the win – was delighted with the result, but wary of the forthcoming threat posed by the more-fancied nations.
“I’m very happy that we beat Kuwait today,” he said. “I think we can spring a surprise here.”
“I hope that Uzbekistan will become the champions, but there are lots of other good teams here as well, like Australia, South Korea, Japan and Iran.”
Thu 13 January, 2011Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic said he was proud of his young squad, despite their 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
Kuwait fought back bravely after going a goal down just before half-time, when a Maksim Shatskikh free-kick took a cruel deflection past goalkeeper Nawaf Alkhaldi.
They equalised through a penalty from Bader Al Mutwa just after the break, but Server Djeparov sealed the win for Uzbekistan with a spectacular long-range effort on the hour mark.
Tufegdzic said while he was disappointed with the result, there was a lot to like about his young team’s efforts.
“Now this is a very bad feeling,” the Serb said. “Our team lost this match but we have one match remaining against Qatar. Our target is to win that match and pick up our first three points of the tournament.”
“Maybe my players need more experience but what can you do? These things happen and one thing is for sure is that these players have a good future.”
“They are very young; the average age of our squad is under 23.”
“You saw today our team have the players to get a good result but they need experience.”
Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov – whose side became the first to qualify for the knockout stage with the win – was delighted with the result, but wary of the forthcoming threat posed by the more-fancied nations.
“I’m very happy that we beat Kuwait today,” he said. “I think we can spring a surprise here.”
“I hope that Uzbekistan will become the champions, but there are lots of other good teams here as well, like Australia, South Korea, Japan and Iran.”
Thu 13 January, 2011Australia coach Holger Osieck was thrilled with the Socceroos’ 4-0 win over India, but predicted tougher tests to come in the Asian Cup.
Australia took a commanding 3-0 lead on first-half strikes to Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Brett Holman, and Cahill sealed the win with a second goal shortly after the break.
There were some worrying signs for the Socceroos as they struggled through a sluggish second half and nearly conceded a goal to Indian striker Sunil Chhetri in the dying stages.
But Osieck preferred to look at the positives following Australia’s maiden Group C victory, and said the performance was at the level he had hoped to see in their opening hit-out.
“I think in the first half in particular we played very well,” Osieck told Fox Sports.
“It’s always very difficult to start a tournament when your opponent, no matter who they are, is fresh and ambitious.”
“First of all you have to break them down and that is what happened. Tactically we played a very disciplined, attacking style of football and we scored three.”
“It probably could have been a bit more. But I am still pleased with the performance overall, and you don’t want to ask for too much.”
“It’s important to start well in the tournament and, considering the short period of our preparation, it was very important to have a game like this to work on tactical stuff in game conditions and from here we can build on for the next games we have to play.”
Next up is a crunch match on Friday against South Korea, who are well-placed to go far in the Asian Cup under captain and Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung.
Osieck is aware of the threat posed by South Korea, but believes Monday’s win over India will hold the Socceroos in good stead.
“It’s definitely going to be a tougher test, but I think a game like today and a victory like today will build up some confidence,” Osieck said.
“I hope we’re going to have the right mindset to get into the game and be successful as well.”
Mon 10 January, 2011Australia coach Holger Osieck was thrilled with the Socceroos’ 4-0 win over India, but predicted tougher tests to come in the Asian Cup.
Australia took a commanding 3-0 lead on first-half strikes to Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Brett Holman, and Cahill sealed the win with a second goal shortly after the break.
There were some worrying signs for the Socceroos as they struggled through a sluggish second half and nearly conceded a goal to Indian striker Sunil Chhetri in the dying stages.
But Osieck preferred to look at the positives following Australia’s maiden Group C victory, and said the performance was at the level he had hoped to see in their opening hit-out.
“I think in the first half in particular we played very well,” Osieck told Fox Sports.
“It’s always very difficult to start a tournament when your opponent, no matter who they are, is fresh and ambitious.”
“First of all you have to break them down and that is what happened. Tactically we played a very disciplined, attacking style of football and we scored three.”
“It probably could have been a bit more. But I am still pleased with the performance overall, and you don’t want to ask for too much.”
“It’s important to start well in the tournament and, considering the short period of our preparation, it was very important to have a game like this to work on tactical stuff in game conditions and from here we can build on for the next games we have to play.”
Next up is a crunch match on Friday against South Korea, who are well-placed to go far in the Asian Cup under captain and Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung.
Osieck is aware of the threat posed by South Korea, but believes Monday’s win over India will hold the Socceroos in good stead.
“It’s definitely going to be a tougher test, but I think a game like today and a victory like today will build up some confidence,” Osieck said.
“I hope we’re going to have the right mindset to get into the game and be successful as well.”
Mon 10 January, 2011Portuguese Special One wins top honours.
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(GSM) – Internazionale has announced the appointment of former Milan boss Leonardo as their new coach on Friday.
The announcement by the European and Italian champions on its website come a day following Rafa Benítez’s contract termination by mutual agreement.
Leonardo, who has managed Inter’s city rivals Milan, has been handed a contract that will run until June 2012.
His first match as the Nerrazzuri coach will be when Inter play against second-place Napoli in the Serie A on January 6.
The club statement read: “We wish Leonardo the very best of luck and are sure that with his class, experience and winning mentality the Club and the team can achieve the results that everyone at Inter and all the Inter fans want to see.”
Leonardo becomes the fifth coach to make the move from Milan to Inter, following Giuseppe Bigogno, Giovanni Trapattoni, Ilario Castagner and Alberto Zaccheroni.
Fri 24 December, 2010(GSM) – Internazionale has announced the appointment of former Milan boss Leonardo as their new coach on Friday.
The announcement by the European and Italian champions on its website come a day following Rafa Benítez’s contract termination by mutual agreement.
Leonardo, who has managed Inter’s city rivals Milan, has been handed a contract that will run until June 2012.
His first match as the Nerrazzuri coach will be when Inter play against second-place Napoli in the Serie A on January 6.
The club statement read: “We wish Leonardo the very best of luck and are sure that with his class, experience and winning mentality the Club and the team can achieve the results that everyone at Inter and all the Inter fans want to see.”
Leonardo becomes the fifth coach to make the move from Milan to Inter, following Giuseppe Bigogno, Giovanni Trapattoni, Ilario Castagner and Alberto Zaccheroni.
Fri 24 December, 2010Rafael Benitez brushed aside speculation about his future, the Spaniard stating that he still “feels like the Inter Milan coach” despite media reports here that he is set to be fired by the Italian giants.
Benitez looked ever closer to the exit door Sunday after his club president Massimo Moratti blasted the former Liverpool boss for his post-Club World Cup outburst.
Having seen his side beat Congolese outfit Tout Puissant Mazembe 3-0 to win their fifth trophy of the year, Benitez launched a tirade against the powers that be at Inter.
He accused his bosses of failing to support him in the transfer market and accused the players of taking their own decisions.
He said: “Now there are three roads: either the club starts a project and buys four players right now in January or we continue like this with the coach who is the only person to blame or otherwise the president speaks to my agent and we find a solution.”
But Benitez, who is spending the winter break on holiday in Liverpool, insisted Monday that he still maintained “good relations” with Moratti.
“I still feel like the Inter coach,” Benitez told Spanish Radio Onda Cero in an interview broadcast on Italy’s Sky Sport 24.
“Inter is the strongest team. I want to stay here and to continue to win. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s up to the president to decide.
“I have not been sacked. Many people that read the newspapers have called me up to ask me if I had been dismissed.
“It’s not true, I am surprised that it has been reported as a done thing.
“I am currently on holiday to rest and then to begin again.
“For months I have heard and read things that are not true.”
The Spaniard, who took over the European champions after jose mourinho left for Real Madrid, reiterated his desire for financial backing.
“The president (Moratti), with whom I had spoken prior to that press conference, had already left Abu Dhabi, and the only possibility was to publicly say something which was evident,” said Benitez.
“I don’t want to put the president under pressure, but I had spoken to him in the past about my project.
“My project was to include a series of useful players immediately as well as young players for the future.
“Moratti, with whom I have a correct and respectful relationship, liked it.
“The president has to take a decision regarding the line we want to follow.
“While I am here (at Inter) I will work in the best possible way in order for the team to continue to win.
“But in order to win and to do well it is necessary to bring in reinforcements.
“Injuries have hindered us and I don’t want this to happen again.
“The transfer market begins soon and hence, this is the time to speak openly about acquisitions.”
Moratti, who had been ambiguous in his support of Benitez leading up to the Club World Cup, refused to answer questions concerning the coache’s future on Monday despite stating at the weekend that the Spaniard had erred in his comments.
He told the club’s website: “I will not speak today. I do not wish to create any controversies with anyone.”
Tue 21 December, 2010
