Coach Luxemburgo sacked by desperate Real
MADRID, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo
was sacked on Sunday 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, who steered his side to promotion into the second division
last season, 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 in place of Mariano Garcia Remon 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 Brazilian got off to a dream start at Real when his side
snatched victory in a frantic seven-minute mini-match against Real
Sociedad and then went on to win seven league games in a row.
However, his brief honeymoon period came to an end when Real were
knocked out of both the King's Cup and the Champions League, though
the team recovered in the league to finish four points behind
champions Barcelona.
The club then spent nearly 90 million euros ($105.3 million) in
reconstructing the squad during the close season, bringing in
Brazilian strikers Robinho and Julio Baptista, the 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.
Injuries to a succession of leading players did not help Real's
cause, but more than anything it has been the side's lack of flair
that has caused consternation amongst directors and fans
alike.
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.
Outwardly the club expressed its faith in the feisty Brazilian, but
his failure to deliver the stylish victories that the club demanded
meant that his days were numbered.
Saturday's narrow victory over modest local rivals Getafe, which
was not helped by David Beckham's second half dismissal and ended
with more jeering for the home side, finally sealed his fate.
Real have failed to live up to their "Galactico" billing ever since
Vicente del Bosque was discarded in July 2003 after steering the
club to two European Cups and two league titles and they have not
won a major trophy since the former midfielder was cast
aside.
Since then the club has gone through four other coaches in an
attempt to find a person capable of getting a star-studded squad
that includes the likes of Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Beckham and
Robinho to live up to expectations.
