Fabio Capello's time as coach of Real Madrid appeared to
draw to a close last night with his side's departure from the
Champions League. After Madrid's 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich
at the Allianz Arena, Real's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic,
refused to confirm that Capello would be in charge for the derby
against Barcelona on Saturday night.
Asked if Capello would take charge on Saturday, Mijatovic replied:
"Right now, I can't say." When he was told that the response did
not seem to be a resounding vote of confidence, he would only
concede: "For the moment he is our coach."
When Capello was questioned about his position, he replied: "My
future depends only on the president." Pushed as to what that
meant, he snapped, "Right, thanks," and walked off.
Capello took charge of Real in July but his first season has far
from gone to plan. The team have exited the Champions League at the
first knockout stage and sit fourth in La Liga, six points behind
the leaders Sevilla, having scored only 32 goals in 25 league
matches.
Real have drawn their past three games in La Liga, including at
home to Real Betis and Getafe, and patience with Capello has worn
thin. There have been calls from fans for the coach and the club's
president, Ramón Calderón, to resign and last month the club had to
deny a report that Capello was planning to leave.