|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
'Rock bottom' Parma sacks coach Malesani after home loss
Updated: Monday January 08, 2001 3:23 PM
ROME (Reuters) -- Italian club Parma sacked coach Alberto Malesani on Monday after a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Reggina left the team 10th in Serie A. "The club has sacked Malesani. An announcement about Parma's new coach will be made tomorrow," a club spokesman told Reuters. Parma confirmed the decision in a brief statement in which it thanked Malesani for his work over the last three years. The provincial northern side -- UEFA Cup and Italian Cup winners under Malesani in 1999 -- has won only five of its 13 league matches this season. It briefly looked capable of threatening AS Roma at the top of the league in November but has taken just one point from the last 12 and has slithered down the table. Sunday's defeat against bottom-of-the-league Reggina prompted a protest by angry fans outside the Tardini stadium. Former Bologna and Cagliari coach Renzo Ulivieri is favorite to take over from Malesani, although ex-Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli, former Netherlands coach Frank Rijkaard and former Parma, AC Milan and Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi have also been touted as possible contenders. Malesani took over from Carlo Ancelotti at Parma in 1998 and guided the side to a sixth-place finish in his first season. The following year, with Argentine Juan Veron orchestrating the midfield and Brazilian striker Amoroso topping the Serie A scoring tables, it finished fourth in the league, securing a Champions League berth, and won a cup double. They beat Malesnai's former club Fiorentina in the Italian Cup final and crushed Marseille 3-0 in the UEFA Cup final. But Parma's demanding fans, who enjoyed the club's success in winning the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup under previous coach Nevio Scala, have set their sights on the league title and, as a consequence, have remained unsatisfied. Parma finished fifth in the league last year and missed out on a place in the Champions League. Sunday's disastrous result against a club which had lost nine of its previous 12 league matches this season left them 14 points behind runaway league leaders AS Roma. "This is the worst moment in our recent history. We are at rock bottom," club owner Callisto Tanzi said after the defeat.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
