EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Fiorentina loses Fatih

Terim quits as coach after row with club boss

Click here for more on this story

Fatih Terim had a better rapport with the fans than with his boss. Allsport UK

MILAN (Reuters) -- Fatih Terim quit as coach of Fiorentina on Monday after a poor run of form and a bust-up with the Serie A club's president.

The Turkish coach told a news conference in Florence: "If the problem is me then I leave and I leave it all, including the money in the hope that they spend it on some players."

Terim, who guided Galatasaray to the UEFA Cup last season, had announced in January he would leave at the end of this season.

Fiorentina director general Giancarlo Antognoni, one of the greatest players in the club's history, and Terim's entire coaching staff also resigned.

Fiorentina has not won a league match since January 13 when it beat Milan 4-0, and its fortunes turned for the worse when talks over an extension to Terim's one-year contract broke down.

Those failed negotiations led to a rift with Fiorentina president Vittorio Cecchi Gori, and Terim confirmed media reports of an angry row between the two in the dressing room following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brescia.

Last straw

"Saturday was the last straw. Not only I, but 20 people saw everything, but there is no need to go into details. What happened was against our principles," said Terim.

"First there was shouting with my assistant and then with me. It is clear that the president came down to the dressing room for the coach. The results are not the problem, the problem is me... they have been waiting for us to lose to fire me," said Terim.

Prior to the breakdown in contract talks, Fiorentina had climbed to third in Serie A after an excellent run of form.

But Cecchi Gori became furious when Terim declined to commit himself to a new deal and threatened to take legal action against the Turk who has built up a strong rapport with Fiorentina's fans who have dubbed him "The Emperor."

Since then, Fiorentina have slumped. A draw with lowly Brescia followed home defeats by Parma and Lazio, a dismal 1-0 loss at Napoli and draws against Atalanta Bergamo and Reggina.

Terim has been linked with AC Milan should its coach Alberto Zaccheroni leave when the season ends.

Mancini tipped

The man immediately tipped to take over from Terim was Roberto Mancini, assistant coach to Sven Goran Eriksson at Lazio until January when the Swede left to coach England.

Asked about the Fiorentina job before Terim's resignation, Mancini said: "I would be honored if Fiorentina asked me to be their coach but at the moment I don't know anything about it and no one has asked me."

However, Mancini might be barred from the job as he has not yet earned his Italian professional coaching qualification and is still registered at Lazio until the end of the season.

Former Parma coach Nevio Scala, who is coaching in Turkey at Galatasaray's city rival Besiktas, has also been linked with Fiorentina.

 

Related information
Stories
CNNSI.com's Marcotti: Gotta have Fatih Baggio double gives Brescia draw at Fiorentina
Multimedia
Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.