Israel coach Grant quits after World Cup failure
 
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By Ori Lewis

TEL AVIV, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Israel coach Avraham Grant has resigned after failing to steer the country to the World Cup finals in Germany next year, the Israeli FA said on Wednesday.

Israel finished third in European zone Group Four behind France and Switzerland despite being unbeaten in their 10 World Cup qualifying matches after four wins and six draws.

The 50-year-old Grant had a one-hour meeting with Israeli FA chairman Itzhak Menahem where he handed in his notice. He said he was not prepared to continue with the uncertainty of whether he would be offered a third two-year term in the job.

"Enough. I am tired of the demonic dance (in the media over whether I will be offered a third term). I will not continue to coach the national team," Grant said in a statement to Israel's Channel 5.

Menahem said he was surprised by Grant's announcement but refused to answer repeated questions from reporters wanting to know whether he was disappointed with the coach's decision.

"The timing surprised me. On Monday I was due to name my candidate for the next two years...and we were due to announce whether Grant would continue. Now I will present his letter to the IFA secretariat," Menahem said.

Israel's veteran captain Avi Nimni expressed disappointment and said he was unlikely to continue his international career following Grant's departure.

"After all that has happened I am not surprised, it is a little disappointing for me and other players...he should be appreciated for bringing the respect which we have earned from our rivals in Europe. We must now look ahead to a new future," Nimni said.

Talk of a replacement for Grant and Menahem's refusal to silence those voices were the reason for Grant's decision. He said he would be willing to stay until his contract expires next June.

Media reports in Israel have said that Grant has been linked with a move abroad or possibly to a high-paying position with Betar Jerusalem who have recently been acquired by big-spending Russian tycoon Arakdy Gaidamak.

The prime candidate to take over from Grant is Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Dror Kashtan whose defensive and counter-attacking style led his club to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2001.

A Hapoel official said on Wednesday that Kashtan would be expected to honour his contract which ends in June.

Grant got the Israel job only after Kashtan could not agree personal terms with the IFA in 2002 and has held the post since May that year when he left Maccabi Haifa to replace Dane Richard Moeller Nielsen.

Moeller Nielsen quit after Israel just missed out on a playoff place in Euro 2004 qualifying.
 
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Troussier named as Morocco's national coach
 
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By Michel Debono

RABAT, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Frenchman Philippe Troussier has been confirmed as the new coach of Morocco's national team.
 
A spokesman at the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said on Wednesday that Troussier had signed a five-year deal through to the 2010 World Cup finals worth 50,000 euros ($60,330) a month plus bonuses.

The 50-year-old Frenchman will have the title of General Manager and National Coach. Earlier this week, the FRMF appointed French-Moroccan Nasser Larguet as technical manager of the squad.

Troussier replaces Badou Zaki who resigned earlier this month after Morocco failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

The move represents something of a home-coming for Troussier, nicknamed the "white witchdoctor" for his successes working in African soccer, coaching in Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa as well as Japan, Qatar and his native France.

He also coached South Africa and Japan at the 1998 and 2002 World Cup tournaments respectively.

Troussier had a brief spell working in Morocco in the mid-1990s, taking the second division outfit FUS Rabat to the Throne Cup title in 1995 and has always kept a home in the country.

He will take charge of a side made up mainly of French-based professionals who were unlucky to miss out on a World Cup place and will be looking to make amends in the African Nations Cup in Egypt next year.
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Real Madrid sack coach Luxemburgo
 
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By Simon Baskett

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.

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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.

"The Real Madrid board has decided that Vanderlei Luxemburgo will not continue as coach of the first team," club vice-president Emilio Butragueno told a news conference.

"It wasn't an easy decision, but the board considered that we had reached a point where we needed a change.

"The team were not living up to expectations and that worried both us and the fans and that was the fundamental reason for our decision, which was unanimous."

The announcement came a day after Real's lacklustre 1-0 win at home to Getafe, but the detonating factor was a humiliating 3-0 home defeat by arch-rivals Barcelona two weeks ago.

Butragueno said Luxemburgo's four Brazilian assistants would also be dismissed and that reserve team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro would take over on a caretaker basis.

He added that a decision on a definitive replacement would be made in the next few weeks.

Juventus boss Fabio Capello, who led Real to the league title in 1997, former Celta Vigo and Porto coach Victor Fernandez, England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Liverpool's Rafael Benitez have all been mooted as possible long-term replacements for Luxemburgo.

The former Brazil and Santos coach 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 but more than anything it has been the side's lack of flair that has caused consternation among directors and fans alike.

Further defeats against Valencia and Deportivo Coruna and their 3-0 thrashing by 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. 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.

The task now falls to Lopez Caro, a 42-year-old who has excelled as coach of the club's reserve team Real Madrid Castilla but who has no experience of the Spanish top flight.
 
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Naval coach Cajuda resigns
 
December 5, 2005
LISBON (AFP) - Manuel Cajuda said he has quit as coach of Portuguese first division club Naval following a string of disappointing results which have left the club in the relegation zone.