Real Madrid director Jorge Valdano has been sacked - a move widely seen as a victory for coach Jose Mourinho as he moves to expand his influence at the club.
|||Madrid - Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano has been sacked, president Florentino Perez said on Wednesday, in a victory for coach Jose Mourinho in his bid for more influence at the La Liga club.
“We have decided to end the contractual relationship with Jorge Valdano,” Perez said at a hastily-convened news conference at Real's Bernabeu stadium following a meeting of the club's board of directors.
“The experience of this season has shown the need for a new organisational structure giving authority to the coach and avoiding dysfunctions with the directorate general,” he added.
“I do not want to hide the pain I feel at the exit of Jorge Valdano, but my feelings cannot be a reason for not taking the necessary decisions.
“There were two people filling a sporting role between whom there was no understanding.”
Valdano's position had been in doubt after his relationship with Mourinho deteriorated following the Portuguese's arrival from Inter Milan at the end of last season.
Mourinho was reportedly harbouring a grudge over a newspaper column the Argentine wrote several years ago criticising his tactics as manager of English Premier League club Chelsea.
The pair clashed at the end of last year after Valdano questioned Mourinho's request for another striker to be brought in as cover for the injured Gonzalo Higuain.
Valdano, a former Real player and coach and a World Cup winner with Argentina in 1986 who typically acts as a spokesman for the club in post-match television interviews, has been Perez's right-hand man in both his stints as president.
He returned as director general when Perez was elected unopposed to a second term at the end of the 2008/09 season.
Despite the arrival of Mourinho, Real's bid to reverse the recent domination of arch rivals Barcelona failed this season as the Catalan club won a third straight La Liga title and knocked Real out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.
Real's only silverware came in the domestic cup when they beat Barca 1-0 in a dramatic King's Cup final in Valencia. - Reuters
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/valdano-leaves-real-madrid-1.1074102
David Beckham Steve Coogan Extradition Julian Assange Eric Cantona Public sector cuts
No comments:
Post a Comment