Steaua Bucharest coach Marius Lacatus has resigned, a day after his team lost 5-3 to Lyon in their Champions League Group F match.
“I prefer to sacrifice myself and leave, so that Steaua won’t suffer after a string of poor results,” Lacatus told reporters.
“When a team loses one match after another nobody other than the coach is responsible.”
The Romanian team had led 2-0 after the first 10 minutes on Tuesday and were 3-2 up at halftime before Lyon turned things round with three second-half goals.
Steaua are bottom of Group F, with one point from three matches. Bayern Munich lead the group with seven points, Lyon are second with five and Fiorentina have two.
Lacatus said he felt he had no option but to resign.
“It’s clear that I lost the support of everybody, officials, supporters and media, so there is no room for me to go on any more,” he said.
Steaua owner Gigi Becali had told reporters after the Lyon defeat: “I am not firing Lacatus, I’ll let him drown himself.”
Steaua lie third in the domestic league table, four points behind arch-rivals Dinamo Bucharest, who are top.
