Real Madrid have sacked coach Wanderley Luxemburgo after less than a year in charge.
The club called an emergency board meeting on Sunday to discuss Luxemburgo’s position following a disappointing run of results and in particular the 3-0 home defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona.
With Real trailing the reigning champions by six points, the board opted to act now and fire Luxemburgo.
The Brazilian took over 11 months ago and he took Real to second in La Liga last season and has taken the club into the knockout rounds of this term’s UEFA Champions League.
Real have appointed reserve team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro on a temporary basis while they search for a permanent successor to Luxemburgo.
At a press conference to expand on the reasons for Luxemburgo’s exit, Real’s vice-president Emilio Butragueno admitted the former Brazil national team coach’s presence on the bench was no longer tolerable.
“The Real Madrid board has decided that Wanderley Luxemburgo will not continue as coach of the first team,” said Butragueno.
“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.”
Real president Florentino Perez is a fan of Premiership bosses Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger as well as Juventus coach Fabio Capello.
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