Resino on the ropes as Madrid face Mallorca
Reuters - Thursday 22 October 2009, 10:22
MADRID - Even a victory for Atletico
Madrid over Real Mallorca in la Liga on Saturday may
not be enough to save coach Abel Resino from the chop as their
season continues to unravel.
They were hammered 4-0 away by Chelsea in the Champions
League on Wednesday to leave them bottom of Group D, below
debutants APOEL Nicosia, without a win or a goal.
Things are just as bad in the league. Resino's side are
15th in the standings with one win from seven matches and they
have La Liga's leakiest defence with 17 gpals conceded.
"It's clear from our position the situation cannot go on
like this," Atletico president Enrique Cerezo told reporters in
London.
"We have to find a solution immediately. Abel, as coach and
as an Atletico man, continues to be the best in my opinion...
but the fact is the results are not going our way."
Resino said he had no intention of quitting when questioned
over his future after the Chelsea game, but the Spanish media
have already started speculating over possible replacements.
Luis Aragones, Michael Laudrup, Quique Sanchez Flores and
Bernd Schuster have all been linked with the post and another
former coach, Mallorca's Gregorio Manzano, could provide the
coup de grace, if Resino is still in charge on Saturday and
loses.
The islanders have made an impressive start to the campaign
and are fifth in the table, two points off the Champions League
places.
Another coach feeling the heat is Ernesto Valverde at
Villarreal, who host 19th-placed Malaga on Sunday still
winless after seven games.
Villarreal slipped to the foot of the table last weekend
after they were humbled 2-1 by promoted Xerez, who climbed
above them with a first ever top-flight victory.
SURPRISE DEFEATS
At the top of the table, both leaders Barcelona and
second-placed Real Madrid return to domestic action having
suffered surprise midweek defeats in Europe.
Barca were stunned 2-1 by Rubin Kazan at the Nou Camp on
Tuesday, and they will be out to shrug off suggestions that
they have lost some of their spark, at home to promoted Real
Zaragoza on Sunday.
The European champions struggled to a 1-0 win over Almeria,
and drew 0-0 at Valencia before suffering their first reverse
in all competitions this season, at home to Rubin.
"We didn't deserve to lose, but we have to learn from these
errors," Andres Iniesta told a news conference. "This defeat
should make us stronger for the coming games."
Daniel Alves has joined Thierry Henry on the Barca injury
list.
Real Madrid, who are a point behind Barca, fell 3-2 to AC
Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, and seem to be
missing injured top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo more than they
would care to admit.
They visit Sporting Gijon on Saturday just before
third-placed Sevilla host Espanyol.