Brazilian coach cull reaches 26 this season
Reuters - Tuesday 11 August 2009, 12:47
(Clarifies time scale of sackings in first and last paras)
By Pedro Fonseca
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Two more trainers in
Brazil's top flight were sacked after the weekend's matches,
bringing to 26 the number of coaching changes this year and 14
since the national championship started in May.
Tenth-placed Vitoria sacked Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani on
Monday after four months in charge following their 2-2 draw at
home to one-from-bottom Fluminense a day earlier.
Vitoria started the championship brightly and were in the
top four for the first 12 matches, but have since gone into
decline with only one win in their last eight.
"There comes a time when it's best to stop. Time will tell
if the team can react. I think the good start in the
championship bred too much optimism," Carpeggiani, who coached
Paraguay at the 1998 World Cup in France, told reporters.
Botafogo's Ney Franco, who steered the club clear of
relegation last year, lasted much longer by Brazilian standards
but was sacked after 13 months with the Rio de Janeiro-based
team in 15th place.
Botafogo lost 1-0 at home to Atletico Paranaense on Saturday
in a match that included a controversial incident over a penalty
they were awarded when the game was still scoreless.
Although Franco had asked captain Lucio Flavio to take the
penalty after Andre Lima was fouled, the striker who was brought
down took it himself and hit the bar.
The club's directors took the incident as a sign that Franco
had lost the confidence of his squad.
"He did a good job renewing the squad at the start of the
season but we came to the conclusion that at this moment a
change would be for the best," director of football Andre Silva
said in a statement on the club's website (www.botafogo.com.br).
The season begins with state tournaments before the 20-team
Brazilian championship kicks off in May. Since then only eight
teams have not changed coaches, with a total of 14 coaching
casualties after 18 rounds, including two apiece at Paranaense
and Sport Recife.
(Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)