Pro Eleven Headline News

Real Madrid fires coach Bernd Schuster

Real Madrid fired Bernd Schuster on Tuesday, two days after the German coach said it would be "impossible" for the two-time defending Spanish champion to win against Barcelona on Saturday.

Former Tottenham and Sevilla coach Juande Ramos replaces the 49-year-old Schuster, who was let go only six months after guiding the Spanish powerhouse to its record 31st league title.

Fifth-place Madrid trails leader Barcelona by nine points going into Saturday's "classico" derby. Schuster said Sunday after a 4-3 home defeat to Sevilla that Madrid "would try to play a good game" but that this was Barcelona's season.

"Madrid is a team that whichever game it has to play it will go in with maximum motivation to play it," said Ramos. "Barcelona is playing really well but Madrid is playing well enough to not renounce a victory in any stadium in the world."

Ramos is the eighth coach to lead the Spanish club since it fired Vicente del Bosque in 2003.

The 54-year-old Ramos' first match in charge will be against Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Sports director Pedja Mijatovic said that after a Tuesday morning meeting with the board of directors, Schuster and Madrid parted ways "amicably."

"We talked about all of the difficulties that we had over the past months ... and we decided to take this decision," Mijatovic said. "He accepted it with great humility."

Schuster joined Madrid from Getafe last July, replacing current England coach Fabio Capello, who was fired after leading Madrid to its first league title in four years to snap its longest trophy drought for 53 years.

Schuster, who had a contract through 2010, promptly defended the league title easily as Madrid finished 18 points ahead of bitter rival Barcelona.

"He did a great job last year and we hoped things would work out, but as you know in the world of football their are streaks you can't shake," Mijatovic said. "We enjoyed our time with him."

But Madrid, which has already qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League, has lost three of its last four league games and is in the middle of an injury crisis.

Only three weeks ago, Mijatovic backed Schuster to continue "barring a catastrophe."

But Schuster's comments about the match against Barcelona, where he all but threw in the towel, were never likely to be well received.

"At the Camp Nou now, it's not possible to win," Schuster said after the match against Sevilla. "They (Barcelona) are playing really well there and it's their year. We can just try and hopefully play a good game."

Schuster added that the way Barcelona was "demolishing" opponents, with the Catalans scoring an average of three goals a game, meant that it was their year. Barcelona is unbeaten in 20 matches in all competitions.


Ramos wants Real Madrid to focus on Zenit

New coach Juande Ramos wants struggling Real Madrid to focus on Wednesday's Champions League game against Zenit St. Petersburg instead of the Spanish league derby against Barcelona.

Ramos replaced Bernd Schuster, who was fired on Tuesday after saying it was "impossible" to win the "clasico" derby on Saturday against a team that is nine points ahead in the league table and on a 20-game unbeaten run.

Madrid has lost three of its last four league games and is fifth in the table, but has already advanced to the knockout stages of European Cup play.

But Ramos, who returned to Spain after a yearlong stint at Tottenham that ended with his firing in October, does not want his new team to look beyond Wednesday's Group H match.

"I would like that all of our effort and work focuses on tomorrow's match against Zenit. I know that it doesn't have maximum importance ... but we need to treat it the same as if we were going to the Camp Nou," said Ramos, who agreed on Tuesday to lead the club for the remainder of the current campaign.

The former Sevilla coach returned to Spain after leaving Tottenham with the Premier League club off to its worst ever start to a season. Ramos is the eighth coach to lead Madrid since it fired Vicente del Bosque in 2003.

Ramos spoke with his players briefly Tuesday before leading his first training session.

Madrid can clinch top spot in Group H with a victory, coupled with Juventus losing against BATE Borisov in Turin, Italy. Zenit has already clinched third place and will go into 2009 looking to defend its UEFA Cup trophy.

"It's great that we are ending the season on a match with a club like Real," Zenit coach Dick Advocaat said. "It's an indicator of what we've achieved in 2 1/2 years."

Madrid is without a handful of its injured international players and may also be without Royston Drenthe after the Dutch winger left practice early on Monday with a knee problem.

The Spanish club is missing leading striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and has to wait until January to field replacement Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Mohamadou Diarra is also out for at least six months after the Mali midfielder underwent a knee operation on Monday.

"With respect to the injury problems, for a team that competes every three days it's normal to have injuries," Ramos said. "In this aspect we've had bad luck."

Zenit will be without midfielders Alexander Gorshov and Vladislav Radimov, while forward Andrei Arshavin will be motivated to put on a good performance at the Santiago Bernabeu with the Russia international reportedly on Madrid's winter transfer list.

Arshavin is looking to exit the Russian league and has said he would like to move to Spain. Ramos followed the 27-year-old's progress during his tenure at Tottenham.

"He's a very good player, magnificent," Ramos said.

Zenit lost its title as Russian champion to Rubin Kazan last month when the domestic season ended, finishing fifth in the league. Herald Tribune


Lyon and Bayern contest top spot in Group F

With both teams unbeaten and already qualified for the next round of the Champions League, four-time European champion Bayern Munich heads to Lyon with first place in the group on the line.

Lyon and Bayern both top their domestic leagues and are locked on 11 points in Europe, but Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge promised that there will be no easing up from coach Juergen Klinsmann's team at Stade Gerland on Wednesday.

"We are still going to try to win the group because it allows you to play the first game in the next round away from home," Rummenigge said.

"The most important thing was qualifying. That's done," Ribery added in sports daily L'Equipe on Tuesday. "Finishing first is a considerable advantage. That's why we will play to win, or at worst get a good (score) draw."

Bayern's pedigree may outshine Lyon's but the French club had several chances to win in a 1-1 draw at Bayern on Sept. 30.

Bayern has clinched a record 21 Bundesliga titles and won the European Cup in 1974, 1975, 1976, and 2001.

While Lyon is aiming for an eighth straight league title, the club's main priority this season is a successful European campaign and is targeting its first semi-final place.

"Everyone is concentrating and focused when it comes to the Champions League," Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. "It's true that maybe it's easier to get ready for a Champions League match than a league game."

Lyon and Bayern had contrasting fortunes in the past week.

Lyon gave up a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at Nantes, while Bayern rallied from a goal down to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 and pull even with their opponent at the top of the German standings. Lyon's third defeat of the league season trimmed its lead over Marseille to three points.

"It's a failure and it's part of football," Lloris told the club Web site Tuesday. "Now we move on to something else straight away with a very important match on Wednesday.

"It's very enticing and exciting, and it helps us think of something else and have other objectives."

On Wednesday, Lyon will be without Brazilian midfielder Juninho and Brazilian defender Cris through suspension, while Bayern will also be without its two Brazilian players.

Central defender Lucio is out with flu, while midfielder Ze Roberto has a leg injury.

Defender Christian Lell is also ill and backup striker Lukas Podolski is out with a back injury.

Injuries have also hit Lyon, with coach Claude Puel's defense without fullbacks Anthony Reveillere and Francois Clerc. Utility player Mathieu Bodmer, who plays either in the center of midfield or defense, is also injured.

But Puel got a welcome boost with the news that top scorer Karim Benzema has resumed full training and may be fit to face Bayern after missing the last two league matches with a thigh strain.

Ghana defender John Mensah is also in contention after shaking off a calf strain, but striker Frederic Piquionne is out after straining his right thigh.

The 20-year-old Benzema is crucial to Lyon's chances of beating Bayern. He has nine league goals this season and four in Europe, taking his overall tally in the Champions League to 11 in 16 games.

Without Benzema providing the scoring threat and playmaker Juninho pulling the strings in midfield, Lyon appear a much weaker team. Herald Tribune


Chelsea, Roma go through in Champions League

Chelsea scraped through to the second round of the Champions League alongside AS Roma and Panathinaikos, but not before last season's runner-up got a scare.

CFR Cluj and Chelsea were tied on Tuesday when star striker Didier Drogba came on as a late substitute. His goal in the 71st minute gave the Blues a 2-1 victory and something to cheer about after going winless away from home for the first time in Champions League group play.

"If we want to go all the way again we have to really up our game," Chelsea captain John Terry said. "Things haven't been clicking."

AS Roma beat Bordeaux 2-0 to finish as the Group A winner ahead of Chelsea, with Bordeaux third. Panathinaikos won Group B after a 1-0 victory over Anorthosis Famagusta to complete the second-round lineup. Thirteen of the 16 qualifiers were settled before the final group matches.

Barcelona won Group C despite losing 3-2 to visiting Shakhtar Donetsk, which finished third to qualify for a consolation place in the second-tier UEFA Cup, while Liverpool topped Group D with a 3-1 victory at PSV Eindhoven.

Bordeaux needed to win at Roma to have any chance of finishing in the top two places and held out hope until Matteo Brighi scored on a cross by Simone Perrotta. Francesco Totti made it 2-0 in the 79th with a low shot past goalkeeper Ulrich Rame from Jeremy Menez's pass.

"It wasn't easy considering how we started," Totti said.

Roma ended the group with 12 points, one more than Chelsea and five more than Bordeaux. Cluj was a distant last with just four.

Panathinaikos, which lost the 1971 final to Ajax, surprisingly won Group B after already-qualified Inter Milan lost 2-1 at Werder Bremen. Serie A leader Inter Milan finished two points back with eight, and Bremen was another point back in third.

"We stayed calm. We knew what we were doing," Panathinaikos manager Henk Ten Cate said. "The team proved itself. I think there's no team whatsoever that will underestimate us now."

Ryan Babel, Albert Riera and David Ngog gave five-time champion Liverpool victory over PSV Eindhoven, while Atletico Madrid finished second in Group D and two points back after a 0-0 draw at Marseille.

Barcelona had already won Group C and is six points clear in the Spanish League, so it fielded a team of mostly reserves against Shakhtar Barcelona finished group play with 13 points, one more than Sporting Lisbon, which won 1-0 at FC Basel in Tuesday's other match.

The other four groups conclude Wednesday. With qualifiers already settled, games including FC Porto-Arsenal and Manchester United-Aalborg will decide only final placings and UEFA Cup participants.