FC Porto sack coach Lopetegui
Porto have sacked their coach Julen Lopetegui after the Spaniard failed to deliver a trophy last season and with no improvement in sight during the current term, the club said on Friday. Former player and assistant coach Rui Barros will oversee an interim period on the Porto bench, the club said in a brief statement. Lopetegui joined on a three-year-deal in May 2014 after winning the European under-19's and under 21's championships with Spain in 2011 and 2013 and a spell at the helm of La Liga's Rayo Vallecano. The 49-year-old coach leaves Porto in third place in the national league, level on points with second placed Benfica and only four points adrift of leaders Sporting Lisbon, to whom Porto lost 2-0 last weekend. Porto were also eliminated from the Champions League knock out phase in December after a home defeat to Chelsea. The former goalkeeper also failed to impress the Porto supporters and defeat to Sporting Lisbon in their last league outing was the final straw for the club directors.
