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| Thursday, September 20, 2001 08:38 EST |
Zaccheroni replaces Zoff as coach
[Reuters]
ROME -- Dino Zoff has been sacked as coach
of Lazio and replaced by former AC Milan coach Alberto
Zaccheroni.
Lazio said in a statement on Thursday that Zoff had been
invited to become president of the club but had rejected the
offer saying it was not "practical" at this time.
"Faced with the disappointing performances of the team,
culminating with the defeat at home to Nantes which seriously
compromises Lazio's prospects in the Champions League, the
president has taken the opportunity to relieve Dino Zoff of his
charge," read the Lazio statement.
The Rome club added that Zaccheroni, who steered AC Milan to
the Serie A title in 1999, had signed a deal keeping him with
Lazio until June 2004.
Club president Sergio Cragnotti told reporters at Lazio's
Formello training camp that Zaccheroni was the right man to get
Lazio, without a win in their opening five games of the season,
back on course in Europe and at home.
"We find ourselves in a difficult situation, but this is a
club that has big ambitions to win and has very big prospects
for the future. I think the arrival of Zaccheroni today can take
us towards our goals in a determined and serious way," said
Cragnotti.
"I wish Zaccheroni all the best. He is a coach of undoubted
skill and I have faith in the future," added the Lazio chief.
Lazio, Italian champions in 1999-2000, have drawn all three
Serie A matches this term and lost both their Champions League
games -- including a 3-1 home defeat to Nantes on Wednesday.
Zaccheroni said he was ready for the challenge of getting
Lazio's season back on track.
"I'm proud to take over from someone as illustrious as Dino
Zoff. This is a very prestigious club with ambitions that match
my own... It is a great club that stands with the best in
Europe," said Zaccheroni.
"I don't think we are out of the Champions League -- we can
make it to the next round. The Champions League requires
dedication to the cause, that's all."
Zoff took over as Lazio coach for the second time in January
when Swede Sven Goran Eriksson left to become coach of England.
He initially made a strong impact as Lazio pushed themselves
back into the title race, eventually finishing third.
But the off-season sales of Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved
and Chilean striker Marcelo Salas to Juventus and Argentine
midfielder Juan Veron to Manchester United badly weakened the
squad.
Lazio spent $41 million on Spanish international midfielder
Gaizka Mendieta from Valencia, but the blond-haired Basque
player has struggled to settle in Italy and was booed off the
field on Wednesday.
Former Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Zoff had previously
been Lazio coach between 1990 and 1994 failing to win the title
despite huge investment from Cragnotti.
Zoff then moved 'upstairs' to become club president before
becoming Italy coach after the 1998 World Cup finals.
He led Italy to Euro 2000 but quit after the 'Azzurri' lost
the final to France and then took on a role as vice-president of
Lazio.
Zaccheroni has worked his way up from the lower divisions,
making his name at Udinese before moving to AC Milan where he
won the Italian title in his first season in 1999.
But he failed to build on that success and was sacked by
Milan in March after they failed to reach the quarter-finals of
last season's Champions League.
Zaccheroni will have a swift chance to show Milan they were
wrong to let him go when he makes his debut on the Lazio bench
against his former club at the San Siro on Sunday night.
He said he would take charge of training later on Thursday
and aimed to find some answers to Lazio's problems before
Sunday.
"I hope we will find a solution that will make us
competitive again right away starting with Milan this weekend."
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