Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Cesare Prandelli sacked as Galatasaray boss - reports

Cesare Prandelli has been relieved of his duties as Galatasaray coach less than six months after taking the reins, according to Turkish news agency Dogan.

Galatasaray deputy president Abdurrahim Albayrak told the Anadolu Agency thatĀ goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel would take temporary charge of the side.

Wednesday's defeat to Anderlecht in the Champions League, which means the club will not be playing in Europe at all in the spring, has cost the Italian his job, even though Gala are only one point behind joint leaders Fenerbahce and Besiktas at the top of the Turkish league.

Saturday's 3-0 defeat at home to Trabzonspor had already pushed Galatasaray management's patience, with Prandelli given until Wednesday to show an improvement. A 2-0 defeat at Anderlecht -- their fourth defeat in five Champions League fixtures -- failed to convince the board.

Prandelli took the place of his compatriot Roberto Mancini in the summer, after his ill-fated four-year reign as Italy coach came to an end when he resigned in the wake of a disappointing showing at the World Cup.

The 57-year-old ruled out taking similar action after Wednesday's defeat, saying at the post-match news conference that he had "never even considered resigning" even though he could understand the disappointment of the fans.

"Europe is a big objective of this big club, but now we've got to focus on winning the league," he added.

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