Sports

Monday June 29, 2009

Palmeiras sack Luxemburgo after row over striker Keirrison

RIO DE JANEIRO: Former Brazil and Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo has been sacked by Palmeiras in a row over striker Keirrison’s future.

“After a board meeting on Friday night, Vanderlei Luxemburgo is no longer trainer of the professional team,” the Sao Paulo-based club said on their website (
www.palmeiras.com.br).

Palmeiras said on Friday they had received a big money offer from Barcelona for Keirrison, who has only been at Palmeiras for six months, and that the 20-year-old would not play for the team while negotiations were ongoing.

Luxemburgo was angered by this decision and told Palmeiras that under his charge he would not pick Keirrison again even if the striker’s transfer did not go through.

“Keirrison showed a lack of professionalism and respect towards me and the squad so, while I’m coach, he will no longer play for Palmeiras,” Luxemburgo had said on his blog (http://luxemburgo.blog.uol.com.br).

The sacking had nothing to do with results on the pitch, the club said. The team were knocked out of the Libertadores Cup in last week’s quarter-finals.

Media reports put Barcelona’s offer for Keirrison, last year’s top scorer in the Brazilian Championship with 20 goals playing for Coritiba at US$21.08mil.

Luxemburgo, 57, is the most successful coach in the Brazilian Championship with five national titles: Palmeiras in 1993 and 1994, Corinthians in 1998, Cruzeiro in 2003 and Santos in 2004. He was appointed to his fourth stint at Palmeiras in December 2007.

He landed his dream job in charge of Brazil after the 1998 World Cup in France but his tenure ended after two years of poor results and performances mixed with a scandal over his financial affairs.

He was coach at Real Madrid for a year, starting brightly in the second half of the 2004-05 season but missing out on the title and ending up with the sack early the next season. — Reuters

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