Sevilla sacked the Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli on Tuesday, 2 days after a 2-0 defeat at Getafe in the Spanish league.
“Following the defeat at Getafe, which leaves the team just above the relegation zone, the club decided to bid farewell to the Argentine coach before the international break”. Sevilla said in a statement, “The image shown by the team in these last games has led the club to make this decision, hoping to recover in the last 12 days of the Spanish league.” Sampaoli coached Sevilla between 2016 and 2017 before joining Argentina’s national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
He was fascinated during his early days at Sevilla to earn his shot at the national team but Argentina mainly struggled with Sampaoli, who was sacked after the side’s knockout round defeat by France in Russia.
(Read Also: Sunil Chhetri may play his last season: Coach Igor clarifies)
Sampaoli leaves Sevilla in 14th place in the Spanish league, two points from the relegation zone. The traditional club from southern Spain has won one of their last five league games, lost three, and drawn one. He has seven wins, seven draws, and 12 losses in the competition. Eliminated by Osasuna in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, Sevilla faces Manchester United in the Europa League quarter-finals next month.
Sampaoli, 63, has led Sevilla in a total of 31 games since Julen Lopetegui took office last year, winning 13, drawing six, and losing 12.
Sevilla was last relegated to the second tier in 2000, returning the following season and remaining in the top flight ever since.
Sevilla didn’t immediately announce a replacement for Sampaoli. He said he was “already working to recruit a new coach as soon as possible”.
Jorge Sampaoli formerly coached the Chilean team and new French club Marseille and Brazilian teams Santos and Atlético Mineiro.