AMSTERDAM, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Ajax Amsterdam have sacked coach Co Adriaanse after the Dutch first division side were knocked out of the UEFA Cup, the club said on Thursday.
'Ajax and Co Adriaanse will part with immediate effect. The
Ajax management decided to end the contract this morning and
announced its decision to Adriaanse,' the club said in a
statement.
Adriaanse, 54, was in the second year of his three-year
contract with the former Champions League winners, but he had
been under pressure after the club failed to qualify for the
first group stage of the Champions League and their early exit
from the UEFA Cup.
The four times European Champions suffered a humbling exit
from the UEFA Cup earlier this month with a 1-0 home defeat
against FC Copenhagen after drawing the first leg 0-0.
They also went out of the Champions League in the third
qualifying round losing 3-2 to Celtic on aggregate.
In domestic football Ajax have disappointed their fans,
trailing league leaders and arch rivals Feyenoord by two points,
having played a game more.
On Wednesday, Ajax escaped defeat when they came back from
2-0 down against Twente Enschede to win 3-2, but the victory was
not enough to save Adriaanse's skin.
Adriaanse coached 84 Ajax games, notching up 50 victories,
14 draws and 20 defeats.
Between 1992 and 1997 Adriaanse was responsible for the Ajax
youth squad and then went on to coach Willem II Tilburg.
- NEWS