Berti Vogts has resigned as head coach of Azerbaijan after six years at the helm, with the country’s football association confirming his departure following a meeting with its president Rovnag Abdullayev in Zurich.
“Vogts, unfortunately, said that he did not see a future with the Azerbaijani national team,” the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan said.
“He said that the team had lacked assertiveness in their last game (a 6-0 loss to Croatia in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Monday).
“There was also the problem of physical conditioning. He has pointed this out on a number of occasions over the last few years, but a decision was never taken to fix this.”
Blatter is not serving football says Platini
UEFA president Michel Platini hit out at FIFA chief Sepp Blatter yesterday, saying he has stopped serving the cause of football.
“Sepp is not the president of FIFA anymore. He is FIFA,” Frenchman Platini, whose book ‘Let’s Talk About Football’ was released this week, told L’Equipe.
“Platini, Pele, Blatter, (former FIFA president Joao) Havelange must yield to the interests of football.
“One must not use football, but serve football.”
Platini, 59, has no regrets for not running against Blatter who is likely to secure a fifth term at next year’s elections.
“It was not the time. I do not regret anything. One day maybe. We will see,” he said.
Capello set for parliament hearing
Russia coach Fabio Capello has been invited to attend a parliament hearing at the Russian State Duma, the country’s main legislative body, on October 27.
“I invited Capello to speak with him about how the Russian national team is preparing for the 2018 World Cup,” Igor Ananskikh, head of the Duma’s Committee for Physical Culture and Sport, said.
“Aside from talking about the national team’s preparations at the parliamentary hearing, we will also talk about questions concerning the development of infrastructure and the construction of stadiums in the cities, which will host matches at the 2018 World Cup.”
Southampton win awards double
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman and their striker Graziano Pelle were named yesterday the Manager and Player of the Month for September after the club’s bright start to the season.
Koeman guided Saints to three wins in the Premier League during the month that lifted them to third in the standings as well as a League Cup win over Arsenal at the Emirates stadium.
Italian forward Pelle scored twice in the win over Newcastle and hit a spectacular overhead winner against QPR.
Piturca quits Romania post
Victor Piturca has resigned as Romania coach in order to take charge at Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad.
Piturca’s decision comes after Romania’s 2-0 win over Finland on Tuesday moved them up to second place in Group F of the Euro 2016 qualifiers ahead of next month’s meeting with group leaders Northern Ireland.
“The Romanian Football Federation and Victor Piturca have cancelled today, October 16 2014, by mutual consent, the contract for the post of coach of the Romanian national team and the contracts of the other members of coaching staff,” a statement said.
Blades striker Evans released from jail
Former Sheffield United and Wales striker Ched Evans was released from prison yesterday after serving half of a five-year sentence for rape.
The 25-year-old, who has also played for Manchester City and is a Wales international, was convicted in 2012 of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room.
Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough has discussed the possibility of Evans making a comeback with the third tier club but more than 145,000 people have signed a petition against his possible return for the Blades.
On Thursday, Britain’s deputy prime minister and Sheffield MP Nick Clegg urged the club to “think really long and hard” before deciding whether to allow Evans to play for them again.
No contract offer for Abate
Milan have yet to offer a new contract to Ignazio Abate, his agent Mino Raiola revealed yesterday.
The Italy right-back’s contract with Milan expires at the end of the season and he is already being linked with a move to Juventus next summer
“What is the situation? Right now there isn’t one: Milan haven’t made an offer,” Raiola told calciomercato.com.
“The lad is relaxed. There is still time, as there are eight months to go and we are in no rush to conclude a deal with Milan.”