Hamburg have appointed Mirko Slomka as their new coach 48 hours after showing Bert van Marwijk the door following seven-straight defeats in the Bundesliga.
The former Hanover coach, who lost his job with the Lower Saxony club just after Christmas, becomes the 30th coach of the northern Germany side and was presented at a press conference yesterday.
“We had to make a quick appointment,” said the club’s chairman Carl-Edgar Jarchow.
“I’m glad we were able to conclude these negotiations quickly.
“We’re confident we can move away from 17th place with this coach and this team.”
Injury blow for Cardiff’s Medel
Cardiff’s record signing Gary Medel has announced he will be out of action for several weeks through injury.
Medel, an £11m capture from Sevilla last summer, was replaced at half-time of Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup fifth-round defeat at home to Wigan. The 26-year-old Chile international later posted pictures of himself on social networking site Instagram undergoing a scan.
Medel added a post which read: “Well, this is football. A tear, I am out for several weeks. I hope to recover as quickly as possible.”
Medel’s absence comes at a crucial point in the season as Cardiff aim to avoid relegation.
Martinez unfazed
Everton manager Roberto Martinez accepts his side’s FA Cup sixth-round tie at Arsenal will provide a real test of whether they can win the competition.
While a trip to the Emirates Stadium holds slightly less of an attraction than the Merseyside derby, it is just as great a challenge for Martinez’s men.
“You always hope to have a home tie but, if you want to win the cup, you need to be able to face anyone wherever it is,” he said.
“A Merseyside derby would’ve been just perfect to show if we can win the cup or not. But it is the same for Arsenal away, so we will have to be at our best.”
Higuain doubtful for Swansea clash
Napoli coach Rafa Benitez is hoping Gonzalo Higuain can recover in time for Thursday’s match at Swansea in the last 32 of the Europa League.
The Argentinia striker is doubtful for the encounter at the Liberty Stadium after hurting his back in Sunday’s 2-0 triumph at Sassuolo.
“Higuain sustained a knock and we will evaluate his condition. It’s early to say whether he (will) play on Thursday or not,” Benitez said.
Higuain is Napoli’s top scorer this season with 18 goals in all competitions. Napoli go into their midweek encounter in Wales on the back of three straight wins in all competitions.
Season starts now says Catania boss
Catania coach Rolando Maran hopes Sunday’s 3-1 triumph over Lazio will mark a turning point for his struggling side. The win in Sicily was Catania’s fourth of the campaign and saw them climb off the bottom of the Serie A standings and into 18th place.
“Our season begins now,” Maran said.
“We needed this victory. But this win should not be an illusion of the difficult task that we face to defend our Serie A status. We have a lot of work to do. The road is long but we have the means to achieve our aim.”
Catania are one place and one point adrift of Livorno, who hold the last position of safety.
Bulgarian police launch probe
Bulgarian police have begun an investigation into claims that fixers attempted to rig the result of a domestic league match this season, the country’s football union (BFU) said.
Media reports of match-fixing and corruption have been rife in the Balkan country for years.
The BFU have forwarded claims of match-fixing to the prosecutors on several occasions but no one has been brought to trial and the European Commission has criticised the authorities for doing little to fight the problem.
“I can tell you that we also got information about this match from UEFA over the early-warning system,” BFU press officer Pavel Kolev said.
League urged to extend season
Bury boss David Flitcroft has called for the Football League season to be extended following the succession of postponements across the country.
The Shakers’ last three fixtures have all been called off and they have played just twice since January 18 with wet weather wreaking havoc on the League Two programme.
Bury still have 18 league games left to play, with their final clash due to be on May 3.
“What we need right now is to be getting a plan of action,” said Flitcroft.
“It’s to make sure we have a contingency plan. What I can’t accept is that we’re going to be playing Saturday, Tuesday, Thurs-day, Saturday... it’s too much.
“The season, in my view, has to be extended.”