Question:
Beckham Shocked By Del Bosque Departure
06/24/2003. New Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham has expressed surprise at the club's decision not to renew Vicente Del Bosque's contract.
"I am shocked. This is the first time I heard about it," he told reporters before adding when probed further, "It's not for me to comment."

Answer:

Beckham Shocked By Del Bosque Departure
06/24/2003. New Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham has expressed surprise at the club's decision not to renew Vicente Del Bosque's contract.
"I am shocked. This is the first time I heard about it," he told reporters before adding when probed further, "It's not for me to comment."

Answer:

Real Madrid Part Company With Del Bosque
06/23/2003. Real Madrid have sacked Vicente Del Bosque just a day after he led the Spanish giants to their 29th League title.
Del Bosque's contract was set to expire at the end of this season and the 52-year-old was informed this evening that he wouldn't be offered a new deal.
Del Bosque took charge of Real in 1999 after John Toshack left the club. He has won two Champions Leagues, two league titles, a European Super Cup and a World Club Cup in his time at the Bernabeu.
"The board of directors made a unanimous decision not to renew Vicente del Bosque's contract as the first team coach of Real Madrid," announced a club spokesman.
"The board considered that the team needs a change in accordance with recent developments at the club. We would like to express our thanks to Vicente del Bosque for all he has done for the club."
Reports have immediately linked Manchester United's assistant coach Carlos Quieroz and Porto's manager Jose Mourinho with the post.
Radio reports are also claiming veteran defender Fernando Hierro will also be shown the door having failed to agree a new contract.

Answer:

Antic Confirms Barca Departure
06/23/2003. Raddy Antic has confirmed reports this morning that he's left Barcelona, as the Catalan club are on the verge of naming Frank Rijkaard as their new manager.
The Serbo-Montenegrin took charge of a club in crisis after Luis Van Gaal left Camp Nou loitering in the bottom half of the league.
Antic helped get the club back on their feet and secured an unlikely qualification to the Uefa Cup, but saw his side crash out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
Despite being shown the door Antic insisted it had been a great experience.
He said: "It is a shame for me not to continue at the club. I am proud of belonging at Barcelona. I am grateful for the work of the players and the support of the members.
"It is not painful to go I am satisfied with my job. It has been a great experience."

Answer:

Roger: Over And Out
06/23/2003. Espanyol's president is upset that Roger has decided to leave the club, but he is even more angry that he found out from a journalist.
Daniel Sanchez Llibre has been left stunned by the midfielder's rudeness after he was offered a new contract by the Barcelona-based club.
"I should not be surprised that he does not want to stay," Llibre explained. "But I am amazed that I found out through the press and from him.
"It was obvious that he did not want to sign a new deal because he has not responded at all after we offered him a very healthy contract.
"He obviously feels that he has better options elsewhere.
"But I do think that we deserved to be told of the decision by him or his agent and not by a journalist.
"I know I will not receive a call from him, but you have to elarn things like this in football. I know that costs nothing to say goodbye."
Llibre did confirm that the club are close to finalising a deal to bring Recreativo striker Raul Molina to the club.
Espanyol hope to wrap up the deal after Molina makes his final appearance for Recre, who were relegated at the end of the season, in next weekend's Copa Del Rey Final.
"He will play for Espanyol next season," LLibre said. "The final will be his last game for Recreativo and then he will come.
"We are not in a position where we need to sell players, so Raul Tamudo will not be leaving either."

Answer:

Del Bosque Unhappy With Madrid
06/23/2003. Vicente Del Bosque was clearly unhappy after dismissal as coach of Real Madrid following the club's decision not to renew his contract this summer.
After winning seven trophies with the Bernabeu outfit, the ex-Madrid player has reason to feel aggrieved at the move that came only a day after he won the league title.
"A lot of abstract words have been used to explain my dismissal," he explained in his first interview following the news.
"It's been called the end of a cycle at the club but they're just empty words."
Madrid's sporting director Jorge Valdano justified the action by claiming that the club thought it was best to make changes while it was enjoying success.
But Del Bosque does not believe that his removal was justified and vowed to bounce back elsewhere.
"I don't want a year off and I'll try to find something that appeals to me," he said.
"I'll never coach Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, though."

Answer:

Rijkaard Heralds "New Era" At Barca
06/24/2003.
Freshly unveiled Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard could hardly contain his pride as he sat alongside new president Joan Laporta and technical director Txiki Begiristain during his official presentation ceremony on Monday afternoon.
"This is the beginning of a new era," trumpeted the dread-locked former Dutch international, who led the Netherlands to third place in Euro 2000. "I will be in contact with the team every hour of the day so that we can make the best possible start. I believe in this project, and I am ready and willing to meet the challenge."
"I am proud to be joining the best club in the world," the former AC Milan legend continued, "as I share their footballing and organisational philosophies."
Rijkaard, 40, has been without a club since failing to prevent Sparta Rotterdam from being relegated from the Eredivise last season. He has signed a four-year contract at the Camp Nou and follows behind Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff and Louis Van Gaal as the fourth Dutch coach in the Catalan club's history.

Answer:

Irureta Close To New Depor Deal
06/24/2003. Deportivo La Coruna coach Javier Irureta is expected to sign a new contract this week.
"The new contract is close to being agreed," said president Augusto Lendoiro. "We have made a proposal and we hope that Mr. Miguel Santos (Irureta's agent) in the name of Javier Irureta speaks to us about a commitment."

Answer:

Three Leading Contenders For Real Job
06/24/2003. Carlos Queiroz, Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello have emerged as the early contenders to take over Vicente Del Bosque as coach of Real Madrid.
Quieroz is Alex Ferguson's right-hand man at Manchester United, and in his first season at the club he managed to help guide them to the league title Should he join the Merengues he would link-up once again with David Beckham.
"I have nothing to say," he stated. "I have a contract with another club and I'm a very honourable person, but in the next few days I must make a very important decision in my life.
"It is hypothetical at the moment but it would be an enoumous challenge to coach Real Madrid."
Another candidate is Jose Mourinho who led Porto to a treble of the Uefa Cup, League title and cup this season.
Third and finally there is AS Roma coach Fabio Capello who won the league with the Merengues in the 1996/97 season. The situation is far from perfect for him with the Italian club, and he has regularly been linked with a move back to the Bernabeu.

Answer:

Hierro Booted Out Of Madrid After Party Celebrations Turn Sour
06/24/2003. Real Madrid's decision to release their captain Fernando Hierro doesn't appear to be down to footballing reasons, but due to a bust-up with director of sport Jorge Valdano.
It was announced last night that Hierro, as well as manager Vicente Del Bosque, would be leaving the Spanish giants.
The veteran Spanish defender has widely been criticised for some of his performances this season and the general consensus has been that he needs to be replaced, however it was believed that he'd be staying at the Bernabeu, possible for the next two seasons.
However, when Real were supposed to celebrating their 29th league title cracks began forming between the players and management at the biggest football club in the World.
Reports have claimed that Hierro was instigating a players revolt after becoming increasingly disillusioned with the clubs treatment of some of their players, namely Fernando Morientes and Guti, who have both suffered as a result of President Florentino Perez's lavish spending in the transfer market.
Relations between Hierro and Valdano are understood to have also been tense for some time, but the pressure-cooker atmosphere at the Bernabeu on Sunday evening saw the problems reach boiling point.
Hierro, who as captain represented the players during their celebrations, repeatedly clashed with Valdano throughout the evening, as he tried to ensue the club undertook their traditional post-championship rituals.
Perez, unhappy at the gloomy atmosphere on what should have been a glorious night, consequently decided to end Hierro's glorious career at Madrid prematurely, presumably in order to remove what he felt to be the root of the ill feeling in the camp, but surely has only made matters worse?

Answer:

Perez Says Sacking Del Bosque Was A Risk
06/24/2003. Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, said on Tuesday that the previous day's decision to dispense with the services of successful coach Vicente Del Bosque was a risk.
But Perez insisted the move – which shocked new signing David Beckham when he heard about it in Malaysia - was in Real's best interests.
Del Bosque is leaving the Bernabeu after more than 30 years as a player and coach, and some fans are clearly dismayed about it. The stadium walls were quickly daubed with graffiti supporting the manager and criticising the president after the news broke.
But Perez defended the decision at a news conference held at the Bernabeu.
"Time will tell if we're right or wrong," said the Real president. "Like all decisions there is an element of risk but we believe this is the start of a new era and we need someone new."
Real decided not to renew the contracts of Del Bosque and captain Fernando Hierro after a six-hour board meeting on Monday.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after the club had won a record 29th La Liga title. That was the seventh trophy of Del Bosque's four-season reign.
Perez said the club could not afford to take the "easy" decision to renew Del Bosque's contract for one more season.
"Politically speaking, it would have been easy to give Del Bosque a one-year extension but that wouldn't have been the right choice.
"We had to decide whether to give him a new long-term deal or take the riskier option that we eventually decided on.
"It was important to take the decision with a cool head. Of course, we may have made a mistake but we believe what we've done is for the good of Real Madrid."
Manchester United's assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has quickly emerged as the favourite to succeed Del Bosque, and the number two to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford is tempted, saying he has a lot to think about over the next few days, and a lot of questions for United.
Of course, Queiroz and Beckham know each other well, and that could help smooth the England skipper's assimilation into Spanish football.

Answer:

Perez Confirms Interest In Quieroz
06/24/2003. Florentino Perez, Real Madrid's president, has confirmed that the Spanish champions are interested in Manchester United's Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz as a possible successor to Vicente Del Bosque.
Perez said of Quieroz: "He is one of the people we are interested in. His profile fits exactly with what we are looking for."
Queiroz, former Portugal coach, joined United last summer, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson Ferguson described him as one of the best signings he had made for the club. Captain Roy Keane also praised Quieroz, saying his work on United's suspect defence was a key feature of last season's championship success.
"Carlos came at a good time for us," said Keane. "He had some time to settle in and for us to get used to his ideas and for him to get to know us.
"I think he deserves a lot of credit for the improvement of the team, especially for the defensive tightness we had."
According to The Scotsman, if Queiroz were to follow David Beckham from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu, Ferguson would have a ready-made replacement in former United midfielder Mike Phelan, who has also made a positive impression in his role as No3. However, Fergie is likely to try and persuade his current assistant to stay.

Answer:

Cocu Decides To Stay At Barcelona
06/25/2003. Phillip Cocu looks set to stay at Barcelona following their decision to apppoint Frank Rijkaard as their new manager.
The Dutch midfielder is out of contract this summer and his exit from the Nou Camp had looked confirmed, however, the Catalan club seem to have had a change of heart.
Cocu had been linked with a free transfer move to Arsenal, but smart money is now on the player signing a one-year deal with Barcelona.

Answer:

Queiroz In Madrid To Discuss "Dream Job"
06/25/2003. Manchester United's assistant boss Carlos Queiroz is in Madrid where he will meet Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano to discuss taking over the Spanish champions.
Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed not to stand in his way and has already begun looking into who he'll bring in to replace Queiroz, who describes the move as a "dream job".
The former Portuguese coach said: "It would be an honor for me to coach Madrid. I hope that everything can be sorted out within the next 48 hours. No one can say no to Real Madrid.
Queiroz will replace Vicente Del Bosque, who was sacked on Monday evening, just 24-hours after he won the 29th La Liga title in Real's history.

Answer:

Bilbao Appoint New President And Coach
06/25/2003. Athletic Bilbao have appointed a new president and coach for next season.
Ignacio Ugartetxe becomes the Basque club's new president following the death of Javier Uría last week, while Ernesto Valverde will replace Jupp Heynckes as manager.
Heynckes returned to Germany to take charge of Schalke 04 after Sunday's final match of the season.
Bilbao narrowly missed out on a Uefa Cup place after losing 3-1 at Real Madrid, but had a pleasing campaign and Valverde, who has signed a two-year contract, takes over a healthy team.

Answer:

Kluivert Banned For Four Matches
06/25/2003. Barcelona striker Patuick Kluivert has been suspended for four matches by the Spanish Football Association.
The Dutchman was red carded after lashing out at Celta Vigo's Angel during Sunday's match