Soccer-Valencia sack coach Celades following back-to-back defeats

He made a difficult start in losing his first game in charge 5-2 to Barcelona but improved his reputation by taking the team into the last 16 of the Champions League, where they were eventually knocked out by Atalanta 8-4 on aggregate.

Valencia have sacked coach Albert Celades and appointed sporting director Voro until the end of the season, the La Liga club said in a statement on Monday. The team have picked up only four points in five matches since the season re-started after the COVID-19 hiatus, slipping way behind in contention for Champions League qualification.

Back-to-back defeats by Eibar and Villarreal respectively left them eighth in the standings on 46 points, eight behind fourth-placed Sevilla with six games remaining. Valencia appointed Celades last September after taking the surprising decision to dispense with Marcelino, who had led the club to successive top-four finishes and ended an 11-year wait for a major trophy by guiding them to win the Copa del Rey.

Celades had never previously been a first team coach at club level, building his reputation as Spain's under-21 coach and as an assistant to Julen Lopetegui with the Spain side and Real Madrid. He made a difficult start in losing his first game in charge 5-2 to Barcelona but improved his reputation by taking the team into the last 16 of the Champions League, where they were eventually knocked out by Atalanta 8-4 on aggregate.