By COLE KELLOGG
Carlo Ancelotti has been let go by Real Madrid after failing to secure a major trophy this season.
The announcement was made at a press conference called by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez on Wednesday evening. The President stated that the Board of Directors had removed Ancelotti from his position, and that a replacement would be announced in a week.
Ancelotti was hired before the start of the 2013/14 season, during which he won the club’s elusive 10th UCL title.
Here are some more news items to catch you up on Memorial Day proceedings:
NORWICH PROMOTED TO PREMIER LEAGUE
In front of a sold out crowd at Wembley, Norwich City became the third team to win promotion to the Barclay’s Premier League next season. The $200 million match was put to bed quickly, with both goals scored in the opening 15 minutes.
It was all too easy of a result for Norwich City, a team that fell to the Championship last season only to spring back up for next year.
The man of the year for the Canaries, Cameron Jerome, put them up 1-0 after a fairly even opening 12 minutes of play vs. Middlesbrough. Nathan Redmond added a second for Norwich just three minutes later with a great strike from the right corner of the box.
Norwich City joins AFC Bournemouth and Watford as the teams promoted to Barclay’s Premier League next season.
KLOPP TO TAKE BRIEF HIATUS
Jurgen Klopp tells Bild he is tired and wants at least a six month break from managing.
Klopp also said that he would be open to coaching Bayern Munich in the future. Bild also addressed rumors that the German would take over at Real Madrid, to which Klopp said he could learn Spanish, “if I have to.”
MANCHESTER UNITED LOOK TO GUNDOGAN, NAVAS
Goal UK has reported that the Red Devils have agreed terms with German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. Gundogan will be just one part of what is likely to be another large offseason rebuild under Louis Van Gaal.
The same article states that the club has targeted Keylor Navas of Real Madrid and Costa Rica as a possible replacement for David De Gea.
Continue to watch this space as United look to add superstars such as Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale to their books.
ROMA BEATS LAZIO TO MAINTAIN SECOND PLACE IN SERIE A
Rudi Garcia’s men were able to pull away with a narrow victory on Monday in order to seal a second place finish in Serie A.
Goals from Juan Manuel Iturbe and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa on either side of a Filipe Djordjevic strike ensured AS Roma a place in next year’s UEFA Champion’s League.
Before the match, two Roma fans were reportedly stabbed and subsequently rushed to the hospital.
DERBY FIRES McCLAREN
Following a poor end-of-season review for Steve McClaren, the board of directors for Derby County have sacked the head coach.
The Daily Mail reports that the club is set on promotion to the Premier League, and McClaren’s sacking came as a result of Derby finishing outside of the playoff spots.
Former England manager and current assistant at Real Madrid Paul Clement has been tipped as McClaren’s successor.
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What do you think of the Norwich victory? Where do you think Klopp will sign in six months?
Share your thoughts below.
RM fans and management – what a bunch of spoiled children. Spoiler alert: the next guy isn’t going to be any better than the guy you just fired!
You may not like their style but it seems to work for them.
Their “style” doesn’t “Work” getting all the TV revenue from their league and having more money than everyone else “works” . They are so dumb. The tried to get Mourinho to come back…after running him out of town two years ago. Ancelotti won them their precious decima less than a year ago, Granted Real shouldn’t be losing to Juventus (a Juventus without their best players) but still, it’s not like he finished 3rd or 4th in la liga, it not like they didn’t get to the semi final. If only Arsene Wenger were held to this standard
Except that Arsenal are nowhere near as big as Real Madrid and operate on a fraction of the budget. You have to be owned be a foreign billionaire who is spending money for fun to win the CL or EPL.
First of all that’s sort of my point. They’re Arsenal. ARSENAL, they shouldn’t be conceding the field Real Madrid in the first place, Arsenal are supposed to be one of the biggest club in the world, they’re not supposed to take inferiority to Real Madrid for granted as a given.
Second of all ManU won the EPL season before last, while Real and Barca are owned by their supporters, Bayern is a mix of corporations and supporters, but none of them are owned free spending foreign billionaires.
Bayern also has the added benefit of being able to sign the best German players as they develop. Germany, as they established in the World Cup, currently has the best crop of players in the world. The bulk of Bayern’s roster is drawn from that pool.
Arsenal is just behind Bayern, IMHO, as the world’s most powerful “legit” club. Yes, I know Barcelona is also largely owned by its supporters…but they’re playing on such an uneven financial playing field it’s absurd. Barcelona currently has arguably three of the top four strikes in the world in Neymar, Suarez, and of course, Messi…and none of them are Spanish, much less Catalan, and only Messi is even an Academy product. Barca’s also had more than enough money to buy – and discard – guys like Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic when they were in their primes.
Arsenal’s done enormously well building up to the level they have WITHOUT enormous infusions of capital from the uber-rich.
I respect Arsenal, but to be fair, they do not belong in the same discussion as Bayern or Barcelona. Arsenal needs to win its first Champions league title before we can place it among the top clubs. And in terms of ownership, Arsenal’s supporters club holds only 3 shares. In the reality, the club is owned by Kronke (66.64 %) and Usmanov/Moshiri (29.11%).
Mr Cakes,
Real have as good a talent pool as anyone in the world.
They pay everyone about as well as anyone.
To go without winning anything is unacceptable.
Ancellotti knows that as well as anyone.
What has Wenger won lately?
Mr. Cakes,
BTW, Arsenal are a second rate club. They are not really relevant in terms of talking about “top” clubs.
Real Madrid are another class all together. .
So even the year after a coach wins the Champions League, which no RM coach had done since 2002, finishing second to a team with Messi, Neymar and Suarez and reaching the Champions League semi-final means he gets fired? Do they really think Benitez is a better manager than Ancelotti? Does anyone think that?
The problem is there are other teams with a great talent pool who pay as much as anyone, including one in Spain so winning everything every year just isn’t going to happen no matter who’s the manager.
Real Madrid has high expectations.
No one forced Ancellotti to take the job.
No one is forcing anyone to succeed him. And yes, they expect to beat Barca every year in every competition.
If you don’t think you can do that then don’t take the job.
These people are all adults.
Except who realistically thinks they can do that? No one thinking rationally. Barca is just as big, has just as much money, is just as prestigious, their players are usually just as good etc. Sure, RM should beat them sometimes, maybe it’s even rational to expect them win the majority of the time but all the time? That’s childish thinking.
Seriously, it’s like saying Alabama should have fired Nick Saban after they lost to Auburn on that crazy FG return. Same thing – another school in the same state that’s just as big and prestigious. Even Alabama football fans are rational enough to know they aren’t going to win every single time.
Real Madrid have operated this way for some time. I hadn’t ever noticed them talking about “rational behavior”.
And I notice they are a relevant club that is one of the biggest and most important in the world unlike, for example, Arsenal, who operate “rationally” but in reality are a modest, mediocre club masquerading as a big club.
That’s what happens when all you ever do is win the FA Cup every once in a while
Whatever the merits or demerits of your post RM are unlikely to change how they operate.
BTW, they are much bigger deal than Alabama
Klopp wants a sabbatical? According to some Klinsmann fanboys, anyone wanting a sabbatical deserves to lose their place to Chris Wondolowski!
“HHAHAHAHAHAHAH KLOPP HAHAHAHAA I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE UNTIL PHONE NOTIFIED ME HAHA
Not a good comparison.
Klopp gave Dortmund plenty of notice and a definite end date. He’s not leaving anyone hanging out to dry. No, “is he coming back or not”?
A young top flight manager like him is unlikely to lose much edge of his “game” by taking a season off. In fact it might make him a better manager.
A player with lots of mileage on him on the wrong side of 30 on the other hand is taking a big risk taking time off. By the way that same player spoke glowingly about how awesome Wondo was performing in the World Cup camp.
Yeah that finish against Belgium sure was awesome!
Blame LD.
He endorsed Wondo’s inclusion:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/worldcup/landon-donovan-says-chris-wondolowski-is-golden/
Interesting, I didn’t know LD left himself out of the squad.
You learn something new every day.
Or I’m told something new every day. Not sure I learned anything from what you posted.
Life is all about uncertainty
so was LD supposed bash and not endorse wondo, a teammate of several years and good friend?? Lame comment and i say that with the up most respect! LD was not competing with wondo for a strikers role no matter what JK said and i think we all know that!
I don’t know what LD was “supposed” to do.
He did not have to say anything.
How do you know LD was not competing for a striker’s role?
Not a good attempt at trolling.
It is a poor analogy. Klopp finished the season with his club and is taking the sabbatical before he commits to another club. Donovan took his sabbatical during the critical WC qualification phase, while still a member of the USMNT.
Call me lazy — “That’s what the Internet is for! Look it up!” — but it is customary to note both teams’ identities in a match report. So Norwich beat . . . ?
Correction made. Thanks.
Here is my wish list in case Rafa gets the Madrid chair:
1. Bale goes to Manchester United.
2. Madrid lose every game.
3. Ronaldo refuses to pass to his teammates, causing them to quit.