Miguel Cardoso has been relieved of his duties as coach of Spanish side Celta de Vigo after less than four months at the club, following a 1-0 defeat Eibar at the weekend which has left the team in serious danger of relegation from La Liga.
Former Rio Ave boss Cardoso was hired by Celta in November, just a month after he was dismissed by French club Nantes after an even shorter spell in charge. During his time in Spain, Cardoso’s Celta won just three and lost ten of their 15 matches under the Portuguese, with the most recent coming with an 87th-minute goal conceded at Eibar on Sunday.
“Suffering a goal in the final stages hurts you a lot,” Cardoso said after the match, while refusing to comment on his future as Celta hovered just two points clear of the bottom three. It was later announced that the match would be his last in charge, and the Portuguese has been replaced by Fran Escriba, who was assistant manager at Benfica in 2008-09 under Quique Sanchez Flores.
A statement on Celta’s website read: “Real Club Celta would like to thank both the Portuguese coach and his assistants Jorge Maciel, Antonio Calado, Nuno Baptista and Francisco Costa for the professionalism, dedication and effort they have shown during their stay at RC Celta.
“The sky-blue club wishes them all the greatest success in the future”
Cardoso’s departure marks a disappointing year since leaving Rio Ave last summer, having impressed so greatly in Portugal with the Vila do Conde side. Since he chose to embark on an adventure abroad, Cardoso was given just eight matches with Nantes, meaning just 23 games across his stints in France and Spain.
By Sean Gillen
