De Biasi steps into Udinese breach

Pasquale Marino has been dismissed as coach of Udinese Calcio having presided over seven defeats in his last ten games to leave the club 14th in Serie A, with former Torino FC boss Giovanni De Biasi installed as his successor.

Siena reverse
With just five points between Udinese and the relegation zone, the club moved quickly to end Marino's two-and-a-half-year tenure. The former Calcio Catania coach's final game in charge of the Zebrette was a 2-1 defeat at bottom-placed AC Siena on 13 December. De Biasi, 53, is the man charged with steering Udinese back up the table after more than a year out of coaching following his sacking by Torino in December 2008. His first fixture in charge will not be until after the Italian winter break, at home to S.S. Lazio on 10 January.