Santos ousted at Sporting
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Article summary
Sporting Clube de Portugal have sacked coach Fernando Santos after a third-place finish.
Article body
Third-place finish
The Lisbon club finished third in the Superleague behind FC Porto and SL Benfica, meaning they had to settle for a place in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup. "The internal and external conditions are not in place to allow us to keep him on as coach," the club said.
Short spell
The 49-year-old Santos had only been in charge of Sporting for one season. He began his coaching career with GP Estoril Praia, spending six years at the club prior to another lengthy spell at CF Estrela da Amadora.
Greek move
His big break came with a move to Porto, who he led to the Portuguese championship in his first season in 1998/99. A Portuguese Cup triumph followed in 2000 but a season later he was on his way to AEK Athens FC where he just missed out on a league and cup double in his only season. He then moved on to Panathinaikos FC for a four-month spell in the 2002/03 campaign before returning to Portugal last summer.
