Fonseca leaves Porto position
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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Following four winless games, Paulo Fonseca has left his role as FC Porto coach after only nine months, replaced "on a temporary basis" by B team manager Luís Castro.
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Paulo Fonseca has left his role as FC Porto coach to be replaced "on a temporary basis" by Luís Castro.
Fonseca, who turned 41 on Wednesday, was appointed to succeed Vítor Pereira in June but has now departed following a four-game winless run. A club statement said that this morning they had "reached an agreement with Porto's head coach Paulo Fonseca to terminate his duties. The administration council also decided that Luís Castro, responsible for the B team, will fill the gap on a temporary basis."
Fonseca arrived after a transformative spell in charge of FC Paços de Ferreira, finishing third in his debut top-flight campaign last term having previously worked in the lower divisions. He made a good start at Porto, winning the Portuguese Super Cup and leading the Liga early on. But his side subsequently finished third in their UEFA Champions League group behind FC Zenit and have dropped out of the Liga's top two.
After defeating Eintracht Frankfurt on away goals following two draws, Porto take on SSC Napoli in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 on 13 and 20 March.
