Greece gives Ranieri the boot

Saturday, November 15, 2014 12:06 pm

Ranieri: sacked

Claudio Ranieri on Saturday was sacked as coach of Greece, the day after his side lost 1-0 at home to minnows the Faroes Islands in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

A statement from the Greek Football Federation said that the Italian would remain at the helm for the friendly match against Serbia on Tuesday and would then leave for home.

The humiliating loss to the Faroes left former European champions Greece bottom of group F and facing an uphill struggle to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals in France.

Hint about Ranieri’s sack was given yesterday by Giorgos Sarris, president of the Greece Football Federation, when he declared an apologia after the match:

“Following today’s devastating national team result, I take full responsibility for the unfortunate choice of the coach”, federation president Giorgos Sarris said immediately after the 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifier result on Friday, the third straight home loss for the Greeks in Group F.

Sarris said the federation’s governing board will meet today “to launch all the necessary changes needed to avoid reliving the embarrassing night for the national team”.