INTERNATIONAL | TURKEY
Denizli quits Galatasaray after just three months in charge
Galatasaray earlier confirmed that coach Mustafa Denizli was leaving after a brief but doomed three month spell in charge that saw the team plunge out of title contention.
Istanbul giants Galatasaray on Tuesday confirmed that coach Mustafa Denizli was leaving after a brief but doomed three month spell in charge that saw the team plunge out of title contention.
"Mustafa Denizli has resigned as of March 1. We thank him for once again agreeing to take charge of the club in this period," the club said in a brief statement.
It said that development coach Orhan Atik would take charge for the next Super Lig and Turkish Cup games, without specifying for how long he would hold the reins.
Under the helm of Denizli -- who took charge of the club for the third time in his career -- Galatasaray have slumped to fifth in the Turkish Super Lig after winning the title last season.
The final straw was a 2-0 defeat at the weekend to Gaziantepspor with the coach strongly hinting he had then decided to resign.
Denizli was only appointed in November following the sacking of Hamza Hamzaoglu, marking a return to his former club for the veteran manager, 66, after a 23-year break.
The side is packed with international stars like German international Lukas Podolski, Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder and Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
But to the despair of its fans, Galatasaray's woeful season means the team will play no part in what is shaping up to be a titanic title battle between its great Istanbul rivals Besiktas and Fenerbahce.
'Cim Bom' endured a now customary group stage ejection from the Champions League and was also knocked out of the Europa League by Lazio at the round of 32 stage.
Fenerbahce and Besiktas clashed on Monday in the biggest game of the season so far with Fenerbahce coming out on top 2-0. The Yellow Canaries now lead the Super Lig by two points although Besiktas have a game in hand.