YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Armenia’s French coach Bernard Casoni was fired on Tuesday–following a string of poor performances–federation president Ruben Hayrapetyan confirmed.
The former Marseille player and manager–who had landed a one-year contract with the Armenian football federation last August–had been widely criticized for his methods and tactical choices–as his side endured 4 consecutive defeats against Macedonia (3-0)–Finland (0-2 and 3-1)–and Czech Republic (0-3) before collecting their first 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign points against Romania (1-1) and Andorra (2-1).
And last Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat in Holland appears to have been the last straw for the tactician.
"We were very dissatisfied with the coach’s work–especially his choice of players for games and his work methods," Hayrapetyan said.
A new coach is expected to be named within the next 10 days.
Armenia’shares last place in European Zone Group One with Andorra after their most recent defeat–a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands.