Valencia Fire Manager Gennaro Gattuso

Valencia Fire Manager Gennaro Gattuso

After a dismal first half of the season, Valencia sacked their manager, Gennaro Gattuso, on Monday, per an ESPN report.

Through 19 matches Valencia finds themselves in 14th place, but only one point out of the relegation zone. Gattuso’s firing comes a day after Valencia lost 1-0 against relegation rivals Real Valladolid.

The club released a statement explaining that the team and manager mutually agreed to terminate the remainder of Gattuso’s contract, who was hired in June 2022 for a two-year deal. In 22 matches in charge, Gattuso went 7-6-9 with Valencia.

While Valencia has yet to hire a new manager to replace Gattuso, they did say that the team would return to training on Tuesday, Jan. 31, under “Voro” Gonzalez.

It has been a brutal stretch for Valencia as of late. They have won just one of their last ten La Liga matches. That win came all the way back on Nov. 10 prior to the World Cup break when Valencia beat Real Betis 3-0.

Since returning to action Valencia have two wins, both coming in the Copa del Rey. They were then promptly knocked out of that competition in the quarterfinals. 

Before becoming a manager, Gattuso had a good career which was mostly spent in Italy. He played for AC Milan for 13 seasons. Over that time he won two UEFA Champions League titles, two Serie A titles, and the 2007 Club World Cup. The Italian international was also a starter at the 2006 World Cup which Italy won.

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If Valencia were to be relegated it would end a 35-year stint in La Liga. The last time they did not play in Spain’s first division was the 1986-87 season. That was only the fourth season they have ever spent in the second division with the other three being the club’s first three seasons in existence.

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