Zaccheroni takes over as Inter coach as Cuper gets boot

ALBERTO ZACCHERONI has been named as the new coach of Inter Milan following the sacking of Hector Cuper, club vice-president Giacinto Facchetti said yesterday.

Zaccheroni’s appointment comes just hours after Cuper was shown the door by the Serie A giants.

Cuper, who took the helm in June 2001, paid the price for the club’s poor start to the season which has left them in sixth place, seven points behind leaders Juventus.

Facchetti said assistant manager Corrado Verdelli, who was brought in by club president Massimo Moratti in the summer, will take charge of the team for the Champions League match away to Lokomotiv Moscow and that Zaccheroni would take the reins from Wednesday.

“There was a meeting between Cuper and president Massimo Moratti after Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Brescia,” said Facchetti.

“After that meeting it was decided to sack Cuper and all of his staff. Assistant manager Corrado Verdelli will be on the bench against Lokomotiv Moscow, but from Wednesday Alberto Zaccheroni will be Inter’s coach.”

On Saturday, Inter could only manage a draw with 11th-placed Brescia which stretched their winless run to four matches following successive goalless draws against Udinese and Sampdoria and the derby defeat to AC Milan.

AS Roma kept in touch with leaders Juventus with goals from Walter Samuel and Antonio Cassano giving them a 2-0 win over Parma in Serie A. The win was Parma’s first defeat of the season and moves Roma into second place on 14 points, two behind Juventus.

On Saturday, champions Juventus won 3-2. Third-placed AC Milan defeated Lazio 1-0 at the San Siro stadium. Milan, who face Club Brugge in the Champions League midweek took the lead after 38 minutes, thanks to Pirlo. AC now join Juve at the top of the table.

Unbeaten Roma look back to their best this season and underlined their re-emergence with a sparkling display against Parma. Argentine defender Samuel put Roma ahead in the 29th minute with a left foot finish after a skilful run and cross from the left flank by the highly promising midfielder Daniele De Rossi.

Cassano it 2-0 on the hour with a header at the back post after more excellent work from De Rossi.

In Spain, Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos claimed a goal apiece to give Real Madrid a 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Saturday as they move to third in the table.

“We did nearly everything right from the first minute. We were very motivated against a rival we knew was going to be complicated,” said satisfied Real coach Carlos Queiroz.

Real face Partizan Belgrade in a Champions League group F in four days. Queiroz singled out the England captain David Beckham for praise after his hard work in the centre of the park. “He’s adapting to the position. Each game he’s looking more comfortable,” said Queiroz.

Ronaldo, who claimed the only goal in last season’s 1-0 win in Vigo, found Celta’s Balaidos stadium a happy hunting ground once again as he opened the scoring after 24 minutes.

The current World Player of the Year connected with an inch-perfect long range pass from Luis Figo after a move initiated by Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane then turned provider for Roberto Carlos just after the hour, the roving left back dancing the samba through a near-stationary Celta defence before blasting the ball past keeper Pablo Cavallero.

Valencia were in devastating form as they crushed bottom club Espanyol 4-0 at the Mestalla to record their sixth win on the trot and reclaim top spot in the Primera Liga yesterday.

Two goals from striker Mista and one from the outstanding Ruben Baraja put Valencia 3-0 up by the break and winger Vicente added a fourth 11 minutes from time to complete the rout against a sorry-looking Espanyol, who have yet to win this season.

The result means Valencia, who have conceded just one goal in their seven matches, retain top spot after the weekend’s matches with 19 points, one ahead of Deportivo Coruna, who beat Barcelona 2-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.

Osasuna, who are more accustomed to battling it out at the other end of the table, regained fourth spot after a goal in each half from Ivory Coast striker Ibrahima Bakayoko gave them a 2-1 win against nine-man Murcia at El Sadar.

VfL Bochum beat Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen 2-0 to stay within striking distance of leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, while mid-table Kaiserslautern thrashed struggling Hamburg SV 4-0. Bayern Munich are in fifth on 18 after a 0-0 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.