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Director of sports at Real Madrid Arrigo Sacchi stated on Friday to one of the Spanish radio stations that the team's coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo has the support of the management.
The Spanish media has been speculating for some time now about the date of Luxemburgo's dismissal and the name of a new coach, but these rumors were denied by A. Sacchi.
"Luxemburgo's position is safe, he has our support," said A. Sacchi. "A powerful club with an impressive history like Real must have patience and trust in the coach."
"The biggest European clubs do not fire coaches," continued the Italian. "Frank Rijkaard's debut at Barcelona in the first season was tragic, but they showed trust."
Luxemburgo's position shook a bit after a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona and a 1-1 draw at home against Lyon in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
During those matches, thousands of Royal Club fans whistled at the Brazilian after he decided to bring defender Michel Salgado onto the field instead of David Beckham with ten minutes left until the end of the match. The team's fans interpreted this action as the coach being content with a draw.
"I understand that fans want results, but the fact is that things have not been going well for us this year," defended A. Sacchi. "Luxemburgo has not been able to field the lineup he wanted in any matches this season due to injuries."
Lately, almost all the stars of Los Galacticos have been injured: Brazilians Ronaldo and Julio Baptista, captain Raul, defenders Michel Salgado and Ivan Helguera, and French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
The Italian also added that even a loss in this weekend's Spanish league match against Real Sociedad should not affect the coach's future.
"I see how he works, and he really knows what he's doing," said A. Sacchi. "He is going through a tough time now, but he is not the only one to blame. Most likely we are all somewhat at fault."
