CSKA sack coach after losing against Rapid
CSKA Sofia have dismissed their coach after a bitter 0-2 defeat against 32-time Austrian league champs Rapid Vienna last night (Thurs).Officials for the Bulgarian side announced today that Macedonian Gjore Jovanovski had been dismissed with immediate effect. It was the seventh time the club parted company with a head coach this year.Club President Dimitar Borisov explained: “We had no choice but to act after such negative results in the past weeks.”Borisov added sporting executive director Emil Kostadinov a former Bayern Munich striker would preliminarily also coach CSKAs senior squad.The 31-time Bulgarian champions are currently only placed ninth in the national league and 12 points behind leaders Levski Sofia.Rapid, who face Magna Wiener Neustadt in the Austrian Bundesliga this Sunday (kickoff: 4pm; live coverage on ORF 1), retained their chances to reach the UEFA Europa Leagues group stage by beating the Bulgarian club away from home.Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (28) and German captain Steffen Hofmann (32) netted for the team of Peter Pacult in front of 12,000 at the Vasil Levski national stadium in the Bulgarian capital.The match was succeeded by clashes between hundreds of CSKA hooligans and anti-riot police officers outside the venue.Rapid, who host CSKA in Vienna on 4 November, lost both their first two matches in the international events group stage against FC Porto and Besiktas.It is the second time in a row the Green-Whites managed to qualify for an international competition after they reached the Europa Leagues group stage by beating Aston Villa in the previous season. Rapid once more knocked out the Premier League side to enter the main stage of this seasons event.Defending Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg reached a 1-1 draw against Italian side Juventus in their Europa League match yesterday.The team of Huub Stevens took the lead in the 36th minute when Slovakian midfielder Dusan Svento scored. Juves Serbian playmaker Milos Krasic equalised the score 11 minutes later at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg.The Bulls are set to clash with Austrian Bundesliga leaders Wacker Innsbruck on Sunday.The Austrian Bundesliga table after 11 rounds:Wacker Innsbruck, 21 pointsSV Ried, 21Sturm Graz, 19Austria Vienna, 18Magna Wiener Neustadt, 17Rapid Vienna, 14Red Bull Salzburg, 12Kapfenberg, 12LASK Linz, 8SV Mattersburg, 7