After just seven months on the job, Benfica coach Jose Antonio Camacho resigned on Sunday, following a frustrating 2-2 draw with Leiria, the last-place club in the Portuguese Liga. That result left second-place Benfica 14 points behind leader FC Porto with eight games remaining. Three days earlier, the Lisbon club fell, 2-1, at home to Getafe of Spain’s La Liga in the UEFA Cup.
Camacho said his players, who include U.S. prodigy Freddy Adu, needed a fresh start. “There is going to be a change in the sporting direction of the team,” he said. “I think it is better for the team. The lack of motivation that I see in the players is not normal.”
Assistant coach Fernando Chalana will take charge of Benfica ahead of its next match, the return leg against Getafe. Benfica has won the Portuguese league only once in the last 13 years. The last coach it held on to for two consecutive seasons was Sven Goran-Eriksson in 1992. Chalana will be Freddy Adu’s third manager since his transfer to the team last July.