Brazilian giants Fluminense sack coach

Four-time Brazilian Serie A champions Fluminense have sacked coach Levir Culpi after extending a run of poor form with a 4-2 loss to Cruzeiro here.

Sunday's result left Fluminense ninth out of 20 teams in the standings as they chase a top-six finish to qualify for next year's Copa Libertadores, South America's top club competition, reports Xinhua.

"There is still a chance we can qualify for the Copa Libertadores and we need a shake-up so that we can get results," Fluminense president Peter Siemsen told reporters on Sunday.

"We are going to change things, work on the mental side, the physical side and look at the way we play. We have good players with a lot of speed. We need to use that to our advantage," he added.

Levir joined Fluminense in February and guided the club to the inaugural Primeira Liga title in April. But results in the Serie A have been below par, and Sunday's loss extended the Rio outfit's winless run to five games.

In 52 matches, Culpi led Fluminense to 22 victories, 15 draws and 15 losses.

With four fixtures remaining in the season, Fluminense are three points shy of Copa Libertadores qualification.

Assistant coach Marcao will replace Culpi until the end of the season, Siemsen said.

--IANS

ajb/bg