Struggling Lyon plans to dismiss Sylvinho

Lyon has decided to sack Brazilian coach Sylvinho just 11 matches into the season after a dreadful run of form, the Ligue 1 club said on Monday ( Tuesday in Manila).

The former Arsenal and Barcelona fullback only took over at the Groupama Stadium in May to replace Bruno Genesio.

“OL have decided to implement a procedure which can lead to the termination of the contract of Sylvio Mendes Campo Junior (Sylvinho),” read a Lyon statement.

It was the 45-year-old’s first role as a head coach, having previously been assistant to Tite for the Brazil national team.

Despite losing several key players, including Ferland Mendy, Tanguy Ndombele and Nabil Fekir, in the close-season, Sylvinho made a dream start as Lyon won 3-0 at Monaco and thrashed Angers 6-0 in their first two games.

But they have not won a league match since and have slipped to within a single point of the bottom two.

Sylvinho’s surprise exit comes even though Lyon have claimed four points from their first two Champions League group-stage outings, after a draw with Zenit Saint Petersburg and a 2-0 win at RB Leipzig last week.

He was handpicked by Juninho, a former Lyon star midfielder, who took over as sporting director in May.

Asked at the end of September if his future was linked to his compatriot’s, Juninho said: “Not 100 percent but I chose the coach. I’m taking responsibility.”

Juninho also said that when it comes to firing staff on a struggling team,

“the coach is first because it’s the law of football. He’s on the bench and he has the last word”.

The club said that Gerald Baticle, who was an assistant coach under Genesio, will take training on Tuesday under Juninho’s direction.