Camacho makes way at Madrid

Pérez meeting
Camacho offered to stand down after Saturday's 1-0 defeat by RCD Espanyol, which followed a surprise 3-0 reverse at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday. Madrid president Florentino Pérez accepted Camacho's resignation after a meeting at the Santiago Bernabéu today, although he could stay at the club in another capacity.

Personal decision
Camacho said: "This year, the board of directors, chairman and fans put their confidence in me to be the coach of Real Madrid. But I feel that the team’s productivity and form has not been adequate and I cannot see any improvement in the immediate future and for that reason I have decided to leave. The chairman asked me if I felt capable of changing the situation and I told him that I could not. If we had continued along the same lines as we have then the team could enter into a much deeper crisis."

Remón takes reins
The 53-year-old Remón was Madrid's goalkeeper from 1971 until 1986 and has managed numerous Spanish clubs including Real Sporting de Gijón, Albacete Balompié, UD Las Palmas, UD Salamanca, CD Numancia and Córdoba CF. He said: "Today is a very sad day because it signals the end of someone's hard work. This is not the ideal way for me to take charge of the team but José Antonio and the board of directors have requested that I take over. Real Madrid must continue to fight in every competition and at this time, we need the support and understanding of our fans."

Changes made
Camacho, who was already without the injured Zinedine Zidane and Luís Figo, dropped captain Raúl González and David Beckham from his starting lineup against Espanyol but the changes failed to inspire the side. A missed penalty from Ronaldo and red cards for defenders Walter Samuel and Míchel Salgado capped a miserable night.

Benfica success
Camacho replaced Carlos Queiroz as coach last May after the club failed to win a trophy in the 2003/04 campaign. The 49-year-old was in charge of Spain at UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and won his first trophy as a coach when he led SL Benfica to victory over FC Porto in the 2004 Portuguese Cup final. Madrid are next in action tomorrow night when they play co-leaders CA Osasuna.