Desperate Parma discard Cúper

Coach Héctor Cúper has been sacked by Parma FC after Sunday's 3-1 defeat at ACF Fiorentina left the club two points from safety with one game to go in Serie A.

Spectre of relegation
Cúper took charge of the Italian strugglers in March, but with Parma's top-flight future now out of their hands, the decision has been taken to substitute the Argentinian with youth-team chief Andrea Manzo. The Gialloblù will enter their final match of the season, at home to title-chasing FC Internazionale Milano, as Serie A's third-bottom side. Calcio Catania are the only team who could replace Parma in the relegation zone, sitting just two points above them, and they host Inter's pursuers, second-placed AS Roma.

Second dismissal
Former Inter and Valencia CF coach Cúper, 52, had been dismissed by another troubled club, Spain's Real Betis Balompié, last December. He then succeeded Domenico Di Carlo in the Parma hot seat two months ago. The Emilia-Romagna outfit have won just one of their last five matches.