Keeper dumped after one match

Uncertainty and sackings at Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax under new Chechen owner as match tickets written on notepaper.

Chagaev
undefined
Galatto lets in a penalty playing for Malaga in Spain last season [EPA]

Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax’s turbulent start under new Chechen owner Bulat Chagaev continued when goalkeeper Rodrigo Galatto was fired after one game and one week at the club.

The club has already fired two coaches, sacked the administrative staff and parted company with all of its sponsors since businessman Chagaev took over in May.

Galatto was one of three South Americans who joined the club last week along with Paraguay striker Edgar Benitez and Brazilian forward Carlao.

Possibly unfamiliar with Neuchatel’s artificial pitch, the former Malaga keeper endured a nightmare debut in the Swiss League at the weekend as they lost 3-0 at home to FC Lucerne.

Fans at that game were issued hand-written tickets on pieces of note-paper as the club was unable to print genuine tickets in time following the re-organisation of the administrative department.

“Rodrigo Galatto is no longer part of the group,” team manager Sony Anderson told Le Matin newspaper on Friday.

“Against FC Basel on Sunday, (Jean-Francois) Bedenik will be our number one.”

The Banque Cantonale Neuchateloise was one of the sponsors to part company with Neuchatel, saying in statement: “The arrival of new directors has installed a climate of uncertainty and a lot of recent decisions do not correspond to the ethics, values and image which BCN stands for.”

Coach Didier Olle-Nicole was fired on May 12, the day the club was sold to Chagaev, and his replacement Bernard Challendes was dismissed three weeks later after the team escaped relegation but lost to Sion in the Swiss Cup final.

Galatto became famous in his native Brazil for his performance in the so-called “Battle of the Afflicted” six years ago when he helped Gremio win a second division promotion playoff 1-0 at Nautico despite having four players sent off.

Source: Reuters