Villarreal appoint Garrido

(GSM) – Villarreal have announced the appointment of reserve coach Juan Carlos Garrido as their first-team manager until the end of the season.

Garrido was named as a replacement for Ernesto Valverde, who was sacked on Sunday after a home defeat to Osasuna.

While it was widely expected that Michael Laudrup would be named as a replacement, it seems Garrido has been handed the reins on what is essentially an interim basis to suggest that Laudrup could be named as a long-term appointment in the summer.

Garrido took charge of his first training session on Monday morning shortly after Valverde had made a brief appearance to say his goodbyes to his former players.

Valverde said: “I’ve come to say goodbye to the team. It’s a different and hard situation for me. The club decided that we wouldn’t continue at the helm of Villarreal.

“I came with a lot of excitement because it was the team I wanted to train and it is true that things, from the beginning, did not happen as we all hoped.

“I have to thank the president who first thought of me and also for the confidence he put in us during the bad times.”

Villarreal had only lost once in their previous seven league games, a run of results which included a draw at the Camp Nou against Barcelona.

The club’s president told Spanish media: “We have total confidence in Garrido.”