AS Monaco have cut short Leonardo Jardim’s second stint as coach of the principality club, opting to oust the Portuguese in favour of former Spain coach Roberto Moreno with immediate effect.
Despite Monaco’s having handed LOSC a 5-1 drubbing in their Week 19 clash just before the winter break, the club’s directors have opted to show coach Leonardo Jardim the door.
The Portuguese, who led AS Monaco to a sensational Ligue 1 Conforama title win in 2016-17, as well as all the way to the UEFA Champions League semis in that same season, was in his second stint at the club after having been let go in October 2018.
Not enough
Poor form under Jardim’s successor Thierry Henry led to a reinstatement in January of 2019 but, despite some canny signings in the 2019 summer transfer window – notably those of Ligue 1 Conforama top scorer (13 goals) Wissam Ben Yedder and the league’s assist leader Islam Slimani – the side’s results in first half of the 2019-20 campaign proved too inconsistent for the directors.
“On behalf of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, I would also like to thank Leonardo Jardim for all the work he has done and all the successes he has achieved in recent years,” said club vice-president Oleg Petrov in a statement on the club’s official website. “Leonardo and his staff did their utmost to keep the club in Ligue 1 last season and then give the team back the place it deserves in our championship. We wish him good luck for the future.”
Petrov: ‘We have great faith in him’
Directly after sealing Jardim’s departure, the club announced that his replacement has already been found.
“We are very pleased to announce the arrival of Robert Moreno,” said Petrov. “We have great faith in him and his ability to lead the team to success. We welcome him to AS Monaco.”
A long-time assistant to Spanish legend Luis Enrique at AS Roma, Celta Vigo, Barcelona and then with the Spanish national team, Moreno has had one previous stint as a senior coach, leading La Roja to Euro 2020 qualification when Enrique took some time out of the game in 2019. Moreno’s deal links him to the club through to June 2022.
The Spaniard will be thrown right in the deep end, with Monaco’s first Ligue 1 Conforama match in 2020 taking them to the French capital to face leaders and champions Paris Saint-Germain in their Week 20 clash at the Parc des Princes on Sunday, 12 January.