Real Madrid dance to the Iglesias tune

Real Madrid yesterday installed the former Deportivo de La Coruna coach Arsenio Iglesias, two days after dismissing Jorge Valdano.

The Spanish champions have fallen behind in the league table recently, and Valdano, the former Argentinian international striker, was sacked on Sunday after the 2-1 home defeat to Real's struggling neighbours, Rayo Vallecano.

"A single word from Real Madrid was all I needed to immediately accept the offer," said Iglesias, who left Deportivo at the end of last season and has been working as a television commentator.

Sunday's defeat saw Real slip to eighth place, 16 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid. Valdano was booed off the pitch and he was fired two hours later, a mere seven months after leading the side to the title.

"Arsenio will be the man to provide tranquillity and stability to the team at a difficult time," the Real Madrid president, Lorenzo Sanz, said. The new man will take charge following tonight's league visit to Athletic Bilbao.

Valdano's 1982 World Cup team-mate, Ossie Ardiles, who flies out to Japan this week to take up the job of coach at Shimizu S-Pulse, likened the sacking to his own dismissal as Spurs manager in 1994, saying that poor results had little to do with the matter. "It was because of the political problems in the club," he said, "which is also a bit what happened to me. He won't have trouble finding another top job."