Former Al Nasr and Al Jazira manager Walter Zenga has been sacked by Sampdoria after 14 matches in charge, the Serie A side announced.
Zenga was dispensed with two days after his side lost 2-0 at home to Fiorentina, leaving them 10th in Serie A.
“We’re sorry for the early conclusion of the professional relationship,” Sampdoaira in a statement.
“I do not feel betrayed. I’m glad I had the opportunity to coach a team which I have also represented as a player,” Zenga said.
“The coach is constantly challenged. It’s part of the game. I leave the team in tenth place in the standings with two points less than (reigning champions) Juventus.”
Zenga, who played for Italy at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, was manager of Dubai club Al Nasr for 18 months before moving to Al Jazira for the 2013-14 season before returning to Italy to take up the Sampdoria post this summer. He also spent a season, in 2007, at reigning UAE champions Al Ain.
He has previously coached Steaua Bucharest and Red Star Belgrade, but his experience in Italy was limited to one season with Catania and five months at Palermo.
Elsewhere, Giuspeppe Iachini was dissmised as Palermo manager, having been in charge for almost two years, making him the longest-serving coach at the volatile club since Maurizio Zamparini took over as president in 2002.
He led Palermo out of Serie B in 2013-14 and took them to a better-than-expected 11th place last season.
However, he has had to rebuild this term after Argentine striker Paulo Dybala was sold to Juve.
“It’s a sad day when a coach such as Iachini has to leave,” said Zamparini, who has overseen 29 changes of coach in his 13 years in charge. “But I have to make decisions in the interests of Palermo football club, as I have always done.
“It was a carefully considered decision. This season, we have not been in tune with Iachini, after those comments when he said that Palermo had a weak team. A person who does not start with the right motivation cannot do well.”
Ballardini, 51, was previously at Palermo in 2008/09.
There have been three other coaching changes in Serie A this season. Bologna fired Delio Rossi and replaced him with Roberto Donadoni in October, while newcomers Carpi dismissed Fabrizio Castori in September and brought in Giuseppe Sannino, but then reversed the change one month later.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
THREE
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