Cuper departs struggling Racing

Spanish top-flight strugglers Racing Santander have parted company with coach Hector Cuper by mutual agreement, it was announced today. A statement on the club's website read: "Real Racing Club and coach Hector Cuper...have agreed to end their working relationship. This mutual decision was taken during a meeting...in which the coach and the board discussed the team's current problems and agreed that the best solution would be for both parties to separate." Argentine Cuper, 56, moved to Racing in the summer, signing a one-year deal, but departs after Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Mallorca left them bottom of La Liga with just one win all season. Cuper is best known for taking Valencia to the UEFA Champions League final in successive seasons in 2000 and 2001, and has also coached Mallorca, Inter Milan, Betis, Parma, the Georgian national team and Greek club Aris Salonika. Racing are in serious financial difficulty and their board resigned en masse last month, with the exception of estranged majority shareholder Ahsan Ali Syed.