Leiria sack Duarte and appoint Oliveira

Veteran coach starts second stint at club

It was a day of whirlwind activity at Uniao de Leiria as the club made two significant moves on the same day. The club announced the resignation of Paulo Duarte as the team’s head coach and shortly afterwards the appointment of Vitor Oliveira (pictured) as his replacement.

The departure of Duarte came as no surprise after a disastrous run of results culminated in elimination from the Carling Cup against 2nd-tier side Penafiel last week and a home defeat to Nacional in the Bwin Liga on Sunday, leaving the club rock bottom in the standings.

Duarte left without any hard feelings. “We are in last place and something had to change,” he said. “I have been a professional at this club for many years and I feel like a fan does. I felt that my presence was not benefiting the institution. I am leaving because the team needs a shake-up.”

Duarte leaves with bittersweet memories. He was the first coach to guide a Portuguese team to qualification for the Uefa Cup via the Intertoto Cup, and then narrowly lost out to Bayer Leverkusen in the first round. Results in the Bwin Liga, however, have been disappointing, and ultimately cost Duarte his job.

The man stepping in to take over is Vitor Oliveira, who starts his second stint with the club after coaching Leiria back in the 1997/98 season.

Oliveira enjoyed a memorable season last year, guiding Leixoes to promotion after almost two decades outside the top flight, only to be somewhat surprisingly let go by the Porto club.