Total disrespect! Celta's coach was the last to know he'd been sacked

Some clubs are better at recruiting or winning matches, that's a given. But we often don't consider that some clubs are terrible at human relations and communication with their staff. Such things became painfully apparent on Wednesday when the news broke of Celta's new coach - while the old coach was still unaware of his imminent dismissal.

Edouardo 'Chacho' Coudet is no longer the boss of La Liga's underperforming team from the Galicia region. He was sacked after being in charge just short of two years. In his time at Balaidos, the 48-year-old Argentine dragged the team from the bottom three and led them to two highly-respectable finishes of 8th and 11th in La Liga. But then things got sour.

The writing was on the wall for Chacho when the club recruited Luis Campos as sports advisor at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. Coudet thus lost decision-making power and the freedom to impose his philosophy on the team. He leaves the sky blues placed 16th, just a point above the relegation zone.

Now, the story in itself isn't so strange. In fact, it's highly predictable. A coach arrives at a club, gets them to perform well, earns a new contract, and then leaves after a slump in form. But it's the manner in which Coudet learned of his fate that was painful. He read a report that Portuguese coach Carlos Carvalhal is the man who will take over at Celta.

On Tuesday, Coudet conducted training in preparation for Celta's match with Osasuna, that's set to be played on Saturday. Even though he felt that his situation was delicate, the news of his dismissal surprised him. Nobody told him that his days at Balaidos were numbered late on Monday night.

Carvalhal was last in charge of Al Wahda in UAE and has done reasonably well in the past decade as manager of clubs like Sporting CP and Braga in his homeland and Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea in England. His appointment was officially announced on Wednesday afternoon. He's signed a contract until June 2024. Ironically, Coudet has also arrived in November and signed an initial 18-month deal. History repeating?

Midway through the last season, while Celta were looking like a solid mid-table team, Coudet was asked about his team's potential. His response suggested that he was well aware that the end of the road is always around the next bend in the road.

"There is no ceiling for this team. But it's tricky. Lose two games and you're in trouble again, so you never look back."

Trouble caught up with Chacho. Let's see if Carvalhal will be treated better by the club's board.