ITALY'S embattled soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi has resigned for a new job at AC Milan, ending months of speculation about his future, officials said early this morning.
Italian soccer federation (FIGC) special commissioner Raffaele Pagnozzi said Sacchi called him shortly before midnight last night to advise him of his decision.
He said Sacchi would be joining Milan, where he spent five glory years until his appointment to the national side in 1991.
Sacchi succeeds Uruguayan Oscar Washington Tabarez, who has had a bleak six months with the club and saw the side lose 3-2 at Piacenza yesterday and drop to ninth in the league.
"Saccbi called me at a quarter to midnight to tell me he intended to end his contract with the federation," Pagnozzi told the Italian news agency ANSA.
"Sacchi will be meeting with the FIGC legal office to formalise what amounts to his resignation," Pagnozzi said.
It was not yet clear who would succeed Sacchi in what is arguably the most criticised job in Italian soccer.
Recent speculation has focused on former World Cup winning goalkeeper Dino Zoff, now chairman of Lazio, or a stop gap appointment of under 21 coach Cesare Maldini until next summer.
Sacchi, 50, took Italy to the World Cup final against Brazil in Los Angeles in 1994 but has been under intense pressure since the side crashed out of the European championships in the first round last summer.
Calls for his dismissal mounted last month after Italy lost 2-1 to Bosnia in a friendly in Sarajevo, the team's final game before they play England away next February in a crunch qualifier for the 1998 World Cup.
Sacchi, whose contract is worth a reported $1.07 million a year and runs up to the World Cup finals, has a record of 34 wins, 10 draws and nine defeats in the 53 matches he has conducted since November 1991.
He has faced repeated criticism for frequent changes to the side and a failure to hit it off with some of the stars of Italian soccer, notably Gianluca Vialli of English premier league side Chelsea.
His most loyal supporter, FIGC chairman Antonio Matarrese, was forced to step down last summer, prompting news reports that Sacchi would fall with him.
Sacchi joined AC Milan in 1986 and coached the side to some of their greatest triumphs, including the league title in 1988, two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.
Tabarez signed a one year contract with Milan this season after the highly successful Fabio Capello left for Real Madrid.
Sacchi's first test with Milan will come on Wednesday when Milan need a point at home to Norway's Rosenborg in a Champions League Group D match to stay in the competition.
Meanwhile, Vicenza coach, Franceso Guidolin, watched his side draw 1-1 at Perugia yesterday to restore their one point lead over Internazionale at the top of Serie A and then warned about the threat of relegation.
"Our aim at the start of the season was to avoid relegation from the first division," said Guidolin, whose team is setting the pace in serie A for the first time in their 94 year history.
"Only when that aim is achieved can we start thinking about other objectives like the championship."
Alessandro Iannuzzi, a close season buy from Lazio, moved Vicenza closer to first division salvation when a 10th minute shot from the edge of the penalty area put his side 1-0 up.
Carmine Gautieri equalised for Perugia in the 33rd, but the away point was enough to give unfancied Vicenza 21 points from 11 matches, one more than Inter, who had briefly drawn level on Saturday after drawing 2-2 at home to Cagliari.
With the league's top two clubs due to meet next week, Juventus moved ominously into third after defeating Bologna courtesy of Zinedine Zidane's superbly struck 50th minute free kick.
In Spain Deportivo Coruna went home from Sevilla with a 1-0 win yesterday leaving them in second place two points behind Real Madrid in the first division.
With 33 points from 15 games Deportivo are two off the pace after Real Madrid's 1-0 victory at Sporting Gijn on Saturday, and two ahead of Barcelona, who play Extremadura on Monday.
Ajax Amsterdam's miserable Dutch league season continued when the defending champions were held 1-1 after Groningen's Dean Gorre scored a late equaliser.
Ajax dropped to sixth in the first division, 13 points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven, who beat NEC Nijmegen 4-1 on Saturday and have 42 points from 18 matches.
