Less than six months after he led UAE club Al-Ain AFC Champions League title, Hernan Crespo was sacked as the head coach. Al-Ain showed the Argentine legend the door after a string of defeats, culminating in a 1-5 loss to Al-Nassr in the AFC Champions League Elite on Tuesday.
The loss to Critiano Ronaldo's club left Al-Ain at the bottom of the 12-team west zone standings halfway through the AFC Champions League—now called Champions League Elite—with one point from four matches.
In the UAE Pro League, too, Al Ain have just eight points from five matches and are eighth in the 14-team table. They are 10 points adrift of table leaders Shabab Al Ahli.
In May, Crespo led Al-Ain to a famous win over Yokohama F Marinos of Japan in the two-legged final of the AFC Champions League.
The two-time continental champions thanked Crespo, who took over in November last year as the head coach, but added that "recent results have not met expectations" in a statement.
Under the former Inter Milan and Chelsea striker, Al-Ain qualified for the expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, but the 49-year-old will not be leading the team into the tournament slated to be held in the US next year.
Al-Ain are yet to name a replacement for Crespo.