PAOK fires Italian coach Beretta

Just over a month after being hired and without an official match played under his direction, PAOK Salonica announced Thursday that they had fired Italian coach Mario Beretta.

Beretta had been hired to a two-year contract on June 14 to replace Fernando Santos, who has taken over the coaching job with the Greece national team.

But club officials were not pleased with PAOK’s pre-season results under his leadership nor with the negative relationship he had with certain players.

Media reports here on Thursday suggested that Beretta would be replaced by second division club manager Pavlos Dermitzakis.

PAOK are scheduled to play its first leg match in the Champions League qualifiers against Ajax in Amsterdam next week.

For Beretta, 50, it was his first appointment outside Italy after coaching at Torino, Lecce, Siena, Parma and Chievo, as well as a number of lower-league Italian clubs.