Iran NT coached by Carlos Queiroz remains leader of their WC Qualification group after an away draw at Oman.
Jesualdo Ferreira leaves defending Egyptian champion Zamalek. Accordingly, he hasn't been paid in 3 months.
How come nobody has been talking about Paulo Sousa? Fiorentina has lead or co-lead Serie A since the 1st day. I know the team is talented (finished 4th last year) but Sousa has them playing with confidence and an attractive attacking style. He could be a wild-card in our roster of managers going forward... (and he's such a cool, calm figure compared to some of the hot-heads in our list of managers...).
He started slowly (clubs in England) with a mixed bag of results and a so-so season in Hungary but since then: - League champion in Israel - League champion in Swiss - Surprise leaders of Serie A. Not saying he's necessarily a guaranteed ace (hasn't run a top club yet) but he's clearly doing something right. And if you ever saw him play, you know the guy is extremely intelligent. He basically has been running every team he's played on since he was a junior. And he collected some impressive silver-ware as a player - the U20 WC in '89 (Portugal's 1st ever major title), 2 league titles (Benfica and Juventus), 2 Champions Leagues (Juventus and Borussia) and a bunch of other cups. He was the best player in Italy for several years. It was a pity that his career was cut short early b/c of injuries b/c that MF with him, Rui Costa and Figo was insane.
Not a major club in a major league, but Rui Almeida has done a great job in his first season with Red Star FC in Ligue 2. The club were just promoted back to Ligue 2 and he has them near the top of the table for Christmas (many expected the team to struggle). It's been nice to see
He managed to get that team in the playoffs for the first time ever they may be in the Premier League next year
Marco Silva left Olympiakos, citing personal reasons. He could have a job lined up elsewhere though...