Lisbon, April 22 (IANS) Former FC Porto head coach Julen Lopetegui accused the football club's president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa of using him to try to divert attention from poor results, even though it has been over three months since he left the side.
The Spanish coach responded in an interview with Portuguese public television RTP aired on Friday, to the harsh criticism he recently received from Pinto da Costa, reports Efe.
"I have great memories of the president I knew. Now I'm sad because the sporting situation has worsened," said the coach, who recalled that Porto only lost three out of 50 games with him in charge, and has accumulated five defeats in 14 games since he left.
"Given the sporting situation, criticisms are normal. Maybe he wants to divert attention by talking about me. But I left three months ago," he reasoned.
The clash between Pinto da Costa and Lopetegui is partly due to the lack of agreement to terminate the contract of the coach.
