The sacking of Floro, who came to Madrid from Albacete at the start of the 1992-93 season, climaxed a board meeting dedicated to discussing yet another crisis in a stormy season for Spain's most famous club.
Real lost 1-0 at home to Paris Saint Germain in a European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final first leg last Thursday and Sunday's defeat in Lerida, which left the Madrid side five points adrift of league leader Deportivo, was the final nail in Floro's coffin.
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French and AC Milan striker Jean-Pierre Papin is likely to rejoin European champions Marseille soon, Marseille officials said on Wednesday.
The officials said Papin, 30, had one year to run on his contract with Milan but had agreed to leave the Italian club early.
Sources close to Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie said an agent acting for Milan had offered Papin's services to both Monaco and Marseille, and that Papin "has agreed to return to Marseille."
He is likely to return on loan since Marseille's financial situation is precarious after the club was banned from Euroepan soccer this season because of a match-rigging scandal.
Papin, who has scored 27 goals in his 49 appearances for France, has spent much of his time at Milan on the substitutes' bench.
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Playoffs in next month's Australian soccer championship will be decided by sudden-death overtime if necessary, soccer officials announced on Tuesday.
The Australian Soccer Federation adopted the concept in a bid to attract more spectators and it will come into effect for next month's championship playoffs, played over two legs, involving the country's top six club sides.
If ties are level on away goals after normal time in the second leg, the game will be decided by the first goal scored during the extra period. If no team scores during the 30 minutes of overtime, the outcome will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
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Three young Portugese soccer players are expected to play against Poland in an Under-21 international on Wednesday after "escaping" from the holiday island of Madeira.They were stranded there for two days by strong winds which closed the airport.
Defender Abel Xavier and strikers Joao Vieira Pinto and Rui Costa, should now reach Szcecin in Poland in time for Wednesday's match after flights from the airport resumed on Monday night.Their club, Benfica, drew 1-1 with Maritimo on Saturday but then became stranded after the strong winds isolated the island from the mainland.
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English soccer paid tribute to the memory of Bobby Moore on Monday night when West Ham beat a Premier League representative side 2-1 in front of a 20,311 crowd which raised more than ?200,000 ($300,000) for charity.
Moore, who led England to victory in the 1966 World Cup Final and West Ham to victory in the 1964 English FA Cup Final and 1965 European Cup Winners Cup Final, died of cancer a year ago, aged just 51.
On an emotional night at Upton Park old West Ham favorites Johnny Sissons and Johnny Byrne flew in from South Africa and former goalkeeper Jim Standen came from California.
The night also marked the opening of West Ham's new 7,500-all seater Bobby Moore Stand.
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