Hot Seat Watch for World Football Players, Coaches After Weekend of Jan. 24-26
It's time for our regular roundup of the players and managers around the world game who have come under scrutiny or pressure of late, through results, occurrences or performances.
In England, league action took a backseat this time for FA Cup matches, so although Harry Redknapp and Paul Lambert still haven't won a game, we won't include them this week as their teams did not play. They'll be back with us next week...unless results pick up, of course.
In the meantime we've got some of the biggest names in the game featuring this time around, for varying disappointing reasons.
Pippo Inzaghi, Milan
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It's not getting any better for AC Milan boss Pippo Inzaghi.
A weekend defeat at Lazio in Serie A was followed by...a midweek defeat at home to Lazio, in the Coppa Italia. It means Milan have only won once in their last seven in all competitions, a cup game against Sassuolo. They have the second-worst current league form of any top-flight side in Italy and have slipped outside the top half, into 11th.
Next up is bottom-of-the-table Parma, a must-win game, before league leaders Juventus.
Willy Sagnol, Bordeaux
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Over in Ligue 1, Willy Sagnol saw his side continue their recent poor run at the weekend, only managing a 0-0 draw with relegation-troubled Bastia.
Bordeaux have won just once in their last eight in all competitions and have not won in league play since the beginning of December. They've also only scored twice in their last five Ligue 1 games, a real problem for Sagnol to try and sort out.
Guingamp and Evian are the next two opponents for Girondins.
Javier Aguirre, Japan
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The 2015 Asian Cup saw a surprise exit for Japan at the hands of UAE in a penalty shootout, after the favourites for the tournament couldn't beat them in 120 minutes.
Javier Aguirre has been in the post with the national team since the end of the 2014 World Cup, but things haven't exactly all gone to plan for him so far, with this failure at a very winnable tournament being the biggest indication of problems.
ESPNFC report that he will continue in his role for now despite the exit, while Aguirre is also under investigation for match-fixing.
Eduardo Berizzo, Celta Vigo
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Celta Vigo boss Eduardo Berizzo started the season continuing the good work of Luis Enrique last year, but has since witnessed his side slump alarmingly.
A Monday-night defeat away to Getafe was the 10th La Liga game in succession without a win for Celta, though they did at least manage to find the back of the net this time—only their second goal in that horrendous run.
Celta are down to 12th, having earlier challenged for European places.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winning goal in PSG's important game against Saint-Etienne, but also came under fire for an injury-time challenge on Romain Hamouma.
The Swede went in at almost knee-height with his studs, being yellow-carded, but a red was certainly warranted and L'Equipe report (in French) that he could face a lengthy ban.
Ibrahimovic has scored nine goals this season for the third-place side, but he has already missed part of the campaign due to injury.
Diego Costa, Chelsea
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Not the most accommodating of footballing personalities at the best of times, Chelsea forward Diego Costa ramped up his aggression and annoyance levels for the visit of Liverpool in the League Cup semifinal second leg on Tuesday night.
The Spanish forward wasn't punished by the referee beyond a yellow card for a skirmish with Steven Gerrard, also booked at the time, but he was twice accused of treading on Liverpool players' legs, firstly Emre Can and later Martin Skrtel.
For his part, Costa should have had a penalty, denied him when Skrtel clearly fouled him in the area, but he may yet face more action for the Can incident in particular.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo endured a tough day at the office as he was given no leeway by a strong Cordoba defence, resulting in the Ballon d'Or winner kicking out and punching an opponent, receiving a straight red card.
He had earlier gotten away without punishment for another hit out at a defender, not seen by the referee.
A suspension will be forthcoming and he'll be missing the games which Real lost in the first half of the season, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid, and it could be more. All this, after a few weeks in which he hasn't performed anywhere near to capacity.
Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
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We'll finish up with a much more performance-based worry, that of Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany.
The title-winning captain of last season has seen a number of games of late where his positioning and decision-making have come into question, notably against Arsenal in the Premier League—and now also against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup at the weekend.
He wasn't anywhere near his best again, should have done far better for the first goal and really needs to up his game to push City on for a title charge this term.
