| | FOXBORO, Mass. -- Coach Walter Zenga was fired Thursday by
the New England Revolution with two games left in the regular
season. He was replaced by Steve Nicol, who coached the Boston
Bulldogs of the A-League.
Zenga, who took over as player-coach with six games left last
season, led the Revolution to a 10-20-4 record this year. With two
games left, New England trails Miami by one point for the last
playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Zenga has a 5-13 record as
a goalkeeper and will not continue as a player with the Revolution.
General manager Brian O'Donovan said Zenga didn't want to wait
until the end of the season to discuss a contract extension.
"He also indicated to us that he had other options in Italy and
needed to explore them immediately," O'Donovan said in a team
statement. "We received (Wednesday) a written ultimatum insisting
that the team reach a decision. We would have preferred to evaluate
fully the situation during the offseason and make our decision
then."
Zenga, 39, named the world's best goalkeeper after the 1990
World Cup, played that position for the Revolution in 1997. He then
retired from the team and returned to Italy.
On Aug. 23, 1998, he was named to replace Thomas Rongen, who was fired by the Revolution. Zenga led the Revolution to a 3-3 record
last year and its first playoff berth ever.
Nicol, 38, is a Scotsman and former Liverpool star.
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