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Enlarge Photo A file photo shows River Plate's coach Leonardo Astrada during a soccer match in Buenos... Crisis club River Plate sacked coach Leonardo Astrada on Monday in a bid to stop the rot that could see them fighting to avoid relegation next season.Astrada's team have taken one point and scored no goals in their last five matches in the Clausura championship after Sunday's 0-0 draw away to bottom team Atletico Tucuman. They are near the bottom with 13 points from 14 matches.
"Yes, I've been kicked out," Astrada, who had taken charge last October, told reporters as he left the club's Monumental ground on Monday.
River, the team with most league titles in Argentina since the advent of the professional game in 1931, are in a dangerous position in the relegation averages taken over three seasons.
A poor 2010-11 season would push the club that produced Alfredo di Stefano and was captained by Daniel Passarella, now chairman, towards the brink of a first ever relegation.
Angel Cappa, who steered Huracan to second place in last year's Clausura championship on a shoe-string budget playing a passing game in the same tradition as River's, is Passarella's favourite for the vacant position, the sports daily Ole reported.
The fans' favourite to return as coach is former Inter Milan and Argentina 1982 World Cup striker Ramon Diaz, who has steered the club to five league titles.
(Editing by Alison Wildey;
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