'Exhausted' Hareide quits Norway post
Monday 8 December 2008
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Åge Hareide has stepped down as coach of Norway (©Getty Images)
Åge Hareide has stepped down as coach of Norway following his side's poor start to their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
'Exhausted'
Norway have collected just two points from their opening three games in Group 9 and Hareide has decided the time has come to let someone else take the team forward. "I didn't have the necessary motivation to lead the team in 2009," he said. "The 2008 season was a big disappointment and I felt exhausted after all the bad results."
No win
Hareide took charge of Norway in 2003, but was unable to lead his nation to a major international tournament, coming closest when Norway lost out to the Czech Republic in a play-off for a place in the 2006 World Cup. Norway failed to win a game in 2008, the first time they have gone a year without a victory since 1978.
Patience
The Norwegians do not resume their World Cup qualifying campaign until 6 June when they travel to F.Y.R. Macedonia and Norwegian Football Federation general secretary Karen Espelund said there was no rush to appoint a successor: "Our next game is against Germany in February, so we have a fair bit of time before then. We may appoint someone as a short-term solution while we look for a coach who can lead the team in the long term."
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