Malaga coach Juande Ramos steps down, Marcelo Romero takes over

Juande Ramos stepped down from his position on Tuesday night, citing the "tension" surrounding the team, and former Uruguayan footballer Marcelo Romero will replace him in his first job as head coach of a first division club.

The Qatari-owned club said Ramos agreed to terminate his contract two and a half years early.

Romero served as an assistant coach for the past three seasons. At 40 years old, the former midfielder for Malaga (2001-07) and Penarol (1996-2001), among other teams, managed three matches last season when Javi Garcia was suspended.

In their last match in the Spanish league before the Christmas break, Malaga lost 4-1 in Seville, dropping to 11th place in the table, and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a second division team. Some fans at La Rosaleda stadium called for Ramos' dismissal after the 4-3 defeat to Cordoba on December 21st.

In a statement on the club's website, Ramos said he was resigning due to "the tension of recent matches (which) does not help the team."

"Football is very unpredictable and in adverse situations, we coaches are usually the ones who suffer the most," he added. "In this particular case, I have decided to disassociate myself from a situation that makes me uncomfortable and does not satisfy me."

The team had been playing well, despite the absence of big talents, until they suffered those defeats against Seville and Cordoba before the winter break.

Before that, they had five consecutive home wins and a 0-0 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Malaga said in a statement that they thanked Ramos "for his work and honesty and wish him the best of luck for the future in his professional and personal life."

Ramos, a former manager of Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Seville, arrived at Malaga this summer after two years without coaching. Romero's first game in charge will be on January 8th against Celta de Vigo.