Sydney FC sack manager Branko Culina

Australian A-League club Sydney FC has sacked manager Branko Čulina, nine rounds into the 2007-08 season.

Čulina was appointed following Terry Butcher's sacking at the end of the 2006-07 season, after Sydney played unattractive football and only managed to finish fourth in the eight-team competition.

Čulina began his managament career at the St Albans Saints in 1989, following a successful career as a player which concluded at the same club. He has since managed seven other major teams, including the very successful Sydney United, before his appointment to Sydney FC.

According to reports, he was summoned to Sydney FC headquarters on the afternoon of October 22 (AEST), before being told his services were no longer required. Čulina, having been appointed prior to Sydney's first incursion into Asian club football as part of the 2007 AFC Champions League, only served six months of his two year contract.

His former team sit in sixth place, having won just two of a total of nine A-League games this season. They currently sit four points from the top four, which grants entry into the final series, after nine of twenty-one rounds.