Flamengo sacks coach Santana

 RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's soccer powerhouse Flamengo on Monday sacked coach Joel Santana following the team's poor results.

Flamengo's football director Zinho confirmed that the 63-year-old had been relieved of his duties following the team's 1-0 loss to Cruzeiro on Sunday.

"I had a meeting with him at the club this morning and thanked him for his efforts. I have a great amount of respect of him," Zinho said during a press conference in Rio.

"The situation was unsustainable. It was my decision to have a positive reaction in the Serie A championship."

Sunday's result was Flamengo's third loss in four matches and left the club at the 10th spot with 15 points from 11 games.

The team was also eliminated during the group phase of the Copa Libertadores tournament earlier this year and performed below expectations during the Rio state championship .

Santana, who coached South Africa at the 2010 World Cup, took the rein¹ of the club in February this year, replacing Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

It was his fifth stint² as coach of the Rio outfit³.

Zinho said a replacement⁴ was yet to be found for Santana but Dorival Junior, sacked by Internacional last week, is widely tipped to get the job.

1 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

2 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

3 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

4 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。