Sao Paulo fires coach Muricy Ramalho

SAO PAULO (AP) - Sao Paulo fired coach Muricy Ramalho after the club failed to reach the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.

Ramalho led Sao Paulo to three straight Brazilian league titles between 2006-08, but was fired late Friday after his team lost 2-0 to Cruzeiro in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals.

"In a meeting between Sao Paulo president Juvenal Juvencio and Muricy Ramalho, it was decided that Muricy will no longer coach the team this season," the club said Saturday on its Web site.

Ramalho will be replaced by AS Monaco coach Ricardo Gomes, who signed a one-year contract, the club said.

It was the fourth year in a row that Sao Paulo lost to another Brazilian team in the Libertadores tournament. It won the title in 1992, '93 and 2005.

"The team had everything it needed to win the Libertadores title," Joao Paulo Jesus Lopes, one of the team's top directors, told reporters. "We hired excellent players but we were not obtaining the desired results. It was time to make a change to resume winning and Muricy's exit was the best possible solution."

At the Sao Paulo training center, where he said goodbye to players and coaching staff, Ramalho Saturday said he was going to rest and "prepare for my next battle."