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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2016 20 INTER Milan fired Dutchman Frank de Boer as coach on Tues- day after less than three months in charge during which the former European champions lost seven of their 14 competitive games. Inter, who dropped to 12th in the Serie A table following Sun- day's 1-0 loss to Sampdoria, said youth team coach Stefano Vecchi would be in charge of the team for Thursday's Europa League match at Southampton. "The club thanks Frank and his staff for the work they have un- dertaken at the and wish them the best for the future," Inter, who have lost four of their last five league games, said in a statement. Inter, traditionally one of Italy's three biggest clubs alongside Ju- ventus and city rivals AC Milan, appointed the 46-year-old De Bo- er on Aug. 9, two weeks before the start of the season, after Robert Mancini left by mutual consent. The club said that an announce- ment on De Boer's replacement would be made later. Italian me- dia reported that Stefano Pioli, the former Lazio coach, was the favourite. De Boer was Inter's eighth coach since Jose Mourinho left in 2010 after winning the Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia treble. The others were Rafael Benitez, Leonardo, Gian Piero Gasperini, Claudio Ranieri, Andrea Stramac- cioni, Walter Mazzarri and Man- cini. Gasperini's reign was even shorter than De Boer's, lasting five matches. Inter are enduring their fifth successive season without Cham- pions League football and have won one trophy since Mourinho's departure, the Coppa Italia in 2011. Former Netherlands defender De Boer had no previous experi- ence of playing or coaching in Italy. He had previously been in charge of Dutch side Ajax Amster- dam for six years during which he won four league titles. His overall record of five wins, two draws and seven defeats in- cluded shock losses to Hapoel Beer Sheva and Sparta Prague in the Europa League and at home to Cagliari in Serie A. Inter were sold to a consortium led by Indonesian business tycoon Erick Thohir in October 2013 by Massimo Moratti, who had owned the club since 1995. In June, Chinese electronics re- tailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd bought nearly 70 percent of Inter for 270 million euros, al- though Thohir stayed on as club president. Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Germany's all-time leading goalscorer Miroslav Klose retires from football Germany legend Miroslav Klose has ended his playing career as he prepares to become a coach with the national side THE German Football Association (DFB) announced on its website yesterday that Miroslav Klose, who last played for Lazio in Serie A, has decided to call time on his playing career to start work on gaining his coaching qualifications. According to the statement, 38-year-old Klose is to work with national team head coach Joachim Löw and sporting director Han- si Flick as part of an individual training programme. Klose is to be a trainer in the national team's coaching set up and also be in- volved with national youth squads. He is to be with die Mannschaft for matches in San Marino and Italy later this month. "I had my greatest successes (as a player) with the national team," Klose said in the statement. "They were wonderful times that I will never forget. So I am pleased to re- turn to the DFB." Germany head coach Löw, who on Monday extended his contract by a further two years, welcomed Klose back into the fold, saying he believed he has what it takes to be successful in his new career. "With his vision and his experi- ence I can really see him becoming a coach in the future, and we in the DFB are pleased to help him along this path," he said. Until recently, Klose - whose con- tract with Lazio expired at the end of last season - had hoped to con- tinue his playing career. However, he said in recent months, that he had warmed up to the idea of hang- ing up the boots and becoming a coach. The Polish-born Klose began his Bundesliga career in Kaiser- slautern, before moving on to Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and finally Lazio. His 71 goals are more than any other player has scored for Germa- ny and his 137 appearances are sec- ond only to Lothar Matthäus' 150. He has also scored more goals (16) at the World Cup than any other player, spread over the four tourna- ments held between 2002 and 2014. He retired from international foot- ball after Germany won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. De Boer fired by Inter Milan after 14 matches Miroslav Klose Frank de Boer's adventure with Inter has ended Buffon says Juventus still far from the finished product JUVENTUS goalkeeper Gian- luigi Buffon is demanding more of his team, even though they are top of Serie A and lead their Champions League group. A win at home to Olympique Lyonnais will take Juventus into the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare but Buffon said they also need to think about the more difficult challenges that lie ahead. "We need to realise the current level won't be enough, so we need to take steps forward," he said after Saturday's 2-1 win over Napoli. "If we go into the next round in Europe, it will get really tough from March and we'll have no more time to work on it then. We need to make those im- provements now." Juventus have won the last five Serie A titles but, although they reached the 2015 Champions League final, their performanc- es in Europe have not matched the standards set by Italy's top teams in the past. They were knocked out it the round of 16 by Bayern Munich last season, also lost to the Ba- varians in the quarter-finals in 2012/13 and failed to make it past the group stage in 2013/14. "We want to build a bright fu- ture and one that lasts as long as possible, both in Italy and in Europe," said the 38-year-old Buffon. "(Gonzalo) Higuain's arrival has made us stronger but it de- pends how far we want to go." "This mentality is may be enough if the idea is to win the title again in Italy. If I think about a quarter-final, semi-final or a Champions League final against the likes of Bayern Mu- nich or Barcelona, then this is not enough." Juventus, who have yet to con- cede a goal in Group H, have seven points from three games, ahead of Sevilla on goal dif- ference, and four clear of their French opponents. Gianluigi Buffon