Oliveira quits after 10 weeks at Santos

Oswaldo de Oliveira quit as coach of Brazilian champions Santos on Monday exactly 10 weeks after replacing Real Madrid-bound Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

Pressure had been mounting on Oliveira after Santos lost to Ecuador's LDU in the South American Libertadores Cup on Thursday, leaving them third in Group Two with three points from three games.

The final straw came on Sunday when Pele's former team were held 3-3 at home by unfancied America-Rio Preto in the Paulista championship, leaving them seven points behind leaders Sao Paulo with six matches to play.

"After a meeting of the board this morning, Oswaldo opted to interrupt his work in charge of the team," the club said in a statement.

Assistant coach Serginho Chulapa, a forward who played in Brazil's 1982 World Cup team, was named as coach on an interim basis.

Serginho has coached the team before and was once fired for head-butting a journalist in the dressing room.

Oliveira is the third major coaching casualty in a week in a country which has one of the fastest turnovers of managers of any major footballing nation.

Sao Caetano last week fired Zetti and replaced him with Estevam Soares while Figueirense dismissed Paulo Comelli and appointed Marco Aurelio in his place.

Last year's Brazilian championship produced 42 coaching victims in 46 rounds of matches.

Relegated Guarani used five coaches, followed by Atletico Mineiro, Gremio and Flamengo, who used four each.