Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini has been sacked, the Italian champion said on Thursday. Media reports have said Jose Mourinho, out of work since leaving Chelsea in September, is poised to take over. Mancini's future had been in doubt since Inter's defeat by Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League in March, when he said he would quit at the end of the season only to change his mind the next day. “FC Internazionale has informed Roberto Mancini that he has been sacked as coach, in particular because of the comments made by the coach at the end of the Inter-Liverpool match,” a statement on the club website said. Club President Massimo Moratti held a short meeting with Mancini on Tuesday and after two days of speculation, the club haS confirmed his departure. Mancini won three consecutive Italian league titles with Inter but this season it almost threw it away, only sealing the scudetto on the final day having let an 11-point lead in February get whittled down to one. Several other factors have led to the 43-year-old leaving, with four years left on his contract. Relations with the club's medical staff became stretched after Mancini criticized their methods while the coach was also at odds with Moratti after deciding not to play Luis Figo. Mancini, who took charge in 2004, had also not spoken to Italian media for several weeks after a number of stories he was unhappy with. Saturday's Italian Cup final defeat by AS Roma proved to be his final match in charge. Club officials have said during the recent uncertainty that Mancini's job would have been safe had he not made the shock comment in March about wanting to leave. The coach has said since that the pain of going out of the Champions League had colored his view and he did not mean it. Russia beats Serbia Substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko scored in the 48th minute to lead Russia over Serbia 2-1 Wednesday in a friendly match ahead of the European Championship. The Spartak Moscow striker converted a cross from Lokomotiv Moscow's Dmitry Sychev. Russia remains in Berghausen to play Lithuania next Wednesday in its final match before heading for Euro 2008, where it faces Spain, Greece and Sweden in the group stage. In Oslo, John Arne Riise converted an 85th-minute free kick to give Norway a 2-2 draw in a friendly against Uruguay on Wednesday, twice rallying from a one
