Leganes coach Garitano to leave

Madrid, May 9 (IANS) Coach Asier Garitano will leave Spanish La Liga club Leganes at the end of the football season, the club has said.

The news came after Leganes' 0-3 home defeat to Levante on Monday night in a game with little in play given that Leganes had confirmed their survival in the top flight for a third consecutive season, reports Xinhua news agency.

Garitano leaves Leganes after guiding them through the best five years in the club's history, from promotion from the third tier of the Spanish game (Segunda B) and then from the Second Division (Liga 123) to the Liga Santander in the 2015-16 season.

Under Garitano's guidance, Leganes have now survived two seasons in the Spanish top-flight and this season even knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey as they reached the semi-finals of the Spanish knockout competition for the first time.

Leganes said in a statement that Garitano had been named as a "adoptive son" of the sleeper town just outside the Spanish capital, adding that he had "left an unforgettable memory among all his companions, players, fellow coaches, club workers, directors and especially the fans, who he has made happy by working with respect, ambition and a lot of work".