Club Brugge has announced the sacking of Scott Parker following the team’s exit from the Champions League. Parker, who was appointed as head coach on December 31, 2021, left the club less than three months after his appointment. The decision was made after Brugge suffered a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the Champions League. It was the club’s biggest margin of defeat in European knockout football (excluding qualifiers) and the first time they had conceded five or more goals away from home in the Champions League since November 1988.
In a statement, Club Brugge confirmed Parker’s departure, saying: “Club Brugge parted ways with Scott Parker earlier today. Parker (42) was appointed as Club Brugge’s new head coach on December 31, replacing Carl Hoefkens. Before coming to Jan Breydel, the former England international was at the helm of teams like Fulham and Bournemouth. Parker won two of his 12 games for Club.”
Parker’s tenure at Club Brugge saw him manage just two wins out of 12 games, with six draws and four losses. The team is currently in fourth place in the Belgian Pro League, but they are now 21 points behind leaders Genk.
Belgian news outlet Nieuwsblad has reported that Alfred Schreuder, who left Ajax last season but was sacked by the Dutch side in January, is being considered as Parker’s replacement.
Before joining Club Brugge, Parker managed Bournemouth in the English Premier League. He led the team to promotion from the Championship but was sacked after they suffered a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool in August 2021. His first job in management was at Fulham in 2019, where he led them to Premier League promotion in 2020 via the play-offs. He left Craven Cottage a year later for Bournemouth and guided them to automatic promotion during his first season at the helm.
During his playing days, Parker represented Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham, Tottenham, and Fulham.