Real back under-fire Schuster

Under-fire Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster, seen here in 2007, received the backing of club bosses.

      MADRID (AFP) - Under-fire Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster on Friday received the backing of club bosses.

      Schuster's future has been in doubt after the nine-time European champions crashed out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage for the fourth year in succession on Wednesday night.

      A truly tepid performance in front of their home fans in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium lead to a 2-1 defeat by AS Roma, the Italians going through 4-2 on aggregate.

      "The club had and still has full confidence in Bernd Schuster," the club said in a statement, slamming "unjustifiable and totally false information published in certain media".

      These reports claimed that Schuster was already on his way out and that Real had already made contact with potential replacements.

      Schuster replaced Italian Fabio Capello at the beginning of the season.

      Real Madrid are already out of the Spanish Cup tournament but are still leading the Primera Liga five points ahead of leading rivals FC Barcelona.