Stuttgart sack coach Bruno Labbadia

Berlin, Aug 27 (IANS)

Stuttgart’s headcoach Bruno Labbadia looks on prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match VfB Stuttgart vs Bayer Leverkusen in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on August 17, 2013. (THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP/Getty Images)

Stuttgart has parted company with coach Bruno Labbadia with immediate effect owing to their weak performance in recent matches, the club said on its official homepage.

It is the first coach dismissal of the 51st Bundesliga season, as Stuttgart sacked Labbadia and his assistant coach Eddy Soezer after the third round, following a 2-1 loss to Augsburg, reports Xinhua.

The “Swabians” slumped to the second-last position with zero points after three consecutive defeats in the league. Moreover, Stuttgart has reaped only one victory in the last seven official matches.

The 47-year-old coach took the helm at Stuttgart during the relegation battle in 2010 to lead the club into European competitions twice.

Stuttgart’s Under-17 coach Thomas Schneider replaces Labbadia on a two-year contract.

Schneider is a former Bundesliga player, who played from 1983 until 2013 for the “Swabians”. The 40-year-old coach composed his coaching team to bring his assistants Alfons Higl and Tomislav Maric along.

“We are profoundly convinced that this was the right step. There was nothing to fix,” Stuttgart manager Fredi Bobic said.

However, the new coach joins the team in a sensitive period, as Stuttgart needs a win at the second leg Europa League qualifier against Croatian side Rijeka to maintain their hopes for Europe.

“I am really looking forward to this task, and I feel confident,” Schneider said.