Babbel takes helm at Hoffenheim
February 10, 2012
Bundesliga soccer club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Friday named former national team player Markus Babbel as their new head coach.
Thirty-nine-year-old Babbel, whose appointment was made official at a press conference, signed a contract that is to run through the end of the 2013-14 season.
Babbel had been the only name mentioned in media speculation about who would take the Hoffenheim job. He had been out of a job for less than two months, after having been fired by Hertha Berlin last December.
He replaces Holger Stanislawski, who was sacked on Thursday just hours after Hoffenheim's surprise 1-0 home defeat in the German cup quarterfinals by second-division Greuer Fürth.
Stanislawski had gone into that game knowing that nothing short of a victory would likely lead to his dismissal after criticism from the club's main investor, Dietmar Hopp.
Struggling in the Bundesliga
Not only did Hoffenheim crash out of the cup earlier than hoped, but the club had been in the doldrums in the league for several weeks, having won just one of its last 10 games. That left Hoffenheim in eighth place in the league standings with 24 points.
Stanislawski's sacking came after less than a season at the club, following his emotional departure from the now second-division Hamburg side St. Pauli.
At first glance, Babbel's first test at the helm promises to be a difficult one. Hoffenheim on Saturday take on Werder Bremen, who have lost just one of their nine home games this season.
But Werder will be weakened by the absence of top striker Claudio Pizarro (15 goals) on Saturday due to a yellow-card suspension. Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf also warned that it could be a difficult game as a change of coach can often spark a slumping team to perform better, at least in the short term.
"There will be changes in the team. Everyone will be out to prove themselves all over again," the coach told reporters in Bremen on Thursday.
pfd/acb (dpa, SID, Reuters)