BERLIN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart part company with coach Bruno Labbadia with immediate effect owing to weak performances in recent matches, the club confirmed on its official homepage on Monday.
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 yesterday's 2-1 loss to Augsburg.
The "Swabians" slumped on second last position with zero points after three consecutive defeats in the league. Moreover, Stuttgart 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.
For all that, Stuttgart's Under 17 coach Thomas Schneider replaces Labbadia to put pen to paper 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 joined 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," Thomas Schneider said.