© EuroFootball.com
The leadership of Gelsenkirchen, holding fourth place in the German championship, dismissed head coach Ralf Rangnick just three days after the coach announced he would leave the club after the season.
"We had no other way out. There were problems that could not be solved," commented "Schalke" president Rudi Assauer on Monday on the coach's dismissal.
R. Rangnick, whose "Schalke" failed to reach the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals under his leadership, announced on Friday that he intended to leave the Gelsenkirchen club after the season.
R. Rangnick, whose "Schalke" under his leadership won the German championship silver last season, only losing to Munich's "Bayern", became the sixth "Bundesliga" coach to be left without a job this season.
Matthias Sammer, who was previously a German champion with Dortmund's "Borussia" but lost the head coach position at "VfB Stuttgart" last year, and Dutchman Huub Stevens, who led "Schalke" in 1997 when the Gelsenkirchen club won the UEFA Cup, are considered favorites to take over the vacant coach position.
In the weekend match against "Stuttgart," the team will be led by goalkeeper coach Oliver Reck.
