© EuroFootball.com
The outsider club of the German Bundesliga announced on Wednesday that the head coach Jupp Heynckes has resigned from his position.
The 61-year-old German has been leading the team since May 2006, but he made the decision to leave his post after the draw in this week's match of the German championship against "Nurnberg."
"We respect the coach's decision," said Gladbach president Rolf Koenings in an official club statement. "He will always remain a member of our team."
The Monchengladbach club, which had a successful start to this season, was in the top half of the standings. However, after the victory on October 14 against "Wolfsburg" with a score of 3-1, they have not won any more matches and are currently in 16th place in the Bundesliga, fighting to avoid relegation from the top division of German football.
Former German national team player Heynckes began his career as a coach at Gladbach, from where he later moved to Bayern Munich, with whom he became the Bundesliga champion twice. The coach has also worked with Real Madrid, leading them to victory in the UEFA Cup in 1998, but was dismissed shortly after.
Before returning to Germany, Heynckes also worked at Athletic Bilbao and Benfica in Lisbon, and last season he coached Schalke in Gelsenkirchen. Heynckes will be temporarily replaced by his assistant Jos Luhukay as the head coach of Gladbach.
