Stuttgart fire head coach Tayfun Korkut after poor start
October 7, 2018
After a sequence of one win from seven league games since the start of the season, Stuttgart have decided to part ways with head coach Tayfun Korkut. He becomes the first Bundesliga coach to be fired this season.
But the club finally lost patience as Stuttgart, who finished seventh last season, lost at fellow strugglers Hanover.
Korkut and his two assistant coaches, Ilija Aracic and Steven Cherundolo, have been "released from their duties with immediate effect," a club statement said on Sunday.
Korkut, 44, had been in charge since January and led the club out of relegation danger last season, but the club's sports director Michael Reschke said the lack of progress and poor results this season "have made us take this step."
President Wolfgang Dietrich said: "This decision was very difficult for us. After the pleasing progress of the past season, we were
confident that we could continue the positive development with Tayfun Korkut as head coach in the new season.
"Unfortunately, that was not successful. Above all, our responsibility lies with VfB Stuttgart and its sporting future."
Former Germany international Andreas Hinkel will lead training as Stuttgart prepare to host Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund in their first game after the international break.
Bundesliga Matchday 7 in pictures
Saturday was a good day for the Bundesliga's Americans, with Weston McKennie and Bobby Wood among the goals. But the game of the day was undoubtedly in Dortmund, where the hosts edged an incredible seven goal thriller.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0 - 2 Schalke
It took Weston McKennie 33 games to open his Schalke account, now he can't stop hitting the net. The American youngster opened the scoring in this one after scoring the winner against Lokomotiv Moscow in midweek. Guido Burgstaller made it safe for Schalke, who have now won three in a row without conceding.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Hannover 3 -1 Stuttgart
But McKennie wasn't the only American having fun on Saturday. Bobby Wood (left) was handed his first start since moving to Hannover and rewarded his coach Andre Breitenreiter with quickfire headed double before halftime. Mario Gomez pulled one back for Stuttgart after the break but Ihlas Bebou made it safe late on as the hosts held on for their first league win of the season.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/O. Hardt
Borussia Dortmund 4 - 3 Augsburg
Paco Alcacer's stunning injury time freekick completed his hat-trick and won his team a pulsating game at Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund twice trailed their visitors before Alcacer and Mario Götze (in his first league appearance of the season) put them ahead for the first time. When Roman Bürki spilt Michael Gregoritsch's header in to the net on 87 minutes, it looked all over. Not quite.
Image: Reuters/L.Kuegeler
Bayern Munich 0 - 3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
If before it was a blip, it's now most certainly a crisis by Bayern Munich's lofty standards. An excellent 9th minute strike from French forward Alassane Plea gave the visitors the lead before Thiago's error allowed Lars Stindl to score on his return from a severe ankle injury. The comeback many expected never came and Patrick Herrmann completed the rout late on.
Image: imago/Eibner
Mainz 0 - 0 Hertha Berlin
A game low on quality, chances and - from the looks of it - spectators saw these sides share the points. Even Ondrej Duda, the Bundesliga's top scorer before this weekend couldn't summon up anything to steal the points. The result keeps Hertha in the Champions League spots and Mainz safely in midtable.
Image: Imago/T. Frey
Werder Bremen 2-0 Wolfsburg
Davy Klaassen showed how quickly he is settling in at his new club by delivering a game-winning performance in a gritty match. The Dutchman's goal on the volley in the box 10 minutes before the break gave Werder confidence in a game where Wolfsburg had passages of pressure. Forty-year-old Claudio Pizarro came off the bench to set up fellow sub Johannes Eggestein for the second late on.
Image: Imago/Nordphoto
Freiburg 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen
There are still big questions hovering over Heiko Herrlich and Bayer Leverkusen after a disappointing draw away at Freiburg. Lucas Alario had a couple of good chances for the visitors while Luca Waldschmidt struck the post late on for the hosts, whose coach Christian Streich ended the day the happier of the two bosses.
Image: Imago/Eibner
Hoffenheim 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
After 2-1 home defeats to RB Leipzig and Manchester City, Hoffenheim lost again by the same score at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Frankfurt took a two-goal lead in Sinsheim thanks to a long-range lob from Ante Rebic and a low drive from Luka Jovic. Rebic later saw red while Hoffenheim pulled a goal back through Reiss Nelson, but Eintracht hung on for a third straight win in all competitions.
"We will learn from this," promised Nuremberg coach Michael Köllner after his side crashed to a 7-0 defeat away at Borussia Dortmund two weeks ago - but few lessons appear to have been learned as "The Club" shipped six in the Red Bull Arena. Marcel Sabitzer and Timo Werner both scored twice for RB, the latter also seeing a penalty saved after Nuremberg were reduced to ten men in the second half.