Klaus Augenthaler has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after presiding over the club’s worst start to a league campaign in 22 years.
He will be replaced on a caretaker basis by the former Germany national coach Rudi Voller, who will take charge for Sunday’s league game against Duisburg.
“To get to where we want to be this is the step we must take,” said the club’s executive director Wolfgang Holzhauser.
Leverkusen have managed just four points from their opening four games in the Bundesliga and are languishing in 12th place.
Augenthaler’s dismissal follows a 0-1 home defeat to CSKA Sofia in the UEFA Cup.
The former German international took over in 2003 and he saved them from relegation in the cosing weeks of the season.
He then took Leverkusen into the Champions League after the 2003-2004 season, but things began to go wrong last season.
