Bochum part company with coach Koller

BOCHUM - VfL Bochum sacked coach Marcel Koller Sunday following a string of poor results that sees the club sit second from bottom of the German Bundesliga.

Koller had been in charge of Bochum since July 2005 but his fate was sealed Saturday when Bochum fans reacted angrily to his team’s 3-2 home defeat to Mainz.

“We are very grateful to Marcel Koller. With him we have remained in the top division for a fourth year, which we haven’t achieved since relegation in 1993. We wish him all the best for the future,” said club chairman Thomas Ernst Sunday evening after a board

meeting that lasted several hours.

The Swiss coach’s dismissal doesn’t come as a surprise as Bochum have only managed four points from their opening six matches.

Assistant coach Frank Heinemann and former player and youth coach Dariusz Wosz are expected to take charge of the team in a caretaker capacity for Tuesday’s German Cup clash with Schalke 04.

Koller, 48, is the third Bundesliga coach to lose his job this season, following Mainz boss Joern Andersen and Hanover’s Dieter Hecking.