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Germany: Leverkusen sack Augenthaler after bad start [Sat Sep 17th, 2005]
Berlin (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen have sacked coach Klaus Augenthaler after their worst start to a Bundesliga season in 22 years and defeat in their opening UEFA Cup match.
Former Germany coach Rudi Voeller, who is Leverkusen's sporting director, will initially take over the coaching duties, the club said in a statement.
Leverkusen are 12th in the Bundesliga with just one win from four matches and lost 1-0 at home to CSKA Sofia in their UEFA Cup first round first leg match on Thursday.
"We felt it just couldn't go on like this," Voeller said, referring to a meeting with club chiefs on Thursday night.
Augenthaler, a World Cup winner as a player in 1990, is the first coaching casualty in the Bundesliga this season. He joined the club in May 2003 and helped stave off relegation.
Leverkusen, UEFA Cup winners in 1988, reached the European Cup final and were second in the Bundesliga in 2002. They came third in the league in Augenthaler's first full season but finished a modest sixth last term.
That meant the club, regular participants in the UEFA Champions League over the past decade, only qualified for the UEFA Cup.
The 47-year-old Augenthaler took Friday morning's training session, but Voeller and assistant Peter Hermann will be on the bench for Sunday's match against MSV Duisburg.
Voeller, 45, said he wished to resume his post as sporting director and hoped the club would find a full-time coaching replacement. Voeller briefly stepped in as Leverkusen coach in 2000 when he was already in charge of Germany.
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