Freiburg fired coach Marcus Sorg on Thursday after only half a season, with the club bottom of the Bundesliga.
The 46-year-old Sorg took over at the start of the season from Robin Dutt following his departure for Bayer Leverkusen. Sorg's dismissal marked the first time the club has fired a coach in its Bundesliga history.
Assistant coach Christian Streich will take over and was given a contract until the end of June 2014, the club said.
''We've offered him a long-term contract, he should not be an interim solution,'' sports director Dirk Dufner said at a news conference on Thursday.
One of Sorg's last moves was to drop six players, including captain Heiko Butscher.
The club's board considered whether that would be enough to help the club, ''but we decided that we also wanted to shake up things in the coaching position,'' Dufner said.
Under Sorg, Freiburg won only three of 17 matches and earned 13 points, leaving the club five points from safety. It finished ninth last season with an almost identical squad.
The Bundesliga season resumes Jan. 20.
