Struggling Hamburg sack coach Joe Zinnbauer after six months in charge
Bundesliga side Hamburg SV has sacked Joe Zinnbauer as coach, replacing him with club sports director Peter Knaebel to the end of the season.
Hamburg says on its website that Zinnbauer and assistant Patrick Rahmen were let go Sunday after talks with club management.
Hamburg chairman Dietmar Beiersdorfer says Zinnbauer, the club's former under-23 coach, ''did everything for HSV. We thanked him for that. After the latest results and considering the whole situation, however, we felt we were forced to change.''
Beiersdorfer says he is ''convinced that this is the best option for us in this situation.''
Zinnbauer, who took over from the sacked Mirko Slomka in September, was unable to turn Hamburg's poor season around.
The club occupies the Bundesliga relegation playoff place with eight games still to play.
