Story highlights
German legend Lothar Matthaus sacked as coach of Bulgaria
He had only won one match in Group G qualification for the European Championship
Fired after just 12 months in charge
It's the latest in a string of managerial failures for the former World Cup winner
German World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus has been sacked as coach of the Bulgarian national football team.
The 50-year-old had been in charge of the Eastern European team for twelve months – the first foreigner to ever hold the post – but had struggled in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship, due to take place in Poland and Ukraine next summer.
They are already out of the contention for the finals after gaining just one win and five points from seven matches in Group G.
“There were many reasons to release Matthaus, not only the poor results in the last matches,” Borislav Mihaylov, president of the Bulgarian Football Union, told AFP.
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“Pressure and negativity had also piled up in the squad, so the change was necessary.”
Matthaus enjoyed a glittering playing career, captaining the German national team to victory in the 1990 World Cup final and becoming the most capped German outfield player of all time.
But the path to success in management has been far harder to negotiate for Matthaus.
He endured unsuccessful periods at Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league and Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli league.
Matthaus also took charge of the Hungarian national team but failed to lead them to the 2006 World Cup finals.
