Schalke dismiss Stevens after Freiburg defeat

Saturday's home defeat by SC Freiburg proved Huub Stevens' last act in charge of FC Schalke 04 after he was dismissed with youth coach Jens Keller taking up the reins until the end of the season. 

Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies said: "We had to react. Huub Stevens is a great guy and he sacrificed his personal interests for the good of the team. He has admitted that he was no longer getting through to the team."

The former Netherlands international originally took over in 1996 and led the Gelsenkirchen club to UEFA Cup glory one year later, before adding two German Cups to his trophy haul in 2001 and 2002. After spells with six different clubs including Hamburger SV and PSV Eindhoven, Stevens returned to Schalke in 2011 and led them to a third-place finish. 

This season has proved more tasking for Stevens, however, with the club lying seventh in the Bundesliga following a run of six games without a win. His replacement, Keller, whose only previous coaching experience came in a two-month spell in charge of VfB Stuttgart in 2010, inherits a side in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.