Leitl sacked as Hannover 96 coach

After two and a half years as Hannover 96 coach, Stefan Leitl has been relieved of his duties. 

The 2. Bundesliga outfit announced the decision on Sunday. 

André Breitenreiter has been confirmed as Leitl's replacement. 

Hannover went into the winter break in seventh place, one point behind Hamburger SV in the promotion play-off spot. 

“It was certainly not an easy decision to take. If you look at the table, we're definitely up there, but to be honest we haven't managed to achieve any real consistency and we've had extreme dips,” said the club's sporting director, Marcus Mann. 

"To maximize the chances of success, you need absolute conviction and the full support of the entire club and its surroundings. But the belief that we could go all the way in this constellation was no longer unconditional, and in my view the best and most honest way to do that is to make a clear and consistent decision.

“That's why I finally came to the conclusion that a change was necessary in the winter to start the second half of the season with fresh impetus.”