Hamburg sack manager

Ricardo Moniz took charge of Hamburg yesterday in preparation for a pivotal match against Fulham in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday after Bruno Labbadia was sacked by the Bundesliga club.

Labbadia paid the price for his side's poor Bundesliga form by being relieved of his duties after less than 10 months at the helm with his side languishing in seventh in the table.

Sunday's 5-1 defeat at Hoffenheim proved to be the final straw for club bosses, who informed Labbadia of their decision at a crisis meeting, explaining to him they needed to react to salvage something from the season.

"The recent performances against Mainz, Fulham and Hoffenheim have given us the impression that we had to change something," explained the club's chairman Bernd Hoffmann.

"We did it to be able to play a successful game in London on Thursday and reach the final of the Europa League.

"The decision not to carry on with Bruno Labbadia was a tough one to take. He worked with total commitment for this club from the very first to the very last day."

Nevertheless, Hamburg cannot afford to prepare for Thursday's crucial match at Craven Cottage under the storm cloud which has cast its shadows over the club in recent weeks.

An ugly disagreement with goalkeeper and captain Frank Rost last weekend was just one sign Labbadia had lost his respect among the players and, although the coach defiantly declared yesterday his players were not playing against him, the impression was different.

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