Balakov named new Kaiserslautern coach
Reuters - Thursday 22 March 2012, 14:03
Struggling Kaiserslautern
appointed Bulgarian Krasimir Balakov as coach on Thursday in
place of Marco Kurz who was sacked earlier in the week.
Balakov said he could drag the club off the bottom of the
table even though they have gone 16 games without a victory in
the Bundesliga.
"I accepted the offer because I believe we can avoid
relegation," the 45-year-old told reporters after quitting
Hajduk Split of Croatia.
"This is a long-term project to bring the club to a healthy
position where it can be a solid part of the Bundesliga."
Balakov, who played for VfB Stuttgart from 1995-2003 and was
briefly their player-manager, was a member of the Bulgaria team
that finished fourth at the 1994 World Cup.
He joined Hajduk last May.
Kaiserslautern are five points adrift of Freiburg who are in
the relegation play-off spot.