Babbel given Hoffenheim job

Hoffenheim have confirmed Markus Babbel as their new coach, giving the former Hertha Berlin and Stuttgart coach a two-and-a-half year contract. Babbel replaces Holger Stanislawski, who was sacked yesterday after Hoffenheim were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the quarter-finals by second-division side Greuther Furth. Babbel will lead his first training session in Hoffenheim this afternoon to prepare the team for their trip to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga tomorrow. It is Babbel's third station in the Bundesliga having previously led Hoffenheim's local rivals from the bottom three into Europe. Last season, he led Hertha back into the top flight before stalling over a contract extension just before Christmas and being relieved of his duties for refusing to commit to the club beyond the end of the current season. He takes his long-time assistant Rainer Widmayer to Hoffenheim with him. His immediate goal will be to end an alarming run of results which has seen Hoffenheim win just one of their last ten Bundesliga encounters.