Krong Angkor

Babbel safe until winter break: Stuttgart chief

BERLIN (AFP) - Markus Babbel will remain coach of VfB Stuttgart until the winter break despite his team being second from bottom of the Bundesliga with just two wins, the club's president said Tuesday.

Stuttgart have three German league games before the Bundesliga breaks on December 20 and Stuttgart's president Erwin Staudt has promised the 37-year-old former Germany midfielder will remain in charge for those games.

Babbel will oversee the German league games against fellow relegation candidates Bochum on Sunday, then mid-table Mainz 05 and title-contenders Hoffenheim, but he has two wins from 14 Bundesliga games.

Incredibly, a win over Romanian-side Unirea Urziceni on December 9 will put Stuttgart into the knock-out stages of the Champions League despite their struggling place in the Bundesliga.