Bruno Labbadia has returned to Stuttgart for a second spell in charge, with the club's former coach signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The German, most recently in charge of Hertha Berlin before his dismissal in January last year, previously led the Bundesliga side between 2010 and 2013.

He now returns for a sophomore stint with the club mired in the relegation zone, having claimed just three wins in the top-flight this season, succeeding caretaker Michael Wimmer.

Labbadia, a journeyman player who was a member of Bayern Munich's 1993-94 Bundesliga-winning squad, spoke of his delight at returning to the team on a contract through 2025.

"Everyone knows VfB are not just another club to me," he told the club's website. "I spent a very important period of my coaching career in Stuttgart, and now I’d like to [keep us] in the Bundesliga.

"We'll get to work right away and get everything ready for the start of training on 12 December. We'll quickly get an overview of the team's performance level and work hard with great pleasure to make progress."

During his previous spell, Labbadia managed a best finish of sixth with the club during the 2011-12 season, and led them to the DFB-Pokal final a year later.

He will be joined by Bernhard Trares and Benjamin Sachs as assistants on the coaching staff at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

In addition to Hertha, Labbadia has also had spells in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and two stints with Hamburg.

Stuttgart resume their Bundesliga season against Mainz on January 21.

Pal Dardai had no doubts about stepping back up to coach Hertha Berlin again following his appointment on a deal that runs until the end of the 2021-22 season. 

Having played for the club between 1997 and 2012, the former Hungary international was head coach from 2015 through to 2019. 

Since then, Ante Covic, Jurgen Klinsmann and, most recently, Bruno Labbadia have been in charge, the latter fired - along with sports director Michael Preetz - following Saturday's 4-1 home loss to Werder Bremen that left Hertha down in 14th position in the Bundesliga table. 

The club have moved quickly to find a replacement, returning to a familiar face by promoting Dardai, who had been working in the academy. 

"It certainly wasn't my plan to move from the under-16s back to being first team coach, but nobody needs telling what Hertha means to me, so there was no doubt in my mind that I would be ready to help out in this situation," Dardai said.  

"I am looking forward to the challenge and working together with the team."

Dardai's former assistants Andreas Neuendorf and Admir Hamzagic have also returned to their previous roles, joining fitness coaches Henrik Kuchno and Hendrik Vieth, plus goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry, on a new-look staff. 

Hertha - who are winless in four games, scoring just once during that run - are next in action on Saturday, travelling to in-form Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hertha Berlin have sacked head coach Bruno Labbadia and general manager Michael Preetz following a poor run of form.

Saturday's 4-1 home loss to fellow strugglers Werder Bremen proved to be the final game in charge for Labbadia, who was only appointed nine months ago.

Labbadia guided Hertha from 13th to 10th upon taking over from Jurgen Klinsmann last season but the Old Lady have failed to push on this term.

They have lost three of their previous four games and have won just four of their 18 league matches all season.

With the capital club only two points above the relegation play-off spot having played a game more than 16th-place Cologne, the board has now taken action.

Hertha confirmed the news on their official website on Sunday, with chairman Carsten Schmidt concerned about his side's slide down the division.

"Week in, week out, Bruno and his coaching staff have invested a lot of hard work into the team's development and we would like to thank him greatly for that," Schmidt said. 

"Ultimately, however, the return of 17 points from 18 games leaves us in a very precarious situation. 

"After much deliberation, we feel that a change of head coach can give the team fresh impetus. We will clarify his successor as head coach in the coming days."

Preetz has spent close to a quarter of a century at Hertha, including the past 12 years as part of the management staff.

Sporting director Arne Friedrich will take over Preetz's duties until the end of the campaign, when a permanent replacement will be announced.

President Werner Gegenbauer said: "Hertha have a lot to thank Michael Preetz for. During his time here, he has established Hertha as a Bundesliga club.

"But looking at the development both in the last campaign and the current one, we have decided to take a different direction for his role in the future. 

"Nevertheless, I want to express my sincerest thanks to Michael Preetz for his fine work for so many years."

Hertha were among the biggest spenders in European football in 2020, bringing in the likes of Krzysztof Piatek, Matheus Cunha and Lucas Tousart.

Piatek and Cunha have scored a combined 19 goals in 60 Bundesliga appearances since arriving in January last year, with the latter responsible for 11 of those goals.

While their big-name forwards have failed to fire, Hertha have also struggled defensively. Only bottom-two sides Mainz (38) and Schalke (44) have conceded more than their 32 goals in 2020-21.

Hertha's next permanent head coach will be their fifth in the past two years with Pal Dardai, Ante Covic, Klinsmann and now Labbadia having departed since June 2019.