Kazakhstan football officials on Monday announced that they had fired their national team coach Arno Pijpers after losing two of their opening three World Cup qualifiers.
German Bernd Storck, who won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1989, will take over from the Dutchman, officials said.
The 45-year-old German has been coaching the Kazakhstan under-21 side and the first division club Kairat.
The general secretary of the Kazakhstan football association, Sayan Khamitzhanov said on their website that they were ashamed with the results. "We have to apologize to our fans."
Pijpers started his coaching career as a youth coach with the Dutch football federation before taking over the Estonian club Flora Tallinn and the Estonian national team.
2005 he moved to Kazakhstan and coached FC Astana and the national team. The side lost their last two World Cup qualifiers 3-0 against Croatia and Ukraine and is currently second from last in Group 5.
The German car market is facing its worse downturn, the nation's auto industry association warned Wednesday as the deepening sense of economic gloom in the country leads to a shakeout in the industry and the prospects of big job cuts.
A comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as a couple trying to avoid their families at Christmas debuted in first place over the weekend at North American box offices, according to preliminary studio estimates issued Sunday.