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BERLIN. — Roberto di Matteo has stepped down as coach of Schalke after a disappointing season that saw the Gelsenkirchen outfit finish only sixth in the German Bundesliga, the club said yesterday.

The Italian had been in charge since October after his predecessor Jens Keller was sacked, but last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to strugglers Hamburg looks to have been the last straw for Schalke’s board.

The 44-year-old, who coached Chelsea to the 2012 Champions League title, had steered the Royal Blues up from 11th when he took charge to third in the table in February.

But a poor run of results saw them surrender a direct spot in the Champions League and their latest defeat left them sixth in the table and in the Europa League next season. Di Matteo announced he was resigning after a meeting with club chairman Horst Heldt, during which they failed to reach agreement on the way forward.

The Bundesliga season wrapped up last Saturday and Schalke not only found themselves well outside the Champions League places, but they fell to relegation-threatened Hamburg 2-0 to help keep the victors from guaranteed relegation. That appears to be the last straw, as the club have now fired the Italian just the day after the season, according to reports by German publication BILD Sports.

With the club in third place in mid-February, the team took a nosedive, winning just three of its final 14 games and ending up well out of the race. Di Matteo’s sacking is still somewhat surprising, as it appears he will take the fall for a squad that is full of mistakes and holes. He’s only been in charge since October of 2014, when he replaced Jens Keller.

Di Matteo becomes the seventh manager fired by CEO Horst Heldt since taking over in 2010, a massive amount of employees come and gone for a club with Champions League aspirations. — AFP.