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Hasenhüttl to coach Leipzig next season

dv (dpa)May 6, 2016

RB Leipzig have secured the services of Ingolstadt's Ralph Hasenhüttl, paying a German record fee for a coach. He will be replaced by outgoing Karlsruhe coach Markus Kauczinski.

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Ralph Hasenhüttl
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Oryk Haist

Second-division RB Leipzig confirmed in a press conference on Friday that Ralph Hasenhüttl will be their head coach next season. The 48-year-old signed a three-year contract with the club, which is backed by soft-drinks giant Red Bull and which could clinch automatic promotion with a win over Karlsruhe on Sunday.

Ingolstadt sporting director Thomas Finke announced last week that the Austrian coach had declined to sign a new contract with the club and requested a move. Reports suggest Ingolstadt could receive up to 2 million euros ($2.28 million) in compensation for Hasenhüttl - a record for a coach in German.

Hasenhüttl has top-flight status in Ingolstadt's maiden season in the Bundesliga. With two matchdays to go in the Bundesliga, the club sits ninth in the table and owns the fourth-best defensive record in the first division.

Kauczinski comes in quickly

VfL Bochum - Karlsruher SC
Kauczinski has been KSC coach since 2012Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Ingolstadt wasted no time replacing the outgoing Hasenhüttl. The club announced on Friday that Karlsruhe coach Markus Kauczinski will be coming in at the end of the season. The 45-year-old German has signed a two-year contract until 2018.

Kauczinski has been at in Karlsruhe for the last 15 years and was promoted to first-team coach in 2012. His contract with Karlsruhe is set to expire at the end of the season, and the coach decided back in October to leave once his deal was up.

Kauczinski narrowly missed taking the team to the first division last season, losing the end-of-season playoff on a last-minute goal against Hamburg.