Skibbe claims Hertha deal

Michael Skibbe has confirmed that he will succeed Markus Babbel as Hertha Berlin coach in January.

Babbel was sacked on Sunday after revealing he intended to step down as Hertha coach at the end of the season.

German newspaper Bild has reported that club officials met with Skibbe just over 24 hours after Babbel’s dismissal to thrash out a deal which will tie the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss to the capital-city club until 2014 and earn him one million euros per season.

Skibbe insisted that it would be a wrench to leave current club Eskisehirspor, who will be compensated with 250,000 euros, but said the lure of the Bundesliga was too difficult to resist.

“I love Turkey, I love Eskisehir,” Skibbe told Fanatik. “We have a achieved a lot with few resources. But I will continue my career at Hertha. I’ve always said that I will return to Germany.”

The 46-year-old from Gelsenkirchen has also previously coached Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Galatasaray.