Schalke have appointed Roberto Di Matteo as their new coach after parting company with Jens Keller.
Di Matteo has been out of a job since being sacked by Chelsea in 2012, despite guiding the club to their first ever Champions League crown that year.
The 44-year-old takes over from Keller after Schalke revealed they would be holding a crisis meeting on Tuesday surrounding the future of the under-fire boss.
Der Westen reports that he has signed a contract until June 2017.
"We want the change in the dugout to give is a fresh impetus," Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt told the club's official website. "We hold the strong belief that Roberto Di Matteo will stabilise the team, and achieve our goals in Bundesliga and Champions League."
Di Matteo is set to meet his former club Chelsea on Nov. 25, when they visit the Veltins Arena for their fifth Champions League match in Group G. The first meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Der FC #Schalke 04 trennt sich von Jens Keller. Roberto Di Matteo übernimmt. Mehr in Kürze auf schalke04.de. #S04 pic.twitter.com/B7cydqGgRW
- FC Schalke 04 (@s04) October 7, 2014
Keller's job had appeared to look safe last month after Schalke took seven points from three Bundesliga games, including a 2-1 home derby win against Borussia Dortmund.
However, following the 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim at the weekend, which followed a 1-1 draw with Maribor in the Champions League last week, the German club opted to make the change.
"Positive beginnings like those seven points -- with the derby win as the icing on the cake -- have brought no lasting effects," Heldt said. "We lack consistency to achieve our goals. That's why we have decided to make this step."
Schalke have won only two of their 10 competitive games this season and were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by third-tier club Dynamo Dresden. They currently have eight points from seven Bundesliga games and sit 11th in the table, while they face a battle to qualify from their Champions League group, in which they are competing against Chelsea, Maribor and Sporting Lisbon.
"We should not forget Keller's good work in the past 22 months," Heldt added, and thanked the coach on behalf of Schalke.
As well as managing Chelsea, Di Matteo has also taken charge of MK Dons and West Bromwich Albion in the past.
The Switzerland-born former Italy international, who is fluent in German, was previously linked to the Eintracht Frankfurt job, while in late 2012 he was also mentioned as a possible candidate to take over at Schalke.
Keller, who was appointed Schalke coach in December 2012 and secured the club Champions League football for two consecutive seasons, is the second Bundesliga boss to be sacked this season after Hamburg relieved Mirko Slomka from his duties.