Football round-up: Schalke sack Roberto di Matteo and Luca Toni is top scorer in Serie A

Borussia Dortmund sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Gonzalo Castro while around 15,000 Bayern Munich fans gathered to see the club’s men’s and women’s teams present their Bundesliga trophies.

Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo speaks during a news conference following the German Bundesliga match against Hamburger at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Di Matteo was sacked on Sunday afternoon. EPA/DANIEL REINHARDTShow less

Schalke have parted company with coach Roberto di Matteo, according to a report by magazine Sport Bild on Sunday, after just two wins in their last ten games.

Di Matteo has been in charge since October after his predecessor Jens Keller was sacked, but 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 Italian, 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.

Verona

Luca Toni went top of the Serie A scoring chart two days before his 38th birthday when he netted twice in Verona’s 2-2 draw away to Parma on Sunday.

With one round of matches of the season to play, the former Italy striker, who is at his 14th club and has scored at every one of them, took his tally to 21 goals, one ahead of Juventus striker Carlos Tevez and Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi.

Relegated Parma took a 2-0 lead with goals by Antonio Nocerino and Silvestre Varela before 2006 World Cup winner Toni pulled one back by heading in from Alessandro Agostini’s cross three minutes before the break.

Toni equalised from a penalty with 10 minutes left after Zouhair Feddal was harshly ruled to have handled Javier Saviola’s cross, and was denied a hat-trick when his header was stopped by Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

Toni’s varied career began with stints at lower league clubs Modena, Empoli, Fiorenzuola, Treviso and Lodigiani.

At one point he played alongside current Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola and Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo at Brescia and also had an unhappy spell at Bayern where he feel out with coach Louis van Gaal.

Among other clubs, he played briefly for Juventus and then in the UAE with Al Nasr before joining Verona where he is completing his second season.

“We’d like to help Toni top the scorers’ chart. For us and for him, it would be like winning the Scudetto,” coach Andrea Mandorlini told reporters.

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have signed Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Gonzalo Castro for next season, agreeing a four-year deal with the former Germany international, the club said on Sunday.

Dortmund, who rescued a Europa League spot by finishing seventh in the Bundesliga and are in the German Cup final next weekend, are eager to bolster their squad after a mixed season and the departure of coach Juergen Klopp.

The 27-year-old’s arrival comes as Germany midfielder Ilkay Guendogan prepares to leave.

“We are happy to have gained an experienced and technically versatile midfielder who can play various positions,” sports director Michael Zorc said in a statement.

Castro, who won five caps for Germany, is a Leverkusen youth product, having played there since 1999.

Bayern Munich

Around 15,000 Bayern Munich fans gathered to see the club’s men’s and women’s teams present their Bundesliga trophies from the city’s town hall balcony on Sunday.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says, “It never happened before that one club got the title with both teams at the same time.”

Munich mayor Dieter Reiter hosted the players for a reception before their balcony appearance. Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger then led chants and supporters showed their appreciation for the German league title clinched with four games to spare.

Bayern lost in the semifinals of the German Cup and Champions League but Rummenigge says, “We’re very happy about how the season went. When I see the media, most don’t know what it means to be German champions. There’s a lack of respect.”

Darmstadt

Darmstadt will join German second division champions Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga next season after beating St Pauli 1-0 on the last day of the season Sunday.

Tobias Kempe scored in the 78th minute for Darmstadt, who were promoted from the third division last season, to finish second with 59 points – one ahead of Karlsruher, who defeated 1860 Munich 2-0.

Karlsruher now face Hamburg in a two-legged play-off to determine which side plays topflight football next season.

Darmstadt previously played two seasons in the Bundesliga, in 1978-79 and 1981-82, but the club dropped to fourth-tier level by 1998. Darmstadt also flirted with bankruptcy in 2008 before insolvency proceedings were withdrawn the following year. They are the third club to achieve promotion to the top division after being promoted from the third tier the season before.

“It’s awesome, incredible, hard to find words,” Darmstadt coach Dirk Schuster said. “The guys gave absolutely everything they had week for week.”

Kaiserslautern were leading Ingolstadt 1-0 and had been on course for the relegation/promotion playoff place before Kempe’s goal lifted Darmstadt clear and Ingolstadt equalised to draw 1-1.

Kaiserslautern finished fourth for the second season in succession. Ingolstadt were promoted last Sunday.

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