BERLIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Wolfsburg have appointed Bruno Labbadia as their new head coach, the struggling Bundesliga club announced in an official statement on Tuesday.

Less than 24 hours after Martin Schmidt's resignation out of the blue, Wolfsburg have found a successor with Labbadia, who has put pen to paper on a contract until summer 2019.

"Bruno Labbadia is a very experienced coach who has proven his qualities in the Bundesliga on several occasions," Wolfsburg's sporting director Olaf Rebbe told the club's official homepage.

The former Germany international is a well-known Bundesliga coach as he stood at the sidelines of several top-flight clubs. He coached Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart among others.

Most recently he was in charge at Hamburg where he was sacked in September 2016 after poor start into the Bundesliga season.

"I feel well and rested and I am looking forward to work with my new team," the 52-year-old head coach said.

Wolfsburg, who sit on the 14th place of the standings, encounter 16th placed Mainz for the opener of the 24th round in Bundesliga on Friday. Enditem