Bulgarian football legend Krasimir Balakov is among the favorites to take charge of struggling German club Stuttgart.

The current coach Thomas Schneider is under pressure, following 8 consecutive league losses, which puts Stuttgart in 15th place, right above the relegation zone.

The club's management has not yet announced whether they will fire Schneider, but in case they do, Balakov is the favorite to become the new coach, Stuttgarter Zeitung reports.

Balakov is a legend at Stuttgart, where he played between 1995 and 2003, scoring 54 goals in 236 games for the club. Upon his retirement, the Bulgarian had a brief spell as an assistant coach in the team.

The 47-year-old former midfielder has coached Swiss teams Grasshopper and St. Gallen, Bulgarian Chernomorets Burgas, Croatian Hajduk Split, and German FC Kaiserslautern.

Balakov is known to be very close to Stuttgart's sporting director Fredi Bobic, with whom he played in the 90s and later worked together at Chernomorets.