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UEFA Cup: Bayern Munich feud after draw
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge argued with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld after the team failed to beat Bolton in the UEFA Cup.
Munich, Germany:
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge argued with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld after the team failed to beat Bolton in the UEFA Cup.
Rummenigge was upset that coach Ottmar Hitzfeld rested five regulars, including top scorer Luca Toni and defender Martin Demichelis, for Thursday's 2-2 draw - its third in a row.
"It would have been easy to win the game," Rummenigge said. "There were 66,000 spectators in the stadium and they have the right to see the best team."
Hitzfeld rotated his players because Bayern plays VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, just 44 hours after the Bolton game. Hamburger SV has cut Bayern's lead in the Bundesliga to two points.
Hitzfeld described the game against Stuttgart as more important and said his players need to be fresh.
"We'll be hunted in Stuttgart," he said. "The entire Bundesliga is just waiting to see a new team at the top of the table."
Rummenigge's criticism was rare for the respected German coach. Hitzfeld is one of just two men to win the Champions League with two different teams - Bayern in 2001 and Borussia Dortmund in 1997.
The Bayern chairman dismissed Hitzfeld's arguments about prioritizing the two games, saying "football isn't mathematics."
That also referred to Hitzfeld's former career as a mathematics teacher.
Rummenigge was upset that coach Ottmar Hitzfeld rested five regulars, including top scorer Luca Toni and defender Martin Demichelis, for Thursday's 2-2 draw - its third in a row.
"It would have been easy to win the game," Rummenigge said. "There were 66,000 spectators in the stadium and they have the right to see the best team."
Hitzfeld rotated his players because Bayern plays VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, just 44 hours after the Bolton game. Hamburger SV has cut Bayern's lead in the Bundesliga to two points.
Hitzfeld described the game against Stuttgart as more important and said his players need to be fresh.
"We'll be hunted in Stuttgart," he said. "The entire Bundesliga is just waiting to see a new team at the top of the table."
Rummenigge's criticism was rare for the respected German coach. Hitzfeld is one of just two men to win the Champions League with two different teams - Bayern in 2001 and Borussia Dortmund in 1997.
The Bayern chairman dismissed Hitzfeld's arguments about prioritizing the two games, saying "football isn't mathematics."
That also referred to Hitzfeld's former career as a mathematics teacher.
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