Daum reluctant to take Germany job next summer

Bayer Leverkusen's Christophe Daum says he may not be new Germany coach after all.

Daum tells 'Kicker' magazine that he will decide in two weeks if he is to follow the plan worked out by the DfB which was meant to see him move into the national coaching job in summer 2001 at the end of his contract with Leverkusen.

Current coach Ruud Voller only agreed to take the job during three days of talks last July on the understanding that he was in charge for one year and that Daum would then step in.

The Leverkusen coach though has seen his team start the title race badly and has been linked with a return to Turkish football.

Voller will lead Germany into World Cup qualifiers this season. They play England at Wembley in October at the start of their campaign and also face Finland, Greece and Albania.

He was an executive with Bayer Leverkusen and was part of talks with coach Christophe Daum to agree the move to the national team for Daum and complete the World Cup matches.

It was a surprise move for the DfB and could yet cause more turmoil for the German team who are reeling after a poor Euro 2000.

Voller had not coached before at any level but Leverkusen were adamant that they would not release coach Daum before the end of his contract with the club. Bayern Munich took a similar stance over their coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Now Leverkusen are openly questioning Daum's future with the club before his contract ends meaning the compromise worked out with Voller in the summer now seems pointless.

The DfB could see their first choice coach resign before he has even started the job and Daum has always been reluctant to take over the national team resisting previous moves to hand him the job.

Voller names his squad this week for the trip to England but Germany's preparations could be overshadowed by Daum's decision and where it leaves Voller. The coach is popular at the moment for breathing some life into the Germany team but several observers have pointed out in the German media that Voller's strength is his short term contract allowing him a certain freedom. The pressure of the job on a full time basis may not appeal to him and the DfB thought they had resolved their coaching problem only to find it flaring up again in the build up to a crucial match.

Daum has a contract which runs out in June 2001 and has already refused one attempt to make him the Germany coach. Ottmar Hitzfeld signed a new deal last winter with Bayern to keep him at the Bavarian giants until 2003 ruling him out of contention despite his popularity in the German game and excellent track record.

Daum's team pushed Bayern all the way for the league title last season and the loss of Daum would all but remove Leverkusen as immediate challengers to Bayern's supremacy in German football.

The Germany job is the best in German football other than coaching Bayern Munich and Daum has arguably taken Leverkusen as far as he can and needs a new challenge. He has been linked with a return to Turkish football next summer where he was successful with Besiktas in the mid 1990s.

The tough job of rebuilding a poor German team with few young stars coming through the ranks to boost the team selection after a dismal Euro 2000 has been handled well so far by Rudi Voller but the former AS Roma star says he does not want to continue past the summer and the end of his one year contract.

Victory over England at Wembley on October 7th would make the calls long and hard for Voller to reconsider and could see Daum look elsewhere for work rather than try to follow a successful Germany coach.

Daum tells 'Kicker' that no contracts have been signed which contrasts with the mood of July when he posed for publicity photos with DfB leaders and Voller.

The DfB eventually appointed eighth choice Erich Ribbeck when Berti Vogts quit in October 1998 and are facing a similar situation if Voller cannot be persuaded to stay.

Euro 2000 was the first time in 16 years that Germany have failed to qualify of the knockout stage of a major tournament.