BERLIN - World Cup winner Lothar Matthaeus said on Sunday he was one of the greatest Germany players yet he has been shunned by his own country.
BERLIN - World Cup winner Lothar Matthaeus said on Sunday he was one of the greatest Germany players yet he has been shunned by his own country.
"In other countries they treat idols differently and I am an idol in Germany," said the former Germany captain.
"This may sound a little cocky but after Franz Beckenbauer I am the second most famous German soccer personality around the world. Germany should be ashamed of the way it treats such an idol," Matthaeus told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung yesterday.
Matthaeus, accused of arrogance during his playing days, captained West Germany to World Cup victory in 1990 and had a glittering career at both Bayern and Inter Milan but as a coach he has enjoyed little success.
The 48-year-old former midfielder has never worked in the German leagues but has coached clubs in Austria, Serbia and Israel as well as the Hungarian national team.
Matthaeus said German clubs perceived him as being too much of a Bayern supporter and too closely linked with an influential German tabloid newspaper to give him a job.
"These two things of which I am accused have no basis. I am neither Bayern Munich nor am I Bild newspaper. - Reuters
Germany legend wallows in pity pool
BERLIN - World Cup winner Lothar Matthaeus said on Sunday he was one of the greatest Germany players yet he has been shunned by his own country.
BERLIN - World Cup winner Lothar Matthaeus said on Sunday he was one of the greatest Germany players yet he has been shunned by his own country.
"In other countries they treat idols differently and I am an idol in Germany," said the former Germany captain.
"This may sound a little cocky but after Franz Beckenbauer I am the second most famous German soccer personality around the world. Germany should be ashamed of the way it treats such an idol," Matthaeus told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung yesterday.
Matthaeus, accused of arrogance during his playing days, captained West Germany to World Cup victory in 1990 and had a glittering career at both Bayern and Inter Milan but as a coach he has enjoyed little success.
The 48-year-old former midfielder has never worked in the German leagues but has coached clubs in Austria, Serbia and Israel as well as the Hungarian national team.
Matthaeus said German clubs perceived him as being too much of a Bayern supporter and too closely linked with an influential German tabloid newspaper to give him a job.
"These two things of which I am accused have no basis. I am neither Bayern Munich nor am I Bild newspaper. - Reuters
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