Rehhagel turns down offer from Germany

Greece’s Euro 2004-winning coach Otto Rehhagel has turned down the chance to lead his native country Germany into the 2006 World Cup.

Rehhagel told German Football Federation (DFB) negotiator Franz Beckenbauer in a telephone call that he wished to stay in charge of Greece – whom he led to Euro 2004 glory last Sunday in one of the biggest upsets in the history of football.

A statement on the DFB website, www.dfb.de, read: “Otto Rehhagel will not be the successor of Rudi Voller as national team coach of the German team.”

He is contracted with Greece until 2006 and will now lead them into a tough qualifying pool for the World Cup, for which Germany are automatically qualified as hosts.

Former Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has already turned down the post as has Christoph Daum who was Germany’s coach-in-waiting before Voller but was not allowed to succeed Erich Ribbeck in 2000 after disclosures in the press about his private life.

Arsene Wenger, from the region of Alsace which has a strong Germanic cultural identity, has also claimed he has refused an overture from the Germans and will see out his contract with Arsenal.