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Bayer's coaching headache Feud over Germany job hurts Bayer AG's reputation
BERLIN (AP) -- Bayer Leverkusen said Friday it is considering taking legal action because it fears accusations of drug and prostitute use against its coach, Christoph Daum, may damage the reputation of club owner, chemical giant Bayer AG. Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness made the charges last weekend in various newspapers, stepping up an ongoing campaign by Germany's most powerful club to block the Leverkusen coach from taking over the country's national team June 30. Daum is already suing Hoeness, who has since denied making the rearks, for slander in what is one of the most spectacular and bizarre feuds between two top German soccer figures. "We're examining what's legally possible," said Leverkusen manager Reiner Calmund. "Naturally, this discussion is damaging to the image of a company -- it's grown into a European-wide story." Bayer AG's headquarters is located in Leverkusen and the soccer club is still known in Germany as the "company club." Daum is one of Germany's most highly respected coaches, having led Leverkusen to three second-place finishes in the Bundesliga in four years after winning domestic titles at VfB Stuttgart and Turkish club Besiktas. Daum was rocked by another charge when the Munich public prosecutor's office said late Thursday a private individual had filed charges of fraud against the Leverkusen coach in a real estate deal. No other details were released. Daum said he knew nothing about the case. "What's this one about? I was involved in just one real estate deal and that is the Sea Green complex on Mallorca. That deal was transacted by the Deutsche Bank," said Daum. Daum is already under preliminary investigation by the Cologne public prosecutor's office in a separate case involving the 77-apartment complex located on the Spanish vacation island. His former business partner Jochem Kress accuses the coach of failing to pay a 4 million mark (US$1.82 million) commission fee in the deal. Kress is in jail on tax evasion charges. Bayern Munich tried to keep Daum from taking over the national team job several weeks ago, pushing for popular interim coach Rudi Voeller to keep the post. German Soccer Federation officials attempted two weeks ago to squash the debate, which had already rocked the country's soccer establishment, by saying Daum would definitely sign a contract as national coach. But it blew up again with Hoeness' alleged quotes about Daum's private life. On Thursday, Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer and vice president Fritz Scherer suggested the Leverkusen coach take a hair analysis test to prove he's innocent of drug accusations, apparently referring to cocaine. Calmund reacted angrily to Munich's latest step in the campaign, while dismissing the chance of a planned "peace" meeting by the soccer federation. It is scheduled to take place next week following the national team's key World Cup qualifier against England. "A peace meeting Daum-Hoeness can't happen. The charges re too outrageous. It's about drugs, the red-light district, and Hoeness hasn't delivered a single piece of proof," said Calmund. "No, there won't be any compromises. Now the matter can only be settled legally." Several other Bundesliga figures rallied around Daum, with Borussia Dortmund manager Michael Meier saying he's known the Leverkusen coach for a long time and would swear he doesn't use cocaine. Hoeness says his campaign is a matter of conscience, since he believes Daum is unsuitable for Germany's highest coaching job. But there is open speculation inside the country that it's a personal vendetta between the two.
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