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Better than Beckham Bayern chief Hoeness happy to have MakaayPosted: Wednesday August 13, 2003 11:58 AMMUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich officially presented Roy Makaay on Wednesday and a top club manager called the Dutch striker "five times" more valuable than David Beckham. "I would have taken Roy five times before David Beckham," said general manager Uli Hoeness. Beckham, the England captain, left Manchester United this summer for Real Madrid. "He (Makaay) scored 29 goals in Spain, in the toughest league in the world," Hoeness said. Makaay was presented one day after he made an unspectacular debut in an exhibition match against second-division Nuremberg. He scored no goals in 70 minutes as Bayern won 2-0. "I haven't played in three months," Makaay said. "Now I want to reach 100 percent as quickly as possible." Hoeness said Makaay wasn't brought in "to score goals in Nuremberg," but to ensure that Bayern is successful over the next four years. "We think this will be more likely to happen with Roy around," he said. Bayern is eager for success in the Champions League, especially after failing to get past the first group stage last season, and Makaay was brought in specifically with that goal in mind. Playing for Deportivo de La Coruna last season, Makaay stunned Bayern with four goals in two Champions League games. Makaay cost Bayern euro18.75 million (US$21.18 million), a club record. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said Makaay was sure to start Saturday against Bochum in the third round of the Bundesliga. Makaay's arrival means that one of Bayern's previous starters, Giovane Elber or Claudio Pizarro, will have to move to the bench. Hoeness was quoted as saying Tuesday that he was open to discussing Elber's future at the club. But at Wednesday's news conference, Hoeness said Elber had a contract until June 30, 2004, "and at Bayern, contracts are as secure as the Bank of England." Makaay's presentation was delayed more than a week over last-minute snags in talks with Deportivo over his transfer. The contract was finally signed Friday. Bayern officials said Wednesday they had dropped plans to seek an official investigation by UEFA of the circumstances of the transfer. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern's chairman, said Tuesday that Deportivo had "blackmailed" Makaay into giving up his July salary before allowing the transfer to proceed. But Deportivo president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro responded with a robust defense of his club's negotiating tactics. "One thing is knowing how to play football, but it is quite another to know how to negotiate," Lendoiro was quoted as saying on the club's Web site Wednesday. Lendoiro said that it was Bayern who had been in the wrong during the negotiations. "They announced that they had reached a four-year agreement for the player when the negotiations were still going on and when he still had two years to run on his contract with Depor. "They then took the player and made him train with them before the deal was closed... So if anyone was pressuring the negotiations it was Bayern. "But we knew that if they had gone this far they would be left with no choice but to accept our conditions." Kahn unconcerned by goals concededMUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn isn't worried about his unflattering statistics from the first two Bundesliga rounds. According to the official Bundesliga box scores, Kahn faced four shots at his goal in the first two games -- and didn't stop a single one of them. "That's statistics. But at the end of the season it will be as always: I'll have the fewest goals allowed," Germany's No. 1 goalkeeper said after Bayern's practice Wednesday. Despite conceding four goals on four shots, Kahn didn't seem to be responsible for any. Two were superb free-kick goals, by Ervin Skela in the 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, and by Nebojsa Krupnikovic in the 3-3 draw against Hannover 96. |
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