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Lothar leaving End nears for troubled Matthäus at MetroStars
BERLIN (Reuters) -- Lothar Matthäus' prolific career might finally come to an end on Wednesday when officials from his New York-New Jersey MetroStars club meet to discuss his case. "It looks like we will reach a reasonable agreement on separation on Wednesday," the 39-year-old German told soccer magazine Kicker in an interview released on Monday. The record-breaking libero has been criticized by the U.S. Major League club for spending time at the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez during an injury break. "I don't need MetroStars and they don't need me," Matthäus, who joined MetroStars from Bayern Munich last March, said ahead of Wednesday's meeting. Matthäus would not say weather his departure might mean the end of his playing days. But Bayern Munich commercial manager Uli Hoeness, who has made it clear that he would not take Matthäus on again, advised him to give up. "I can only urge him to finally end his career," Hoeness said on Monday. "Even he must realize that eventually you have to quit." The captain of Germany's 1990 World Cup winning-side ended his international career after extending his world record to 150 caps at Euro 2000 last month. His below-par showings were one of the reasons for Germany's departure in the group stage after the team's worst overall performance at a major tournament. MistakeThe playmaker-turned-defender acknowledged he had made a mistake by deciding to play. "It would have been better if I had retired after my farewell game and had not taken part in the European championship," he told Kicker. Everything went wrong for Matthäus since his high-profile testimonial featuring Diego Maradona was played on May 26 in Munich. German media and fellow players had their knives out for him after Euro 2000, and pictures of him and girlfriend Maren Mueller-Wohlfahrt on the beach at St. Tropez then angered his MetroStars bosses. Matthäus, whose contract with the New York club runs until November, said he did not plan to return to Germany immediately. "I will stay in New York until the end of the year," he said. "I was looking forward to a new footballing experience. It has not worked out that way, but I can still live here without football."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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