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'A landslide has started' German coaching feud erupts again over drug test
BERLIN (AP) -- A Bayern Munich official Thursday demanded Christoph Daum undergo a test to prove he isn't using drugs as the feud between the club and Germany's designated national team coach continued to shake German soccer before Saturday's key match against England. Munich vice president Fritz Scherer said Daum should have a hair analysis to refute charges leveled two days ago by Bayern's club manager, Uli Hoeness. "If I was in his situation, I'd simply prepare a written statement and have a hair analysis done that proves to the world that I'm being accused wrongly -- that's the fastest way to settle the problem," said Scherer. It was the latest attack by the powerful Bayern Munich faction, spearheaded by Hoeness, who was quoted in newspapers last weekend as saying Daum used drugs, went to prostitutes and was subject to blackmail. He has since denied making the remarks. "I'm not even going to comment on a proposal like that," said Daum of the drug tests. "It'll remain like this: drugs aren't, never were and never will be a theme for me." Daum added he won't take part in a proposed "peace" meeting next week between him and Hoeness arranged by the German soccer federation because he is suing the Bayern Munich manager for slander and it might have legal implications. Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich's president and the country's most influential soccer figure, also endorsed the idea of Daum proving his innocence through a test. "There's been rumors for years. Maybe it's a good opportunity for Christoph Daum to prove they're only rumors," Beckenbauer said. Bayern Munich, especially Hoeness, has tried for weeks to block the Bayer Leverkusen coach from taking over the national team on June 30th. It wants popular interim coach Rudi Voeller, who has led a revived squad to two victories since the Euro 2000 debacle, to stay on the job. Hoeness has come under attack for continuing his campaign as the England match approached, but insists the matter has to be settled before Daum signs a contract. Voeller, readying his squad for Saturday's World Cup qualifier, said he won't let the feud affect his preparations for the game. The 1990 World Cup striker has said he doesn't want to keep the job. "I don't know anything about the demands," Voeller said of the drug tests. "But I find it exaggerated. The whole story is so outrageous I can hardly find words for it." Hoeness claims his campaign against Daum is a matter of conscience, especially since he stayed silent when Voeller's predecessor Erich Ribbeck was selected and led Germany through two hapless years, capped by its disastrous first-round exit at the Euro 2000. "I know, at the moment, I'm alone on this, but one of these days German soccer will thank me," Honess said. He also described a report in the Cologne daily Express that he had hired a private detective to snoop into Daum's private matters as "hogwash." The German public seems more fascinated than worried about Hoeness' attacks on a coach's private life, something unprecedented in the country's soccer history. A Sport1 Internet poll released Thursday of 20,000 people indicated 62.3 percent expect Hoeness -- despite his reputation as one of the country's toughest characters -- to emerge the loser in the feud. But others in soccer have warned the quarrel could have dire consequences. Former national team coach Jupp Derwall said Beckenbauer has to settle the matter: "A landslide has started -- it has to be stopped," he said. But Beckenbauer has wavered in the debate, fanning the flames by wondering why the national team needed Daum when Voeller was doing such a good job, before on Wednesday warning Hoeness to back off.
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