Beckenbauer enters Daum row

As Germany prepare to face England on Saturday, the affairs of the national team are in some disarray. Franz Beckenbauer yesterday demanded an end to the bitter row over whether the Bayer Leverkusen coach, Christoph Daum, should take over as national coach next year.

As Germany prepare to face England on Saturday, the affairs of the national team are in some disarray. Franz Beckenbauer yesterday demanded an end to the bitter row over whether the Bayer Leverkusen coach, Christoph Daum, should take over as national coach next year.

"We should end this discussion about Christoph Daum as quickly as possible," the Bayern Munich president said. "Just a few months ago Daum was everyone's dream candidate and we were happy that he had agreed."

Beckenbauer said he would talk to the Bayern Munich manager, Uli Hoeness, who said on Monday that Daum was not fit to be national coach because of a number of lurid allegations about his private affairs. Daum said he would sue Hoeness for libel for the accusations he made about him.

There has been speculation that Daum might not take up the national job following his club's shaky start to the season and the success of the caretaker coach, Rudi Völler, with the national side in World Cup qualifiers. Völler has made an impressive start with a 4-1 friendly win over Spain followed by a 2-0 World Cup victory against Greece. Daum insists he will sign a three-year contract in the next few weeks.

State prosecutors in Cologne said last week that they had launched a preliminary investigation for fraud and embezzlement after a former associate accused Daum of owing him money from a property deal in Mallorca.

Another problem for Germany is the job of national captain with Oliver Bierhoff, whose place in the starting line-up is in jeopardy, saying yesterday that he is considering giving up his armband. Bayern Munich's Carsten Jancker has been given the nod at centre-forward from Völler in recent matches and will probably start against England on Saturday.

The Bayern Munich captain, Stefan Effenberg, has been fined by his club after a woman filed a complaint that the midfielder hit her in a nightclub.

Effenberg said that he struck the woman in a reflex action after an argument over reserved seats adding that although he was sorry he couldn't understand what all the "excitement" was about.