Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has signalled his intention to return to the game with a Bundesliga club next season.
The 49-year-old was axed by the Spanish giants earlier this season, but has been heavily linked with the managerial post at VfB Stuttgart.
Markus Babbel is in charge of Stuttgart until the end of the current campaign, but does not have the coaching badges needed to continue in the job next term.
Schuster told www.Sport1.de: "I have had great success in Spain, but have now decided to not work there as coach for a while.
"England is not really my thing, but the Bundesliga has an attraction for every coach. I want to be closer to my mum in Augsburg anyway, because she's not as young as she used to be."
Schuster started his coaching career in Germany with Fortuna K鰈n and K鰈n, before heading to Spain, where he has had spells in charge of Xerez, Levante, Getafe and Real.
The former Germany midfielder has also spent time in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger (two), Franck Ribery, Luca Toni and Ze Roberto earned the defending champions an impressive victory at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, but Klinsmann said his team can only get better.
"That was great to watch," he said. "That was a little warning to the competition of what our intentions are.
"We can even increase the tempo a notch and are perfectly prepared for the next four months."
Even general manager Uli Hoeness was taken aback by his team's performance.
"I knew that we were good, but I didn't know we were that good," he enthused. "That was a demonstration of a difference in class. I was happy with everything tonight. It was perfect."
Ribery was even able to miss a penalty which he arrogantly lobbed straight into the hands of Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in the first half as Bayern dominated from start to finish.
Their next stop is Hamburg this Friday night in the opening Bundesliga fixture of 2009.
And according to their former coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who led them to a league and cup double last season, there is nothing that can stop them.
"In this form and with this self-confidence, it is going to be very tough to play Bayern," he said on Premiere television. "Nobody can beat this Bayern."
All Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel could say afterwards was that he was "happy it was over."
Bundesliga Preview: Hamburger SV - Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga returns on Friday with a real cracker as Hamburg and Bayern Munich go head-to-head at the HSH Nordbank Arena with top spot on offer to the winners.
The Bayern Steamroller Rolls On?
Ahead of Friday抯 tie with Hamburg, 21-time German champions Bayern seem to be hitting full stride. Germany抯 most successful club won all of their January friendlies, and demolished a sluggish Stuttgart 5-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Tuesday. As the second half of the season begins, coach Juergen Klinsmann appears resolute that his team will not get off to the sluggish sort of start that hampered them in the early fall term.
In spite of the run that produced just nine points from their first seven matches, Bayern stand level on points with league leaders Hoffenheim as the second half of their season begins.
While there have been plenty of rumours surrounding the Bayern camp, Klinsmann抯 squad will only have two changes ahead of Friday抯 match: LA Galaxy striker Landon Donovan is making his return to German football on loan, and Willy Sagnol, who has sustained repeated injuries in recent years, has retired.
One player who has recovered from injury is right-back-turned-right-midfielder Hamit Altintop. The Turkish international missed the first half of the campaign with a broken metatarsal, but is once again healthy and ready to compete for a starting role. His main competition, Bastian Schweinsteiger, has greatly improved under Klinsmann, and 慡chweini抯
Barcelona are chasing Bayern Munich pair Franck Ribery and Philipp Lahm. Bild says Barca sports chief Txiki Begiristain was in Munich earlier this month to meet with representatives about both players' availability.
Fullback Lahm is emerging as Barca's prime target, with the Liga leaders willing to commit over
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Landon: Becks made me better
United States striker Landon Donovan has attributed the success he has enjoyed at German champions Bayern Munich to Los Angeles Galaxy team-mate David Beckham.
The 26-year-old says that the former England captain has given him the confidence to succeed at Bayern Munich, where he is on loan until mid-March.
The former Bayer Leverkusen striker netted a brace for Bayern in Thursday night's 5-0 friendly win over Mainz as he looks to make it third time lucky in Germany after suffering two short, unsuccessful spells previously.
He told the Bild : "David has tried to lift me and told me that I am going to make it.
"I know that he hopes that everything works out for me at Bayern. We are in contact and write each other text messages.
"I told him recently that I think it's great how he is playing for AC Milan."
There have been reports that Die Bayern, who have won the European Champions League on four occasions, are keen to turn the California-born players loan deal into a permanent move, which the hitman has welcomed.
He added: "David has already said he will be back in Los Angeles in mid-March, but the situation is a bit different with me.
[size=2.8em]Stuttgart's veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has been fined an undisclosed sum for publicly criticising his team in the wake of their 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.
Lehmann hit out at his side's preparation's for the match, their first after the winter break, while also claiming some of his team-mates were guilty of not working hard enough.
The 39-year-old stopper has subsequently apologised to his team-mates for his remarks and coach Markus Babbel, a former Germany team-mate of Lehmann, now considers the matter over.
"Criticism in principle should not be made publicly and that's why he was fined," Babbel said.
"He apologised to me and the players. We have accepted the apology and the case is closed."
Post time 29-1-2009 10:48 AM
