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Bayern's title hopes gone: Beckenbauer
February 17, 2004 20:26 IST
Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer believes the champions can no longer catch Bundesliga leaders Werder Bremen and will have to fight for second place."It hurts to have to say so but I don't think we can make it," said the World Cup-winning captain and coach. "Congratulations to Werder for the German title."
Second-placed Bayern dropped nine points behind Werder with 14 games remaining after losing 1-0 at VfL Bochum on Saturday.
"If we were six points back I would say we could still make it because we still have a home game against Werder but nine points is too much," Beckenbauer wrote in a column in Tuesday's Bild daily.
Werder closed in on a fourth German title that would be their first since 1993 by beating Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Sunday courtesy of a penalty in added time.
"Realistically we now have to fight for second place," wrote Beckenbauer. "We can live without a title. What's important now for us is to qualify directly for the Champions League."
Bayern have dropped out of the German Cup but remain in contention in the Champions League. They face a daunting task against Real Madrid in the first knockout round.