Hitzfeld says he will retire next year © EuroFootball.com

Munich team head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has announced that next year, after his contract with the club expires, he will step down from his position.

The 55-year-old specialist claims he does not intend to extend his contract with the club, which currently holds second place in the Bundesliga. "It is true, I will leave the club in 2005. I have spent wonderful years here." The coach also says he decided to leave the club after talks with the club's management.

Earlier rumors had circulated that Hitzfeld was being offered a job in London. However, the English club officially denied this, and Bayern's manager Karl-Heinz Rummenigge then said that the coach would remain with the team for at least another year.