Kaiser Franz slams Bayern´s “joggers”

Bayern Munich president and German World Cup winner as player and coach Franz Beckenbauer on Saturday slammed the club's current crop as “joggers” after their UEFA Cup semi-final slaughter in St Petersburg.

“Certain players were jogging out there,” said the man known as Kaiser Franz.

“Such a defeat as that 4-0 in St Petersburg, you can't just let that pass and I found the team lacked discipline in certain parts of the game,” Beckenbauer told tabloid daily Bild.

“Some players attitude was that of joggers on the Marienplatz (Munich's iconic central square).”

Bayern had been favourites to lift the UEFA Cup, which they last won in 1996, having missed out on Champions League qualification last season by placing fourth in the Bundesliga.

They had drawn the home leg 1-1 in Munich against the Russians but then collapsed in the away return.

Bayern were set to console themselves by wrapping up the league title over the weekend but Beckenbauer blasted the Russian thumping as a “humiliation”.

“When you play Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United, you don't play at jogging speed,” he scowled.