'The General' rallies to Bayern cause

Dispirited FC Bayern München hope the return of Ottmar Hitzfeld, the coach who led them to UEFA Champions League glory in 2001, can kick-start a season that is in danger of petering out into anti-climax.

Ominous prediction
A 3-2 defeat at BV Borussia Dortmund on Friday and a goalless home draw with VfL Bochum 1848 on Tuesday night proved to be the last straw for coach Felix Magath, who had said earlier in the week: "It's five minutes to midnight for Bayern. If we don't win against Bochum on Tuesday, the title is all but gone." Now fourth in the Bundesliga, Bayern have turned once more to Hitzfeld, who twice led them to UEFA Champions League finals during his first spell at the club between 1998 and 2004, and added four league championships - including three in succession between 1999 and 2001 - to the two he had won as coach of Dortmund between 1991 and 1997.

Coaching spurs
Born in Lorrach, close to the Swiss border, Hitzfeld starred as a player with FC Basel 1893 and VfB Stuttgart, reaching the final of the 1972 Olympic football tournament with West Germany. He earned his coaching spurs in Switzerland with FC Zug, FC Aarau and Grasshopper-Club before in 1991 he joined Dortmund, whom he turned into European champions six years later. Hitzfeld, who turned 58 on 12 January, has not held a coaching post since leaving Bayern in May 2004 although he has been strongly linked to a number of clubs, including Dortmund and Hamburger SV. He had initially intended to leave Bayern in 2005 but decided to step down a year early after his side lost to Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round and surrendered the title to Werder Bremen.

Prominent roles
He has rarely been out of the public eye, working as a pundit on German television and turning down the opportunity to take over from Rudi Völler as national team coach in July 2004, saying: "I am not in the right state to do what is needed for the national team." A qualified mathematics teacher, he announced in October 2005 that he was preparing to return to coaching on 1 July 2006, saying: "I have recharged my batteries completely and I am ready to return." It has taken until now for the coach to find a job that really suited him.

Familiar faces
With many of the players from his first reign still on Bayern's books, Hitzfeld may feel a sense of déjà vu as he returns although the surroundings will be different as the Munich club left the Olympiastadion, which had been their home since 1972, for the Fußball Arena München in 2005/06. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics' choice as world club coach of the year in 1997 and 2001 will have to find his bearings quickly if he is to restore confidence at a club who are experiencing a major hangover after winning domestic doubles in both Magath's seasons in charge.

Mission improbable
At the start of his last, ill-fated campaign at Bayern in 2003/04, Hitzfeld, known as 'the General' in German football, said: "Because we are Bayern, we have to play the top role everywhere - we must defend the German title and the cup, and we want to reach the UEFA Champions League final." The club may be playing catch-up in this season's Bundesliga, but with Madrid again lying in wait in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, Hitzfeld could yet snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.