Heynckes to quit Bayern at season's end: Report

BERLIN (AFP) –

Munich’s head coach Jupp Heynckes, pictured August 1, is expected to quit at the end of the season when his contract expires, according to a report to appear in Saturday’s edition of Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Coach Jupp Heynckes will quit Bayern Munich at the end of the season when his contract expires, according to a report to appear in Saturday’s edition of Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

According to the report, the 67-year-old has already told Bayern president Uli Hoeness and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge he is not prepared to extend his contract which expires in June 2013 — a month after Heynckes turns 68.

Last season, former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was reported in the German media to have been approached about taking charge of Bayern for next season.

“I’ll say this with all honesty: we have a two-year contract which finishes on June 30th 2013. And then another stage of life comes to an end,” Heynckes told the newspaper.

“The club has already said, in December, in January, or in spring we will sit down and talk again. But I am not 37 any more.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether the trainer is young or old. The only important thing is to bring success to Bayern Munich.”

Heynckes took charge of Bayern at the start of last season and is in his third stint as coach in Munich.

After Matthias Sammer took over as Bayern’s director of sport in the summer, observers here claim Heynckes’ position has been weakened and his team were criticsed for losing both the German Cup and Champions League finals in May.