Daum spurns Cologne offer

Christoph Daum has again turned down Cologne's offer to coach the second division club where he began his managerial career 20 years ago, the club's director of football Michael Meier said yesterday. "We threw everything we could into getting him,"...

Christoph Daum has again turned down Cologne's offer to coach the second division club where he began his managerial career 20 years ago, the club's director of football Michael Meier said yesterday.

"We threw everything we could into getting him," Meier said in a brief statement. "I'm sorry that we weren't able to take advantage of this situation."

Meier added that doctors had advised Daum, who is recovering from a throat operation, not to take a coaching job now. Meier had spent the last five days trying to persuade the 53-year-old to take over at the club relegated from the Bundesliga last season.

Cologne, who have slipped to eighth in the second division, sacked coach Hanspeter Latour last week.

Cologne's mayor had appealed to Daum to take the job and more than 17,000 Cologne fans backed his return to German soccer on website www.daumzumfc.de.

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