(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-03 11:51

BERLIN, Jan 2 - Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is to leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the season when his contract expires, he told local media on Wednesday.

"I already told the club three weeks ago of my decision to finish in the summer," Hitzfeld told German sports news agency SID.

"I will try again over the next half year to be successful and win as many titles as possible."

Hitzfeld added that his options included coaching the Swiss national side or going back to working as a television analyst.

He said he had yet to begin negotiations with the Swiss soccer federation and that a meeting was planned for the next few months.

Hitzfeld began his second stint as Bayern coach on Feb 1 last year, taking over from Felix Magath, and his contract runs through to the end of June this year.

He came under pressure in the weeks before the mid-season break as Bayern suffered a slump in form, although they still lead Germany's top league on goal difference ahead of Werder Bremen.

The 58-year-old, a former player with VfB Stuttgart and various Swiss clubs, coached Borussia Dortmund to Champions League victory in 1997 and also won Europe's top club competition with Bayern in 2001.

Former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann and former Germany captain Lothar Matthaeus have been named by local media as potential successors.