Stefan Effenberg expects his old club, Bayern Munich, to walk away with the German league title – but he still has scores to settle with his old bosses.

The controversial midfield veteran joined Wolfsburg during the summer after the expiry of last contract with Bayern. Negotiations to transfer to Spain with Atletico Madrid or to England with Fulham or Manchester City all fell through.

Effenberg said: “I am sure that Bayern will a long way clear of every other club at the end of the season.

:Michael Ballack, my successor there, is the man to make the difference. But I have no regrets. I have done everything, won everything I wanted. I had a great time so I have nothing to envy him now. More – he can be a superstar as long as he learns to cope with the media frenzy in Munich. But he’s not a youngster, he knows the way of the world.”

Not that Effenberg has blocked out criticism of him by Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer, general manager Uli Hoeness and former Bayern hero Paul Breitner.

Effenberg said: “My time will come when I will tell them what I think – and I won’t go through the back door of some newspaper column I will tell them to their face.”
By Keir Radnedge