Munich's Search is On

Beckenbauer and the board of directors said this week that the club could go ahead with their secret plans to buy leading players to put together a side that can compete internationally.

"The club's board put forward their ideas and named their players, and we were all of the opinion that this would be the right way to go forward to ensure that Bayern once again become successful," Beckenbauer said.

"Everybody knows that good players who are well-known internationally are not cheap," German soccer's Kaiser added. "We will have to invest a lot of money to have a strong team next year, to be able to compete at the highest level."

Bayern, for the first time in years, are not in the running for the Bundesliga title and have been forced to settle with a UEFA Cup berth instead of a spot in the more prestigious Champion League.

Expensive undertaking

Although Beckenbauer said nothing about the value of the investment, German media speculated that it could be between 76 million euros and 100 million euros ($103 million and $136 million).

"It is clear that it will be expensive, but we are a football business and it must be our first priority to have a strong team," said Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as a player and coach.

New names were not leaked to the press, but Bayern have already announced that they will be buying Hamit Altintop (Schalke 04), Jan Schlaudraff (Alemannia Aachen) and Argentine Jose Ernesto Sosa (Estudiantes de La Plata).

The 20-million-euro signing of world champion Luca Toni from Florence also seems a done deal. German internationals Marcell Jansen and Miroslav Klose are also on the wanted list, as is the transfer of Ze Roberto, who is rumored to be on the verge of returning to Germany from Brazil.

Bayern manager Uli Hoeness said a short while ago, that Bayern has always managed to secure the players they wanted. He said that the club would be investing money "like never before."

International comings and goings

While Beckenbauer can already contemplate next season with top players, fans will have to wait a bit longer till the seasons end in Spain, Italy, England and elsewhere before the club announces the signings.

By then the names of the players who will be leaving the club should also be known. Bayern are on the verge of selling English international Owen Hargreaves to Manchester United.

Kicker sports magazine reported Monday that the two clubs had reached an agreement whereby the Premiership champions will be paying 25 million euro plus a further amount determined by United's results, for the midfielder, whose contract with Bayern runs till 2010.

Paraguayan international Roque Santa Cruz has also announced that he intends to leave the club. Another player who will not be with the team next season is Mehmet Scholl. The 36-year old will be playing his final match for the team in Saturday's season-closer against Mainz 05.