German football's biggest names, starting with Franz Beckenbauer, expressed support for Germany coach Rudi Voeller on Monday after his attack on his media critics.

Voeller's outburst after a dismal 0-0 draw with Iceland on Saturday was still front-page news in the soccer-mad nation two days later but at least the former Germany striker could count on the backing of prominent figures.

"I can understand it because I often enough talked back in similar situations," Franz Beckenbauer, who coached Germany to their 1990 World Cup triumph and captained the side to victory in 1974, said of Voeller's reaction.

"You feel like a hen that wants to protect its chicks," Germany's most respected soccer personality wrote in a column in Monday's Bild daily.

Voeller's outburst, featuring several rude remarks, brutally changed the image of a man widely regarded as quiet and cheerful.

"Rudi comes from the football world and not from university," German Football Association (DFB) president Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder told a news conference on Monday.

"His language can be a bit crude but every word he says should not be interpreted as an insult to the German nation."

"RUDI RAMBO"

Voeller also received support from a working group of the DFB featuring executives from the top Bundesliga clubs.

"They (the executives) said they were 100 percent behind Rudi Voeller and encouraged him to keep going his own way," said a DFB spokesman.

The usually mild-mannered Voeller lost his cool after the game in Reykjavik, telling German television that their commentators' analysis of a poor German performance was "a load of crap".

"Rudi Rambo," screamed a headline on Bild's front page on Monday. Germany's top-selling newspaper printed Voeller's expletive-filled comments, which were heard live by eight million Germans.

Voeller also received support from Berti Vogts, who had a difficult relationship with the media when he coached Germany.

"I fully understand Rudi Voeller," Vogts, now the Scotland coach, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "I know that feeling when you're described to everybody as an idiot."

Voeller and Vogts will meet on Wednesday when Germany play Scotland in a Euro 2004 qualifier in Dortmund.

A convincing performance from Germany would ease the atmosphere but Voeller can expect more pressure from the media if his men again fail to shine.

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