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Bayern Munich stars to get chance to sleep on the job

Bayern Munich's superstars Franck Ribery and Luca Toni can expect to sleep on the job next season as new coach Jurgen Klinsmann introduces radical changes -- including beds in the team room.

Klinsmann is set to replace Ottmar Hitzfeld as Bayern coach on July 1 and has already given instructions for a number of bold changes, including an eight-hour working day for the players and a luxury team room with beds.

"It's a new culture for the Bundesliga," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told German magazine Stern.

"The players will be able to get some rest between training. Jurgen simply wants to make everything professional. He wants to give his players the chance to rest," he said.

"An eight-hour day has been typical in Italian football for a long time. We will have them here from breakfast through to afternoon coffee. And there will be the possibility to sleep now," Rummenigge said.

But Bayern fans face a shut out as the Saebener Road training ground -- which has up to 5,000 fans watching during the summer -- which will have its end closed off to deny onlookers a chance to watch their heros play.

And the restaurant, which has views of the training pitch, will be closed down to make way for the luxury team room.

"We are going to carry out a few calculated changes," Rummenigge said. "The stadium is for the fans, the training place for the team."

But to compensate for the lack of regular access, fans may well get the chance to see occasional public training sessions at the Allianz Arena.

"We know that we can not neglect the fans, Bayern Munich is and will always be a family Club," Rummenigge said.

Meanwhile, Brazilian defender Lucio is going nowhere insists Rummenigge.

The 29-year-old had hinted he wanted a transfer to another big-name European club, but Rummenigge poured cold water on the idea.

"He is a very good player and we are not going to let him go," Rummenigge said. "The fact is he has a contract until 2010 and we won't let him go."
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