Hamburg  - Lothar Matthaeus says that Germans should be ashamed of the way are treating him and denying him a coaching job in the country.

The 1990 World Cup-winning captain Matthaeus, 48, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview made available ahead of Sunday's publication that he deserves more respect as a football icon in his native Germany.

"I am certainly the second best known German football personality around the world, after Franz Beckenbauer. Germany must be ashamed of how it treats such an idol," said Matthaeus.

Matthaeus is Germany's record capped player with 150 matches highlighted by the World Cup title 19 years ago. He has coached in Austria, Hungary, israel and other countries, but is yet to get a job at home.

He said he was close to signing contracts at Nuremberg and Eintracht Frankfurt, but that "the fans reject me, because of my past at Bayern Munich."

Matthaeus said he would even start at a second division club and vowed to play attractive football. He is currently without a job and was last linked with Argentina's Racing Club. (dpa)