Berlin: Former Germany goalkeeping trainer Sepp Maier on Monday criticised coach Juergen Klinsmann, the man who fired him last month, for demoting Oliver Kahn and giving Arsenal?s Jens Lehmann an equal shot at the position.

?Ever since Klinsmann showed up Oliver can only lose,? Maier told the Munich Abendzeitung, voicing his opposition to Klinsmann?s plan to let Kahn and Lehmann battle it out for the No. 1 spot until early 2006, the year Germany hosts the World Cup.

?It?s a load of nonsense,? said Maier, goalkeeper in West Germany?s 1974 World Cup-winning team. ?It reminds me of Erich Ribbeck,? he said, referring to the Germany trainer fired in 2000 after just two years. (Agencies)