Koln FC

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• Founded:1948
• Manager:Frank Schafer

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Maniche hits back at critics

23 Mar 2010 - 07:59:17

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Portugal international Maniche has hit back at the critics who have lambasted him for a series of poor displays for Koln this season.

The 32-year-old ex-Atletico Madrid and Chelsea player moved to the Bundesliga side last summer, but has been a big disappointment in a struggling team.

However, he told Bild: "It is nonsense to claim that I only joined Koln because of the money.

"I have played at a lot of big clubs and I have made plenty of money. Would I really move to Germany just for the money? People who accuse me of something like that don't know anything about football.

"I joined Koln because I relished the challenge of building a strong team with a lot of youngsters. I had never been involved in such a project before. It's tough to adapt to this new situation though. I've never battled against relegation before.

"I don't know whether I'll stay at Koln after this season. It is too soon to be thinking about moving on. Additionally, I still have an ongoing contract at Koln."