Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness could not hide his delight after tying Ottmar Hitzfeld to a new contract which will keep the coach in Bavaria until June 2008.
Hitzfeld returned to the Allianz Arena earlier this year after the sacking of his predecessor Felix Magath, and the club has announced that yesterday evening the coach had signed a new deal.
'We are very glad that we could make this decision so fast and in an uncomplicated manner with Ottmar Hitzfeld,' Hoeness said.
'Ottmar Hitzfeld totally convinced us with his outstanding work over recent weeks and with how he leads the team.
'The decision to extend the contract by one year was a joint decision for us.'
Hoeness revealed that Hitzfeld could further extend his deal at a later stage.
He added on club website www.fcbayern.de: 'At a certain time we will speak about the situation and see if we will continue working in the medium or long term.
'His decision to continue as coach enables us to co-ordinate planning for the coming season directly with the coach.'
Since re-taking the Bayern reins, Hitzfeld has helped rekindle their bid to defend the Bundesliga title and led the club into the last eight of the Champions League - a competition he has won twice, once with Borussia Dortmund and once with Bayern.
'I am happy to continue my work here,' Hitzfeld said.
'In the past week I have realised how much I enjoy the work as coach here and I believe that the team and myself can really make something happen.
'It was an important reason in my decision to remain a coach with FC Bayern Munich.'
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