Togo coach Pfister back in charge

FRANKFURT, June 12 (Reuters) Otto Pfister, who quit as coach of the Togo team last week, will return to take charge of the debutants for their first-ever World Cup match tomorrow after a surprise u-turn, he told Reuters today.

''The players intervened massively. I received a fax from the (Togolese football association) president and I will sit on the bench as coach of the team tomorrow,'' Pfister said by telephone.

Pfister declined to comment whether he would coach the West African team during their other World Cup finals matches.

Pfister, 68, walked out overnight on Friday, saying he could not do his job properly with his players not fully focused on the World Cup as their pay demands had not been met.

He then said he did not blame the players but Togolese officials.

Players have pressed their demands for 155,000 euros (196,200 dollars) each to play in the World Cup plus 30,000 each per win and 15,000 per draw.

Officials from a country with average per capita income well below 1,000 dollars have said the demands are too high and negotiations are still underway.

QUICKLY PROMOTED A source close to the team's sponsor Puma said Pfister was on a train to Frankfurt after players had convinced him to return.

Assistant coach Kodjovi Mawuena had found himself quickly promoted to the top job on Saturday, a role that was not new to him, and talks to give German former Bundesliga coach Winfried Schaefer the job seemed to have stalled today.

Pfister guided Saudi Arabia through the France 98 World Cup qualifiers but was dismissed before the finals as he said he would not allow Saudi princes to meddle in his team decisions.

Pfister, who has spent much of his life globetrotting, coaching eight different countries before Togo, replaced Stephen Keshi on a short-term contract after Togo's poor performance at the African Nations Cup at the start of the year.

The team failed to score a goal in those finals.

Togo play their first World Cup match against South Korea tomorrow. The other teams in Group G are Switzerland and France.

Reuters PDS GC2044