© Reuters 2002

BERLIN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn will replace striker Oliver Bierhoff as Germany captain, coach Rudi Voeller said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

"We want to bring calm into the team with this decision so that the issue isn't brought up before every game," Voeller said in the interview to be published on Sunday.

Bierhoff has increasingly found himself on the national team bench rather than in the starting line-up while Kahn, his deputy until now, has become steadily more accustomed to wearing the captain's armband.

The 33-year-old Bierhoff recently moved from AC Milan to AS Monaco to guarantee more regular first team football.

Bierhoff, who won the first of his 59 caps in February 1996, replaced Juergen Klinsmann as captain in September 1998.

Kahn, aged 32 and with 41 caps, has kept goal for the Germans for much of the time since 1995.

Voeller, who said he had contacted both players, said Bierhoff would remain part of the German squad as it bids for a fourth World Cup at the finals in Korea and Japan this year.