Soccer-Hitzfeld takes Demichelis back after apology

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN, March 17 (Reuters) - Argentina's Martin Demichelis was reinstated to the Bayern Munich squad after apologising for the insubordination that led to his suspension on Friday, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said on Monday.

Hitzfeld, who conceded the defender was sorely missed in Saturday's shock 2-0 defeat at lowly Energie Cottbus, said Demichelis had got a reprieve and would be ready to play in Bayern's German Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

"He apologised," Hitzfeld told reporters. "That's the end of the story. He'll be in the squad on Wednesday."

However, Demichelis, suspended after refusing Hitzfeld's request to play in midfield instead of defence, was quoted in German newspaper Kicker on Monday as saying: "It's more like I would expect him to apologise."

The 27-year-old said he plays in defence for Argentina and does not want to play defensive midfield even though that was his position for the first few years after joining Bayern from River Plate in 2003.

"I thought I would tell him after training (on Friday) what my thoughts were," Demichelis told Kicker. "It should be possible for a player to talk to his coach like that. But then I found out I'd been suspended. That made me sad.

"I don't feel like I did anything wrong," he said. "I didn't want to cause chaos. The coach is right when he says players can't pick and choose where they play. But I have my opinion and hope he respects it. I'm a defender."

Hitzfeld had suspended Demichelis indefinitely after he refused his request to fill in for suspended defensive midfielder Mark van Bommel.

He said Demichelis had been a stabilising factor in central defence for Bayern this season and his absence might have contributed to the stunning loss at Cottbus -- only the second Bundesliga defeat in 24 matches this season. (Editing by Rex Gowar)