Peter Svetits met the 34-year-old player, who said last week he would end his career if he failed to find a new club by Wednesday, in Duesseldorf on Tuesday.

Bayern Munich have not renewed their contract with him.

'We both put forward our ideas on what we expect from the other -- it was all very positive,' Svetits said on Austria Vienna's website.

'Stefan appears to be in top physical form,' Svetits said, adding that a definite commitment with Effenberg would be decided upon on Thursday.

Austria Vienna are currently second in the league standings behind Sturm Graz.

Effenberg's talent and passion made him a regular in the German side as well as for Bayern, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Fiorentina.

But he has also courted controversy.

He was dropped from the 1994 World Cup team and sent home for giving German fans a single finger gesture as he was substituted under boos following a poor performance in a group game against South Korea in Dallas.

Bayern ditched Effenberg for two games last season following his comments that many of the unemployed in Germany were too lazy to look for work because jobless benefits were too high.

If negotiations prove fruitful, Effenberg will not be the first high-profile German player to beat a path across the Alps to Austria in recent months.