Bayern Munich fired Magath on Wednesday and later the same evening Hamburg sacked Thomas Doll after falling to the bottom of the table.

Magath looked a logical choice to go back to the club where he won the European Cup as a player, and also later coached, but the 53-year-old believes Hamburg already had a deal with Stevens and he does not want to see that broken.

"Before Hamburg started talking to me on Thursday they had an agreement with another coach," Magath told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper in an interview to be published on Saturday.

"My professional ethics mean I could never take away a colleague's job. Stevens is the right man for the job and will save Hamburg from relegation."

Hamburg have yet to make an announcement on who will take over from Doll.

Stevens, who led Schalke 04 to their UEFA Cup victory in 1997, is the current coach of Roda JC Kerkrade in the Dutch championship.