UEFA Europa League: Playoffs draw out

The draw for the final round of qualifiers for the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League was carried out earlier today in Nyon, Switzerland. There are some well known sides who are fighting to survive to play in continental competitions this season.

Last season finalists Athletic Bilbao from Spain face Finnish side HJK Helsinki, while former champions Liverpool FC take on another British team in Heart of Midlothian FC and while FC Vaslui host 2010 UEFA Champions League winners Inter Milan.

The UEFA Europa League qualifiers for the group stage will be played on August 23 and 30 with the group stage to be drawn on August 31 in Monaco.


UEFA Europa League - Play-off Round

FC Anzhi Makhachkala (RUSSIA) - AZ Alkmaar (NETHERLANDS)
APOEL FC (CYPRUS) - Neftçi PFK (AZERBAIJAN)
Atromitos FC (GREECE) - Newcastle United FC (ENGLAND)
Tromsø IL (NORWAY) - FK Partizan (SERBIA)
FC Vaslui (ROMANIA) - FC Internazionale Milano (ITALY)

Heart of Midlothian FC (SCOTLAND) - Liverpool FC (ENGLAND)
Athletic Club Bilbao (SPAIN) - HJK Helsinki (FINLAND)
CS Marítimo (PORTUGAL) - *FC Dila Gori (GEORGIA) or Anorthosis Famagusta (CYPRUS)
Molde FK (NORWAY) - sc Heerenveen (NETHERLANDS)
Debreceni VSC (HUNGARY) - Club Brugge KV (BELGIUM)

FC Sheriff (MOLDOVA) - Olympique de Marseille (FRANCE)
Trabzonspor AS (TURKEY) - Videoton FC (HUNGARY)
FC Midtjylland (DENMARK) - BSC Young Boys Bern (SWITZERLAND)
WKS Slask Wroclaw (POLAND) - Hannover 96 (GERMANY)
FC Dinamo Bucuresti (ROMANIA) - FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKRAINE)

AC Horsens (DENMARK) - Sporting Clube de Portugal (PORTUGAL)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISRAEL) - F91 Dudelange (LUXEMBOURG)
Feyenoord (NETHERLANDS) - AC Sparta Praha (CZECH REPUBLIC)
Motherwell FC (SCOTLAND) - Levante UD (SPAIN)
FK Crvena zvezda (SERBIA) - FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRANCE)

KSC Lokeren OV (BELGIUM) - FC Viktoria Plzen (CZECH REPUBLIC)
S.S. Lazio (ITALY) - ND Mura 05 (SLOVENIA)
AIK Solna (SWEDEN) - PFC CSKA Moskva (RUSSIA)
Legia Warszawa (POLAND) - Rosenborg Trondheim BK (NORWAY)
Bursaspor (TURKEY) - FC Twente Enschede (NETHERLANDS)

FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROMANIA) - FK Ekranas (LITHUANIA)
FC Slovan Liberec (CZECH REPUBLIC) - FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKRAINE)
VfB Stuttgart (GERMANY) - FC Dinamo Moskva (RUSSIA)
PAOK FC (GREECE) - SK Rapid Wien (AUSTRIA)
FC Luzern (SWITZERLAND) - KRC Genk (BELGIUM)
FK Zeta (MONTENEGRO) - PSV Eindhoven (NETHERLANDS)

*Subject to the CDB decision

Bundesliga Column - Round 28: Bayern Munich close the gap at the top

Round 28 of the 2011/12 Bundesliga season saw Borussia Dortmund drop vital points in the title race in a sensational 4-4 draw against Stuttgart as Bayern Munich reduced the gap at the top to only three points now; while the relegation battle has intensified further with Freiburg, Augsburg and Hamburg picking-up wins, while Cologne, Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern lost.

On Friday evening Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart played out most likely the match of this season. The game ended four-all after especially an intense and incredible last 20 minutes. Dortmund looked to be in-charge after taking an early 2-0 lead by the 49th minute through Kagawa and Blaszczykowski, but Stuttgart turned things around with three goals in eight minutes as strikers Ibisevic and then a double from Schieber scored. Dortmund hit back through goals from Hummels and Perisic
to make it 4-3, but Gentner scored a sensational equaliser in the second minute of injury time.

Dortmund lost crucial points in the title race then Bayern Munich won their away tie in Nürnberg and reduced the gap at the top now only three points. The two clubs are set to meet in Dortmund on April 11 which could be the title decider, especially if Dortmund win and once more widen the gap.

Behind the top duo the clubs fighting for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League places are in no mood to win as Schalke, Gladbach, Leverkusen, Bremen, Stuttgart all dropped points as Hannover moved into fifth place while Wolfsburg in ninth are also in with a chance.

In the relegation battle Hamburg after four losses scored a big point why winning away to bottom club 1.Kaiserslautern, who now look relegated. Hertha BSC Berlin played well against Wolfsburg but were trashed 1-4 and stay in 17th position, while FC Cologne dropped to the playoff spot 16th after the loss away to FC Augsburg who continue their good run just like SC Freiburg who won away in Leverkusen.


Round 28 Results

Borussia Dortmund 4-4 VfB Stuttgart
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0-2 SC Freiburg
1.FC Kaiserslautern 0-1 Hamburger SV
FC Augsburg 2-1 1.FC Köln
1.FC Nürnberg 0-1 FC Bayern München
SV Werder Bremen 0-3 1.FSV Mainz 05
Hertha BSC Berlin 1-4 VfL Wolfsburg
Hannover 96 2-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1899 Hoffenheim 1-1 FC Schalke 04

Bayern's Schweinsteiger injured again

Germany and FC Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is out for a few weeks after tearing ankle ligaments in last nights German Cup match against VfB Stuttgart. Former FC Bayern player Georg Niedermaier caught Schweinsteiger's ankle unintentionally and he had to limp off early in the match.

Schweinsteiger had only returned from a shoulder injury a few weeks ago, but now he is injured again and out for a few weeks. He had returned for FC Bayern at their camp in Qatar and then scored a brilliant long-ranger against Team India in New Delhi on January 10, but in the first three matches of the return-leg of the Bundesliga he wasn't as good as before the injury with has harmed Bayern's performances and results.

Following the ankle injury Schweinsteiger will have to wear a cast for a week before being given a special shoe to commence training.

About Schweinsteiger's return Bayern's club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt said, "We will have to make a prediction as to when Bastian will be able to train or play again at a later date."

Due to the injury Schweinsteiger is set to miss the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League tie against FC Basel in a couple of weeks and he would also likely miss Germany's friendly against France a week later besides a number of Bundesliga ties.

2011/12 German Cup: Quarterfinal draw out

The draw for the quarterfinals of the 2011/12 German Cup (DFB Pokal) were held Wednesday evening as part of the ARD Sportschau. German women's national team midfielder Melanie Behringer did the honour of pulling out the fixtures. And she did pull out some really mouth watering clashes.

The top match of the round will be the south Germany derby between VfB Stuttgart and record cup winners FC Bayern Munich. In another Bundesliga match-up Hertha BSC Berlin will host Borussia Mönchengladbach as Hertha continue to aim to reach the finals in their home stadium for the first time, while it marks the return of former Hertha coach Lucien Favre with his current club Gladbach.

1899 Hoffenheim host 2.Bundesliga SpVgg Greuther Fürth in a tricky fixture, while the only amateurs left in the competition fourth division side Holstein Kiel who host Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund.

The matches will be played on February 7/8.


QUARTERFINALS

1899 Hoffenheim - SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Hertha BSC Berlin - Borussia Mönchengladbach
VfB Stuttgart - FC Bayern München
Holstein Kiel - Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga Clubs sign further Japanese players

The instant success of Borussia Dortmund's 21 year old midfielder Shinji Kagawa has created a big interest amongst German Bundesliga clubs for Japanese talent. Besides Kagawa Dortmund's archrivals FC Schalke 04 had signed right back Atsuto Uchida in the summer. Uchida intially had problems but since then has become a key member of his team. And then there is Japan captain Makoto Hasebe (26) who joined VfL Wolfsburg in January 2008 and was a key player for Wolfsburg when they won the Bundesliga title in 2008/09.

Another Japanese player in striker Kisho Jano was signed by SC Freiburg from Albirex Niigata over the summer, while left back Takahito Soma had been signed by 2.Bundesliga club Energie Cottbus. Now new talent from the country of the Rising Sun are joining or are set to join different Bundesliga clubs.

Just before christmas Bayer 04 Leverkusen announced the signing of midfielder Hajime Hosogai. The 24 year old has signed a contract until summer 2013, but he has been loaned out by Bayer 04 to second Bundesliga league leaders FC Augsburg until summer 2012 to gain necessary experience in German football. Hosogai comes to Germany as the captain of Urawa Red Diamonds.

Yesterday struggling FC Cologne signed defensive allrounder Tomoaki Makino from J-league club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. The 23 year old has been given a contract until summer 2013, but he would have to undergo a medical once in Germany. Cologne's new Director of Sports Volker Finke, a former Urawa Red Diamonds coach, said about the signing, "I am delighted that Tomoaki Makino has signed for FC Cologne. I have been tracking the player while in Japan and am convinced about his qualities."

Another struggling side in VfB Stuttgart are also looking at Japanese talent in Shinji Okazaki to strengthen their attack. The 24 year old international forward is being tracked by Stuttgart and a signing looks imminent.

But all new signings along with Hasebe, Kagawa and Uchida will miss a number of league matches in January as Japan play in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, but this hasn't deterred the clubs from signing these players. And with further good performances in the Asian Cup even more Japanese players might be coming to Germany.

Bundesliga 2010: Tops & Flops

The German Bundesliga after 17 of its 34 rounds is having its usual winter break with no games over a four week period. And it has been an interesting, sometimes crazy first half of the season with Borussia Dortmund as the surprise league leaders and other smaller clubs like Mainz 05, Hannover 96 and SC Freiburg in the top six of the league. Meanwhile league giants Bayern Munich are only fifth, but other clubs like VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen could be fighting relegation while VfB Stuttgart are in the relegation zone. Their club managements will have something to ponder over the holiday break.

Here are the tops and flops of the first half of the 2010/11 Bundesliga season.


TOPS

1. Borussia Dortmund - The Juergen Klopp coached side are one of the youngest teams in the league, but have had an incredible run with 14 wins from 15 matches ater losing their first and then the last match. 43 Points from 17 matches is the second best ever record in the Bundesliga and the youngsters proved their class. Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin is the man in the middle with captain Roman Weidenfeller the oldest and most experienced player at the back. Young central defenders Mats Hummels and Nevin Subotic have been playing together for a while though still in their early twenties and then there are teenage sensation Mario Goetze and Japanese surprise Shinji Kagawa plus striker Lucas Barrios, who have all played their part. Klopp over the last two and a half years has wisely put together a squad with talent and now they are proving what they can achieve.

2. FSV Mainz 05 - The early league leaders and the biggest of all surprises. Mainz was expected to fight relegation, but from the start they have been on top with great attacking football and a rotation within the team, which allowed coach Thomas Tuchel to keep his young bunch on course. Mainz did have a few bad games towards the end, but still they recovered and are second in the league. And 37 year old Tuchel is the architect of this surprise success. Tuchel is said to be thorough in his match preparations and that has so far paid off.

3. Hannover 96 - Last season after the suicide of goalkeeper Robert Enke the club was totally out of sorts and the team nearly got relegated. This season a number of new players came in, the club has been able to shrug off last seasons events, but coach Mirko Slomka was a top candidate to be fired first. Slomka was able to form a unit and Hannover have stayed amongst the top clubs through the first half of the season. But the question remains if they can retain their form after the break.


FLOPS

1. Werder Bremen - They have been the most consistent German club after Bayern Munich over the last decade, but somehow this season things haven't been going right for the Thomas Schaaf coached side. The club sold Mesut Özil to Real Madrid in the summer, they thought no replacement was needed as they generally have a good squad, but after these five months they have had a rethink and look to strengthen their squad over the winter.

2. VfL Wolfsburg - They took a gamble by signing Steve McClaren as the first English coach in the Bundesliga. So far the experiment has failed, but McClaren wasn't fired as had been expected and has been given more time to turn things around. The Volkswagen backed club has spend millions on players over the years, build infrastructure and now expects the Wolves to be playing in European competitions year in and year out. A tough ask for coach McClaren, who said he doesn't have a team but a group of individuals. He has a few weeks to sort it out otherwise someone else will be given a chance.

3. VfB Stuttgart - In Stuttgart history seems to repeat itself each winter, but it hasn't been as bad as this season. The club is 17th and fighting to stay in the Bundesliga. They fired their coach in autumn like in the last two years, but only named an interim coach in Jens Keller and then brought in Bruno Labbadia before the two matches against Bayern Munich, which the club lost. Like Bremen they lost a player in Sami Khedira to Real Madrid plus Jens Lehmann retired and the club suddenly seemed to lack a leader on the pitch. In the last three years the club has been amongst the best in the second half of the league, in 2007 they actually went on to win the Bundesliga title. But this season it is different and difficult too.

VfB Stuttgart vs Bayern Munich: Twice in four days

These are the kind of stories that only football, the beautiful game, can write. German Bundesliga rivals VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich would meet twice in four days and that too at the same venue, Stuttgart's Mercedes Benz Arena just before the Christmas break. Last Sunday, December 19, they faced each other in the league and last evening they would meet again 73 hours later, only in a different competition, the German Cup - the DFB Pokal.

Just looking at the pure stats - 17 goals scored in two matches. Bayern Munich coming out as winners in both the games, a 5-3 on Sunday and then a 6-3 last night. It was some interesting football, really entertaining games.

Stuttgart went into this unusual double header by changing their coach over the weekend earlier firing inexperienced Jens Keller and bringing in Bruno Labbadia, a former Bayern Munich striker. The reason being that the club from the southwest of Germany is surprisingly fighting against relegation from the Bundesliga. And in Stuttgart Bayern has suffered some unwanted defeats over the years.

On Sunday Stuttgart looked initially better, but three quick goals between the 31st to 43rd minute from Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Franck Ribery gave Bayern a good looking 3-0 half time lead. At this stage it looked an easy game for the Bavarians, but five more goals would be scored in a crazy second session. First Stuttgart reduced the deficit through substitute Martin Harnik before Mario Gomez would score two more to give Bayern a comfortable 5-1 lead, but then Stuttgart would close in on the champions with another goal from Harnik and Christian Gentner to reduce the deficit to 5-3. And suddenly Bayern looked vulnerable, but Stuttgart on this day just didn't have the quality to stop Bayern from winning.

After last Sunday's game many thought that the German Cup match wouldn't be such a thriller, but actually it was even more intense and had ups and downs for both sides. The game quickly got out of the blocks with an Andreas Ottl long ranger and Mario Gomez goal giving Bayern a 2-0 lead by the 8th minute and it looked like in the match on Sunday that Bayern could win easy, but once more Bayern looked over-confident and started making mistakes. Two goals from Russian Pavel Progrebnyak for Stuttgart would take the match on even terms into half time and anything looked possible from there on.

And Stuttgart came out as the better side after the break, but once more Bayern Munich would take the lead and this time substitute Miroslav Klose would score the 3-2 in the 54th minute. Thereafter it was often one way traffic towards the Bayern goal with Stuttgart's Harnik hitting the crossbar but they were reduced to ten men as Khalid Boulahrouz received his second yellow card. It looked all over for Stuttgart, but that wasn't the case as things became more and more hectic as the match was moving towards its climax. In the 74th minute Stuttgart got a penalty as Hans-Joerg Butt brought down Cacau, but he made up for his mistake by blcoking Christian Gentner's shot. Still only three minutes later Stuttgart got their 3-3 equaliser through a header from Matthieu Delpierre. And now anything seemed possible. But Bayern Munich got the control of the match back as Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose would score to make it 5-3. Would it be a déjà-vu? But first Delpierre would also get his second yellow card to reduce Stuttgart to nine men and it was all over as Bayern Munich played out the last few minutes, but there was one left as Franck Ribery would score off a rare header late in stoppage time to make it 6-3.

Some players said afterwards that they were happy that they have a break now after those crazy two games, while the pitch will be happy to get some break after three matches in six days which has destroyed the playing surface in this terrible weather.