Bayern Munich's Bundesliga woes continued on Saturday when they blew a two-goal lead in a 3-3 home draw with VfL Bochum while promoted Hoffenheim took over at the top. Bayern were leading 3-1 with seven minutes to go through goals from Daniel van Buyten and Ze Roberto (2) only to allow Bochum to stage a comeback with two bad defensive lapses inside three minutes.
A fabulous backheel from Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped Inter Milan to a 2-1 home win over Bologna on Saturday and put the Serie A champions back on track after an awkward week.
Schalke 04 forward Kevin Kuranyi headed a last-minute equaliser to complete a double strike and salvage a 3-3 draw with Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho's fixation with playing three up front will come under further scrutiny at home to Werder Bremen.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho's fixation with playing three up front will come under further scrutiny at home to Werder Bremen on Wednesday following Sunday's 1-0 defeat by AC Milan.
Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo scored two goals apiece and defender Luisao was also on target as Benfica thumped Everton 5-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Leaders Schalke 04 surrendered their unbeaten Bundesliga record when they lost 1-0 at promoted Cologne on Friday. The visitors got away with a series of defensive lapses until Youssef Mohamad headed in for Cologne just before halftime after a long throw from Pierre Wome bamboozled the defence. Schalke remain top with 11 points from six matches followed by 1899 Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg SV on 10 points from five.
Premier League clubs return to Champions League action next week with fans and bookmakers both believing a winner will emerge from last season's finalists of Manchester United and Chelsea.
Brazil's preliminary Copa America squad includes Germany's Footballer of the Year Diego of Werder Bremen and Real Madrid forward Robinho.
UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk thrashed Club Bruges 4-1 away on Thursday when top-level football began experimenting with five-man refereeing teams in the opening Europa League group stage games.
Argentina forward Lionel Messi will not play in the Olympic Games after a sporting tribunal ruled on Wednesday that his club Barcelona were not obliged to release him.
Former Czech Republic coach Karel Brueckner has been appointed Austria coach, the Austrian Football Federation said on Friday.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that clubs must release their eligible Under-23 players for the Olympic soccer tournament.
Samuel Eto'o coolly converted a penalty on his league debut but champions Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Bari in their Serie A opener on Sunday.
Out of form Ronaldinho has been included in Brazil's squad for the Olympic Games as an overage player.
The Indian women's hockey team, sans coach, finished last at the four-nations tournament in Rotterdam, after they were thrashed 1-5 by South Africa in the third and fourth place play-off match. Hosts Netherlands won the tournament after crushing Great Britain 5-0 in the final on Saturday.
Austria coach Josef Hickersberger named his 23-man squad for Euro 2008 on Wednesday, adding Martin Harnik as a surprise fourth striker.
Germany coach Joachim Loew cut the inexperienced trio of Marko Marin, Jermaine Jones and Patrick Helmes when he named his final 23-man squad for Euro 2008 on Wednesday. Marin, the 19-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach winger, had yet to win his first cap when he was named to Loew's provisional squad earlier this month, while Schalke midfielder Jones and Cologne striker Helmes had played just five times between them.
France midfielder Franck Ribery was voted Bundesliga player of the year in a poll of 268 league players published in Kicker newspaper on Monday.
Schalke 04 overpowered local rivals VfL Bochum 3-0 to strengthen their bid for a return to the Champions League.
Bayern Munich secured their 21st German league title and completed a domestic double for the third time in four seasons when they drew 0-0 away to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. Bayern's draw stretched their lead over closest rivals Werder Bremen to 10 points with three games left and set off the traditionally soggy celebrations, as the players soaked each other, and anyone else on the field, with beer.
Schalke 04 named Dutchman Fred Rutten on Wednesday as the Bundesliga club's coach for next season.
Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko scored a hat-trick as leaders VfL Wolfsburg crushed Hanover 96 5-0 away on Saturday to close in on their first Bundesliga title with one match left. The league's leading striker Grafite added two more for Wolfsburg, who are top with 66 points, two ahead of Bayern Munich who were held to a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim.
Italy striker Luca Toni scored twice to steer Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was relieved to see Bayern Munich restore normal service at the Allianz Arena with a 2-0 win over Karlsruhe on Saturday.
Unfashionable Premier League side Fulham knocked favourites Juventus out of the Europa League after an astonishing 4-1 win over the Italians who finished the last 16 second leg game with nine men on Thursday.
Liverpool tore Real Madrid apart with a blistering 4-0 win to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday while Premier League rivals Chelsea drew 2-2 with Juventus in Turin to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Bayern Munich cantered into the last eight by routing Portugal's Sporting 7-1 in Germany and 12-1 over the two legs for a Champions League aggregate record victory.
Juergen Klinsmann will take over as coach of Bayern Munich from next season, the Bundesliga club announced on Friday. "Former Germany coach will take over the running of the club from July 1," Bayern said in a statement on their web site (www.fcb.de).
Bayern Munich's domestic woes continued on Sunday when they were held 0-0 at Werder Bremen and slipped to fifth in the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is to leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the season when his contract expires, he told local media in Berlin on Wednesday.
Werder Bremen produced a rousing fightback at the San Siro to eliminate favourites AC Milan from the UEFA Cup on Thursday and heap further pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian shrugged off fresh speculation this week that he could be sacked in May but will face further calls for his head after Claudio Pizarro scored twice as Werder hit back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and reach the last 16 on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.
A late equaliser from Werder Bremen's Brazilian international Diego denied AC Milan victory in their UEFA Cup first knockout round first leg tie in Germany on Wednesday.
Former UEFA Cup winners Galatasaray and Bayer Leverkusen will meet in the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup with a possible clash with Hamburg SV awaiting the winners.
UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk were knocked out of the Europa League after being held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Fulham in their round of 32 tie Thursday. Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus progressed to the last 16 and Werder Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro scored a hat-trick as his side went through with a 4-1 win over former England manager Steve McLaren's Twente Enschede.
Hertha Berlin returned to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time in more than two years after Andriy Voronin struck twice to give them a 2-1 home win over Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Nine-times champions Real Madrid topped Group C with a 3-1 win over Lazio while Liverpool, the winners of five titles, advanced from Group A with a 4-0 rout of Olympique Marseille.
Real Madrid and Liverpool will be among teams fighting for the last places in the knockout stage of the Champions League this week when the final group matches decide who goes through. Seven clubs will join nine who have already secured passage to the 16-team knockout stage of the competition while eight third-placed teams will carry on in the UEFA Cup after the winter break.
Israel international Yossi Benayoun scored a hat-trick as the 2005 champions and runners-up last season overwhelmed Besiktas in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich had to settle for a goalless draw away to Borussia Dortmund, leaving the way clear for Hamburg SV to cut their lead to four points with a 1-0 win at Duisburg.
Rosenborg Trondheim scored twice in the second half to record a surprise 2-0 win over Valencia in the Champions League Group B match.
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