A prolific striker in Germany's second division, Loew's first major coaching job was at VfB Stuttgart in 1996. After further stops at clubs in Turkey and Austria he joined Germany in 2004 as assistant coach.

Schalke 04 are hoping their freshly-found discipline under new coach Roberto Di Matteo, coupled with his Champions League pedigree will help them beat Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday for their first win in the competition this season.

Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky continued to swipe past the seeds at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday by dumping World No 4 Maria Sharapova from the hard court tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory.

Schalke 04 halted the Chelsea juggernaut when they drew 1-1 in their Champions League Group G opener at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, handing a wake-up call to the London club who had won their first four games of the season.

The good news for Schalke 04's defenders as they prepare to face Chelsea in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday is that striker Diego Costa is nursing a slight hamstring injury.

Depleted Borussia Dortmund shrugged off the absence of more than half a dozen starting players to ease into the German Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win at third-tier Saarbruecken on Tuesday.