Ahh Germany. The land of the great Nationalmannschaft, the team with such glorious World Cup and Euro Cup history (six trophies collectively) and who almost increased their collection by one in June, had it not been for the Spanish Armada and a certain Fernando Torres. Germany is also the homeland of prestigious club teams such as [. Click to continue reading...

Racial stereotyping for dummies England's inexperienced squad were hoping to get some much needed practice ahead of their friendly against Germany but those pesky Germans had other ideas. Miroslav Klose and company were up first and had put their beach towels on all the best spots on the training pitch! Click to continue reading...

Today at Bayern Munich's 3 PM practice, a new face showed up alongside coach Juergen Klinsmann, a face familiar to many American fans. Yep, that's right, the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan is in Munich to train with Bayern for a weeek or two to "stay fit." Hmmm.
Could Donovan, who last left Bayer Leverkusen in 2005 after playing in seven league and two Champion's League matches, be looking for for a ticket back to European soccer? Click to continue reading...

If there's one thing that Tuesday night taught Fiorentina, it's that by having 22 shots on target and still failing to score against Bayern Munich, you will at some point get punished. The German giants might very well be struggling in the Bundesliga at the moment, they are still a team loaded with world class [. Click to continue reading...

Blue days at the Allianz Bate and Bayern had the same idea in the second halves of their respective matches. Hold on for a home draw. However unlike Bate, Bayern Munich happened to be one of the 10 richest clubs in the world. Lyon visited the Allianz tonight and scraped by with a 1-1 [...] Click to continue reading...

So Landon Donovan may go to Bayern Munich, eh? My trusty volume of Wikipedia informs me that Bayern's current squad includes Luca Toni, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose at forward, with attacking midfielders such as Franck Ribery and Ze Roberto.

Where does Landon fit in all this? Click to continue reading...

This week Andrea Canales got the US faithful abuzz with a nice article on a potential Landon Donovan return to Europe. Your faithful vagabond has been sniffing about this week checking on the possibility that Landon Donovan has attracted interest from Bundesliga power Bayern Munich. So far the results indicate that people have taken Andrea's speculation and twisted it into something it is not; a rumor. Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you blame your erratic driving on your spilled beer....... Zola on the field, great; Zola off the field, gamble. (Guardian Unlimited) Future stars of the Bundesliga. (SoccerLens) Another suggestion for cautious optimism in England. (Reuters Soccer Blogs) Slaven Bilic's psychological masterstroke and Capello's countermove. Click to continue reading...

Okay, editing the previous post is not really going to work so well, so I will endeavour to produce one of those posts journalist-writing-about-journalists pieces that do so much to advance the sum of human knowledge. As mentioned before, William Moore's report is the best place to start. I did something for soccernet, but it [. Click to continue reading...

This week's show looks back at the World Cup qualifiers, serious injury for Chelsea star and claims of racism in Zagreb. Click on the links below to find out more on the stories that appear on this week's show. The good Good for Theo Walcott and Miroslav Klose who both netted hat-tricks in the World Cup qualifiers. Click to continue reading...

I'm working on something for another site that will be available here soon, but in the meantime William Moore has a good report over at Helsingin Sanomat's English Edition. I (and maybe Juha, if he wants to) will edit this post accordingly later on today. Click to continue reading...

On an evening of shock results for away teams in the European zone for qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, England, Scotland, Denmark, and yes, Luxembourg all beat tough teams away.

England, were a different proposition this time around at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, beating Croatia 4-1, thanks to a Theo Walcott hat-trick and a goal from Wayne Rooney. Click to continue reading...

Bayern Munich coach Juergen Klinsmann can invest in a few new Buddha statues for the team's locker room after hammering Hertha Berlin 4-1 for the Bavarians' first win of the season. After two lackluster draws, the victory puts Bayern within two points of league leaders Schalke 04.
Luca Toni scored for the first time this season early in the match, and defender Philipp Lahm curled home a pretty shot for Bayern's second goal. Click to continue reading...

If there was any doubt that i have been nervous about Roma's chances this year against an aging but still powerful Inter Milan it speaks to the issue that i feel we have yet to replace Ludovic Giuly and Mancini. In there stead we signed John arne Riise at left back from Liverpool and attacker Vincenzo Montella from Sampdoria. Click to continue reading...

In the 78th minute of the EURO 2008 final it became quite clear to anyone still unsure that Spain were and are simply a better side than Germany. While Luis Aragones took off goalscorer and matchwinner Fernando Torres to replace him with the Primera Liga´s Pichichi Daniel Guiza, Joachim Loew responded with an attacking substitution of his own, replacing the anonymous Miroslav Klose with VfB Click to continue reading...

The German strikeforce of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose have scored 10 goals in five games and that has taken their tally to 69 international goals between the pair of them.That's just one more than Gerd Muller scored all by himself.Ballack is looking doubtful for the final.

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With Rafa Benitez reportedly on the look out for a foil to play alongside Fernando Torres next season, and names such as David Villa being bandied about by the press, one striker who could be available for the right price has confirmed he is thinking about a move from his present club.

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The German strikeforce of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose have scored 10 goals in five games and that has taken their tally to 69 international goals between the pair of them.That's just one more than Gerd Muller scored all by himself.Ballack is looking doubtful for the final.

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"I like you Spaniard. I shall cheer for you." -Gladiator
Spain and Germany will close a highly-memorable tournament when they meet in the Euro 2008 Final in Vienna Sunday. Spain is seeking just their second major championship- they won the 1964 Euros on home soil. Since that time, Germany (and West Germany before them) have won three Euros and two World Cups. Click to continue reading...

Germany 3-2 Turkey. Fatih Terim and his Turkish team are out of Europe: the comeback kings just ran out of miracles on Wednesday night, in a match during which, ironically and all things considered, they were the better team on the field. In the days preceding the match, everyone thought Germany would have a very easy [. Click to continue reading...

Germany got a late goal from Philip Lahm to win 3-2 over Turkey, and earn a place in the Euro 08 finals. I didn't get to see this live however, because of the lightning strike that knocked out the TV signal to most of the world. Turkey looked to be on their way to advancing to their first ever final in a major tournament through the first 20 minutes. Click to continue reading...

Turkey faces Germany in the first semifinal from Basel. While Turkey's Cinderella run has been highlighted by some of the greatest finishes in tournament history, a combination of injuries and yellow cards have sapped the squad. We're now left with a Saturday-after-Thanksgiving Turkey; the kind that's not only been served for dinner, but was used the next day for sandwiches, and now just has a few pieces of meat clinging to the carcass. Click to continue reading...

Germany 3-2 Portugal
So, the quarter-finals are off to an excellent start, both from my own perspective (DEUTSCHLAND!) and for those of us who just want to watch good football. The only downside was that we didn't get to see Cristiano Ronaldo cry. (Nor did he take his shirt off, as far as I can tell. Click to continue reading...

Even while sitting in the stands, Joachim Loew was still a factor in the Germany vs. Portugal game.  Loew's pregame decision to start Bastian Schweinsteiger proved to be a deciding factor in this game, as the Bayern Munich midfielder scored a goal and assisted on 2 others in Germany's 3-2 victory over Portugal. Click to continue reading...

The Germans picked the right time to play their best game of Euro 2008. First-half goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose staked Germany to a 2-0 lead and Michael Ballack grabbed the game winner for the second-straight game as Germany defeated Portugal 3-2. Germany advances to next Wednesday's semifinal against either Croatia or Turkey. Click to continue reading...

The Germans picked the right time to play their best game of Euro 2008. First-half goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose staked Germany to a 2-0 lead and Michael Ballack grabbed the game winner for the second-straight game as Germany defeated Portugal 3-2. Germany advances to next Wednesday's semifinal against either Croatia or Turkey. Click to continue reading...

Well the first match of the knock-out stages, the quarter final between Michael Ballack's Germany and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal (copyright Clive-twatting-Tyldesly), continued the tournaments fantastic ratio of great games and goals, with the Germans ominously reaching the semis.

With Jogi Löw (pronounced "Yogi Lurve") banished to the stands, for his bizarre altercation with the fourth official in their final group match gainst Austria, Germany, led by assistant coach Herr Hansi Flick, eased their way past the much fancied Portugeezers, 3-2. Click to continue reading...

Talk about marquee match-ups. Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Michael Ballack. Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho vs. Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. Portugal vs. Germany.

The Euro 2008 quarterfinals kick off today with one of the best match-ups of the round. Will a rested Portugal squad that looked extremely good in its first two matches be too much for a German squad that has yet to resemble the tournament favorites they were supposed to be when the Euros began?

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If ever there was a game in need of a strong leader to take it by the scruff of the neck it was Thursday night's Group B match between Germany and Croatia. The chaotic early pace, the slipshod passes, the ill-timed tackles; the match needed a firm master, someone who would play the ball and control movement. Click to continue reading...

Why not? I'm watching it anyway. The Germans have a nice show of unity during the anthem, they link arms over shoulders and sing away. Croatians gaze at flag and sing with hand over heart - or about half of them do.
Croatia: 1-Stipe Pletikosa; 5-Vedran Corluka, 4-Robert Kovac, 3-Josip Simunic, 22-Danijel Pranjic; 11-Darijo Srna, 10-Niko Kovac, 14-Luka Modric, 19-Niko Kranjcar; 7-Ivan Rakitic, 18-Ivica Olic
Germany: 1-Jens Lehmann; 16-Philipp Lahm, 17-Per Mertesacker, 21-Christoph Metzelder, 2-Marcell Jansen; 4-Clemens Fritz, 8-Torsten Frings, 13-Michael Ballack, 20-Lukas Podolski; 11-Miroslav Klose, 9-Mario Gomez
Kickoff! Click to continue reading...

The fans and media in Germany will quite rightly lavish praise on a handful of heroes after their team's efficient but hardly earth-shattering win over Poland on Sunday night.
Two-goal hitman Lukas Podolski can expect plaudits for his well taken double, his ability to adapt to the left-sided midfield role he is now being deployed in and the fact that he didn't ram his success down the throat of the country which bore him. Click to continue reading...

Group B: Germany 2 - 0 Poland
A typically efficient performance from Germany saw them run out 2-nil winners over Poland. Lukas Podolski returned to his 2006 form as he notched both goals. The first goal was a tap-in and the second goal was a superb volley off of a Miroslav Klose deflection.

No one should be surprised by this performance as Germany should win this group easily. Click to continue reading...

Rather than pretending that I can comment on all 16 teams competing at Euro 2008, I will focus on one group, Group B, and the team, Germany, that I am most familiar with. Focusing on Germany should give me plenty to write about, especially if, as many believe, they are crowned European champions in Vienna on June 29. Click to continue reading...

I'm sorry about the complete lack of updates here, except for the odd Weekly Dose edition. I'm currently spending most of my time over at the Germany World Cup Blog. But I hope to have the odd Bundesliga related post ready to help those who don't care about the Euros through the next month. The Bundesliga [. Click to continue reading...

There are two bits of very interesting Lukas Podolski-related news this afternoon.

The first, and most pressing, is that Germany coach Joachim Löw is toying with deploying Podolski on the left-side of the midfield. The soon-to-be 23-year-old (he celebrates his birthday June 4) Polish-born German made his debut in that position during Saturday's friendly with Serbia, and Löw was pleased with the result. Click to continue reading...