Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has hinted he may try to play at the World Cup in South Africa in two years’ time.

The 39-year-old was widely expected to announce his retirement from international football after this summer’s European Championships but he sees no reason why he cannot continue.

‘I will discuss this issue in the near future with (Germany coach) Joachim Loew and to talk about it before then would be form, but I can live with the speculation,’ said Lehmann, who moved to Stuttgart from Arsenal on a one-year contract this summer.

‘Which player between the age of 18 and 40 can predict whether they will still be playing as well in two years anyway?

‘I would even be prepared to (sit on the bench) at a World Cup. I would never say never.

‘We will have to see what happens (after this year).’…

Hamburg have rejected a six million euro offer from Real Madrid for Rafael van der Vaart, according to reports in Germany.

The Holland international has been constantly linked to Madrid throughout the summer, but Hamburg sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer dismissed the offer and told Die Welt that the Spanish champions’ offer ‘does not enter into discussion’.
However, Real are hoping to get the 25-year-old on the cheap as he has a clause in his contract allowing him to move for just one million euros next summer. His contract in Germany expires in 2010.

Reports in Spain have suggested that Van der Vaart has already agreed terms with Real, although the player told Die Welt ‘that’s not true’. If this bid is to be the opening salvo in Real’s attempts to sign the Dutchman, matters could come to a head when the clubs meet in the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament in London.…

Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker has undergone a successful operation on the knee injury he picked up at the club’s training camp.

The Germany international is still likely to miss the start of the Bundesliga season however after he suffered the injury in training on Tuesday.

Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf revealed new signing Sebastian Prodl could take Mertesacker’s place in the back four.

He told the club’s official website: ‘With him we have got ourselves an important man, who has enriched our team and made it stronger.

‘He has demonstrated good commitment and a good attitude; he works hard and seems confident.’…

Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker has suffered a serious knee injury that is set to rule him out of the beginning of the Bundesliga season.

Mertesacker damaged knee ligaments while training on Tuesday morning and left Werder’s training facility on crutches.

‘It didn’t look good when it happened’, Bremen captain Frank Baumann told the club’s official website.

His fears were confirmed when doctors revealed that Mertesacker would undergo surgery on Wednesday, ruling him out of the first three to four weeks of the Bundesliga campaign.…

Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus believes there will be no stopping the German champions from notching up a 22nd Bundesliga title next season.

The Bavarians cruised to the crown last year under Ottmar Hitzfeld and, despite not spending a euro this summer, Matthaus feels Bayern have taken a further step forward under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann. ‘On paper, it should be a stroll (for Bayern),’ he told Eurosport. While Bayern have added just free-transfer signings Tim Borowski and Hans-Jorg Butt to their squad this summer, their rivals have been spending a little more money – particularly Schalke, who Matthaus tips to push them closer than last year.

‘All of the opponents are going to be highly motivated against Bayern,’ continued Matthaus – currently coach of Israeli team Maccabi Netanya, who are touring Germany during pre-season training. Bremen have a strong team, but I would reckon on Schalke, too, due to their transfers. Leverkusen have always got a strong squad, and then there are Hamburg and Wolfsburg who will be the six teams playing for places in the Champions League or UEFA Cup while you should not forget Stuttgart either. The Bundesliga is certainly not going to be boring.’

Matthaus also …

The German Football Association (DFB) have dismissed a report that appeared in the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday claiming they have been approached by UEFA to step in and co-host Euro 2012 with Poland.

According to the report, the 2006 World Cup hosts had been put on standby to rescue the tournament after planning for work on stadium upgrades in Ukraine fell behind schedule.

However, German FA (DFB) president Dr Theo Zwanziger is refusing to jump the gun ahead of a UEFA meeting in Bordeaux at the end of September.

‘We are not getting involved in any imaginary games or speculation about the 2012 European Championships,’ he told Tuesday’s Bild newspaper.

‘Should there be any difficulties, then UEFA president (Michel) Platini will make suggestions.’

After staging one of the most successful tournaments in recent years in 2006, Germany has already been tipped as a reserve host for the 2010 World Cup should South Africa have any problems, or suffer a natural disaster, that would prevent them from hosting the event.

The DFB have already distanced themselves from such reports with Zwanziger recently saying Germany is ‘fundamentally not ready for the 2010 World Cup’ and that they would be ‘barking …

Bundesliga duo Diego and Rafinha are prepared to defy the wishes of their Bundesliga sides in order to represent Brazil in the Olympics. Werder Bremen and Schalke are in dispute with Diego, 23, and 22-year-old Rafinha respectively over the players’ desire to travel with the Brazil Under-23 squad to the Games.

Read more about their current dispute.…

It now seems certain that Lukas Podolski will be staying at Bayern Munich for the next season. Podolski admitted that he had problems settling down at Bayern but after a talk with coach Jurgen Klinsmann, it seems like the situation is improved and that Podolski has started concentrating on preparing for the new season ahead. Klinsmann has also stated repeatedly that he has no intention of selling the young striker.

The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the German champions and back to former club Cologne this summer, but Bayern appear determined to hang on to their man.

‘That (the sale of Podolski) does not come in any way into the question. We need at least three top strikers – and Lukas is one of the three,’ said Klinsmann, before allaying Podolski’s fears over a lack of first-team football. ‘He has a duty to challenge the other two (Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni), to provide them with competition. Lukas will get his games.’

Having held ‘positive’ talks with Podolski, Klinsmann now intends to nurture the highly-rated forward. Klinsmann said: ‘I told him what I told him before the European Championships: that he has a lot of …