Hoffenheim failed to make use of a two-man advantage in gaining just a draw at home against Schalke but will spend the winter break as Bundesliga leaders.

Gerald Asamoah gave Schalke the lead in the 40th minute but Hoffenheim responded in the 72nd minute with a goal by Selim Teber.

Schalke finished the game with just nine players as Jermaine Jones was given his second yellow card in the 57th minute and Orlando Engelaar was dismissed in the 81st.

Hoffenheim bounced back well from their loss at Bayern Munich last week to finish the first half of the Bundesliga campaign with 35 points – level on points but with superior goal difference to Bayern.

Ralf Rangnick’s team are the first promoted side in Bundesliga history to finish the first half of the season top of the table.

In a showdown between the league’s best attack in Hoffenheim against the best defence of Schalke, the visitors started the game on the front foot and had the first chance after just three minutes with Asamoah blasting well off-target from just six yards out.

Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was called on 10 minutes later, diving to his left to save Sejad Salihovic’s curling …

Bayern Munich have made captain Mark van Bommel an offer to extend his contract beyond the end of the season, the club have confirmed.

The Dutch midfielder is out of contract in the summer and has been strongly linked with a move away after Bayern recently held talks with Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Anatoli Tymaschuk.

But Bayern have now offered the new 31-year-old a new deal, although details of the contract have not been disclosed.

In a statement on their official website, the club added they are hoping Van Bommel will have made a decision on his future by the end of the winter break.…

Bayern Munich have confirmed midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has agreed a new three-year contract with the club.

The Germany international put pen to paper on the deal over the weekend to end speculation linking him with a move abroad with his previous contract due to expire in the summer.

“We are happy we have been able to tie down in a positive manner a further important player in Bastian Schweinsteiger,” said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the club’s website.

The 24-year-old has come through the ranks with Bayern, whom he joined as a schoolboy in 1998.

He made his first-team debut in 2002 and has since made 168 Bundesliga appearances and been capped 62 times by Germany.

His performances for the national team at Euro 2008 and during the first half of the season have attracted a lot of interest from many of Europe’s top clubs, including Juventus, but he has followed team-mate Philipp Lahm by committing to Bayern.

Schweinsteiger’s new contract with Bayern will run until June 2012.…

Ten-man Bayern Munich moved to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time this season despite picking up only a point from their trip to Stuttgart this afternoon.

A last-gasp equaliser from Sami Khedira ensured the game finished 2-2 to deny the defending champions, while also maintaining new Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel’s unbeaten record.

Bayern, who had Massimo Oddo dismissed five minutes from time, had come from behind with second-half goals from Tim Borowski and Luca Toni after Khedira put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time.

The point was enough to take Jurgen Klinsmann’s side above Hoffenheim at the top, but they could slip back down to second if the Bundesliga newcomers avoid defeat in their final game of 2008 against Schalke tomorrow.

Hertha Berlin ensured their best-ever start to a Bundesliga campaign as they climbed up to third place, two points behind Bayern, with a thumping 4-0 win against lowly Karlsruhe.

Maximilian Nicu opened the scoring after just eight minutes before all three of Hertha’s substitutes – Valeri Domovchiyski, Fabian Lustenberger and Raffael – found the net in the second half.

Mladen Petric scored the only goal of the game as Hamburg also moved two points …

Former national team goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, until recently under contract with FC Valencia, has signed a deal to join Hoffenheim. The 29-year old terminated his contract with the Spanish team six days ago.

“That was the right move for Timo. His situation in Valencia was up in the air, while his new coach is counting on him. Which is always good to know for every player”, said Joachim Löw, coach of the German national team.

After a 17-month stay in Valencia, Hildebrand returns to the Bundesliga, which he left after winning the German championship with VfB Stuttgart in May 2007. He is expected to be given his debut for the league leaders after the upcoming Christmas break, in a game against Energie Cottbus on January 31, 2009. Hildebrand has 7 caps with the German national team.

Interestingly, current Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick was the man who gave Hildebrand his professional debut for Stuttgart eight years ago.…

Striker Mladen Petric scored twice in the first half to give Hamburg a 2-1 away win against Cologne on Sunday and catch fourth-placed Hertha Berlin on 30 points.

Hamburg are fifth on goal difference.

It was Hamburg’s first Bundesliga away win in more than two months, coming days after Martin Jol’s team qualified for the next stage of the UEFA Cup with an away win against Slavia Prague.

Petric’s sixth goal of the season came after 15 minutes when Marcell Jansen sprinted past two defenders on the left and floated a deep cross for Petric to head in at the far post.

The Croatian scored his second of the match just after the half hour mark with a diving header from two metres after Jori Mathijsen headed on a Piotr Trochowski corner.

Milivoje Novakovic pulled one back for the hosts in the 83rd.

But it was not all good news for Hamburg, who saw defender Alex Silva hobble off after only two minutes following a tackle by Roda Antar.

In the only other match of the day Wolfsburg beat Hanover 2-1 to move up to sixth place.

Wolfsburg struck first with defender Cristian Zaccardo after a swift combination on the …

Schalke 04 recovered from their midweek UEFA Cup defeat by Twente Enschede to overcome Hertha Berlin 1-0 to climb to sixth in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Surprise packages Hoffenheim still lead the table with 34 points from 16 games despite a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich on Friday.

Bayern have the same points but are second on goal difference while Hertha’s defeat dropped them to fourth on 30 points.

Schalke were in desperate need of a win after losing five of their last six matches and with the management pledging changes during the winter break.

Gerald Asamoah struck the only goal in the 65th minute when he headed a deep Jefferson Farfan cross into an unguarded net after Hertha keeper Jaroslav Drobny failed to get his hands on the ball.

“There had to be a reaction from us after all the games without a point,” Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones told the club’s website (www.schalke04.de).

“It’s a start. Next week we have to be courageous when we play Hoffenheim. We have to stick together.”

Asamoah said: “This was an extremely important victory for us. We were well aware we had not played well the past few weeks.”

Visiting Hertha, who also …

German soccer’s long winter break will be cut by more than two weeks next season, the German Football Federation (DFB) said on Thursday.

German soccer traditionally grinds to a halt for a month-and-a half during the winter, among the longest breaks in the sport.

The DFB said the changes, agreed with the German soccer league (DFL), would benefit the national team as they attempted to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa which kicks off on June 11, 2010.

“The solution found by the DFB und DFL is absolutely positive for the World Cup preparations of the national squad,” DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach said.

The 2009-2010 Bundesliga season will start on Aug. 7 and end on May 8, with a break from December 18 to January 15.

This season’s break begins in mid-December and play resumes on January 30.

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