The Supervisory Committee of the Deutsche Fußball-Bund (DFB) has opened an investigation against two 1899 Hoffenheim players following a petition by the DFB Anti-Doping Agency. Andreas Ibertsberger and Christoph Janker had failed to comply with standard operating proceedures at an unannounced doping test. The incident occured following the Bundesliga game between 1899 Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach on February 7, 2009. The game had ended in a 1:1 tie.

After having been drawn by lot, both players violated regulations stipulated in § 7,1 of the DFB Anti-Doping guidelines, by not immediately proceeding to the location of the doping test following the game’s final whistle. Instead, Ibertsberger and Janker participated in a team meeting and showed up for the monitoring with a ten-minute delay. The DFB supervisory committee will now have to determine whether to instigate a legal process against the two players. Both players are under the suspicion to have violated $ 9,1 of the DFB Anti-Doping guidelines in concurrence with §8,3a of the DFB Legal Code of Procedure and Article 2.3 of the WADA-Code.

1899 Hoffenheim had received written confirmation of the investigation on February 20. Both players had tested negative in Mönchengladbach.

Borussia Mönchengladbach had been notified on February …

Hamburg SV climbed to the top of the Bundesliga on Sunday after defender Marcell Jansen scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen.

Hamburg, on 42 points, moved two clear of second-placed Hoffenheim who drew 3-3 at Stuttgart on Saturday.

Hertha Berlin, also on 40, are third with an inferior goal difference after their 2-1 defeat at Wolfsburg. Leverkusen stay fifth on 36 points, two points behind champions Bayern Munich.

Hamburg were a constant source of danger up front but their defence showed again signs of inconsistency, a point not lost with their coach Martin Jol.

“We have the same problems as Leverkusen and we do not have a perfect team yet,” Jol told reporters.

The visitors grabbed the lead against the run of play after 18 minutes when Jansen bagged his first with a powerful left-footer from the edge of the box.

Hamburg captain David Jarolim came agonisingly close to doubling the lead four minutes later but his shot from 16 metres shaved the post.

Leverkusen’s in-form striker Patrick Helmes quickly restored order 11 minutes later when he scored, turning and firing a low cross from Manuel Friedrich past keeper Frank Rost for his 16th league goal …

Hamburg SV moved up to third place in the Bundesliga on Sunday after beating lowly Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 with a goal in each half.

Bielefeld keeper Dennis Eilhoff completely misjudged Piotr Trochowski’s free kick and palmed the ball into his own goal for the 32nd minute opener while Peruvian Paolo Guerrero bagged the second with a well-struck left-foot effort in the 60th.

Bielefeld squandered a chance to level in the 55th when Artur Wichniarek had a penalty saved.

Hertha Berlin beat champions Bayern Munich 2-1 on Saturday to return to the top of the table for the first time in more than two years.

Hertha have 40 points, one clear of Hoffenheim who are ahead of Hamburg on goal difference and who lost 4-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. Champions Bayern Munich are fourth on 38 points.

Bielefeld were left only a point above the relegation zone in 14th place.

“We were dominant throughout the game but were lucky with our first goal and the saved penalty,” said Hamburg coach Martin Jol. “I am happy to be in touch within striking distance of the top of the table and not having squandered any more points.”

Hamburg, without banned …

A well-organised Norway took advantage of some diabolical defending to beat Germany 1-0 in Dusseldorf tonight.

Christian Grindheim’s goal in the 63rd minute earned Egil Olsen’s side a deserved victory against a lacklustre Germany, who followed up their defeat to England in Berlin late last year with a second straight loss on home soil.

The victory will have boosted Olsen’s hopes of keeping the Norway job on a permanent basis.

Germany coach Joachim Low left the major experimentation for the second half, picking the experienced Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings in the centre of his midfield with first-choice strikers Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose also starting.

And they both combined for the first chance of the game in the 11th minute with Gomez going close to opening the scoring.

In fact, the Stuttgart striker, who was on target twice for his club in the Bundesliga last weekend, probably should have done better when he was found unmarked at the far post by Klose, but he volleyed the ball back across the face of goal.

Norway packed 11 men behind the ball and waited for their chances on the break.
With the Germany defence failing to convince for the whole 90 …

Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer labelled his club’s star striker Luca Toni “selfish” after he failed to score in his side’s 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

The Italy international missed several chances and was hauled off by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who sprung to his defence, claiming a striker “always looks for goal when you have a 50/50 chance”.

He added: “It is only normal for a striker to be a touch selfish.”

But Beckenbauer was still unhappy with the number nine.

“Toni only sees himself, the ball and the goal” he said on Premiere television. “That is selfishness which is typical of an Italian striker.”

Toni left the field in the 72nd minute to be replaced by Landon Donovan and looked far from happy to be removed early.

However, Klinsmann said that was the reaction he expected and wanted from the Italy international.

“I am completely fine about Toni’s annoyance,” he said. “It is fine for him to be angry. He is sure of his place in the team and we don’t want any discussions about Luca.”…

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is refusing to commit himself to the club beyond the end of this season but insists he is happy at the Bundesliga club.

The France international has a deal till 2011 but could be a transfer target for many next summer, after recently admitting he did not know whether he would complete his contracted stay.

“There are lots of clubs in Europe who I dream of (playing for),” Ribery told Munich’s Tz newspaper. “Nobody knows what will happen next season. It is far too early to talk about it.

“At the moment, I am not even considering a transfer. I feel very happy in Munich – the people love me, and I love the fans.

“There is a great atmosphere in the team, and everything is fantastic.”

Despite suggestions of interest from Real Madrid, Bayern’s general manager Uli Hoeness recently said the 25-year-old is not for sale at any price.

But Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer knows it may be hard to keep hold of Ribery if a serious offer did arrive.

“Clubs cannot hold on to players against their will,” he told Premiere television. “In the end, the player always wins if there is a …

Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf admits his side’s hopes of Champions League qualification are over after they lost 1-0 to Schalke on Saturday.

That loss followed an embarrassing 2-1 home upset to Arminia Bielefeld in their first game back after the winter break and has led to calls for Schaaf’s 10-year reign as Bremen coach to come to an end.

They lie 10th in the Bundesliga table, 10 points adrift of third-placed Hamburg.

“It is obvious and I don’t have to be a genius to realise we have said goodbye to the top positions,” he said.

“Now we have to try to see that we turn the corner and that we get more out of games like this.

“You have got to say that there was more in today’s game for us.”

Indeed, the performance could be what saves Schaaf’s job – for the time being at least – as his side were unfortunate to come away from the Arena AufSchalke without at least a point.

Bremen were largely the better side but luck was again not on their side, according to general manager Klaus Allofs – the man to decide Schaaf’s future.

He said: “We were at least as …

Germany coach Joachim Low has awarded first international call-ups to Mesut Ozil and Andreas Beck while Robert Enke and Lukas Podolski have been left out of the 21-man squad to face Norway in a friendly next Wednesday.

Ozil has recently committed himself to the Germany national team despite advances from Turkey, who he would also be eligible to represent.

Should he earn his first cap next Wednesday, he would officially only be able to represent Germany in future and Low is ready to hand him that after a chat last Friday.

“The Turkish Football Association have been trying hard to get him recently and we decided to sit back for a while until he decided whether he wanted to play for the Germany national team,” said Low. “In a telephone conversation last Friday, he told me that he wants to play for our team in future.

“That made it only obvious that we would nominate him in the squad for the Norway game.”

Werder Bremen midfielder Ozil was born in Germany and is the third generation of a Turkish family that settled in the country.

He said it had been difficult “because my family and many of my friends come …