Image: The Sun

Werder Bremen sporting director Klaus Allofs claims he is closing in on the signing of Claudio Pizarro from Chelsea.

Pizarro, 30, spent last season on loan at the Bundesliga club and scored 28 goals in all competitions.

He has since returned to the Blues, where he has vowed to take his chance to break into Carlo Ancelotti’s team, but Bremen remain confident they can lure him back to the Bundesliga – this time on a permanent deal.

“We are deep in talks with them [Chelsea] and we hope to be successful before August 13,” said Allofs on DSF television.

“And just to bring an end to all the rumours, if we do sign him then we would be buying him and I think that is also what Chelsea want.”

Bremen striker Boubacar Sanogo will be hoping the deal goes through soon as he prepares to move to St Etienne.

The Ivory Coast striker has attracted the interest of the French club, but Allofs has told him he is going nowhere while the personnel situation remains tight.

“We only have three strikers so we cannot let him go,” he said.

[Soccernet]…

Click here to watch the highlights from Germany’s 2-0 win at Azerbaijan on Wednesday.…

Image: Bundesliga.de

Manchester United are reportedly keeping tabs on Schalke stopper Manuel Neuer, with a view to wrapping up a £5m deal before Bayern Munich increase their bid.

Bayern have long been linked with Neuer who is one of the stand-out young goalkeepers in world football and was hugely impressive in the Under-21 European Championship earlier this summer, but Fergie is also keen to bring in the “new Peter Schmeichel.”

The 23-year-old has come through the ranks at Schalke where he made his debut during the 2006-2007 season and, despite some high-profile mistakes, has sealed his first-team place at the German side over the past three years.

New Schalke boss Felix Magath has admitted that he is aware of mounting interest in the young shot-stopper, although would not talk about any potential transfer.

“I have heard Manchester United would be interested in signing Manuel Neuer,” he told Die Welt.

“But for as long as I don’t receive a concrete approach, I will not make any statement about this.”

[ESPN]…

Germany’s Under 21 has celebrated their first win under new coach Rainer Adrion and finished third at the Lobanovskiy Memorial in Ukraine. In Borodjanka it was Änis Ben-Hatira of Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, who scored the decisive goal three minutes from time to secure the 1-0 win against Iran.

After losing the semifinal in Adrion’s debut against Turkey (1-3) one day earlier, the DFB coach fielded a completely different German side, including debutants Sven Ulreich and Roman Neustädter.

After controlling the match for most of the first half, Turkish referee Tolga showed the Red Card to goalkeeper Ulreich after 44 minutes for a professional foul, conceding a penalty to the Iranians thereafter. But Mohamad sent the ball over the crossbar.

[DFB.de]…

Germany took a decisive step nearer the 2010 World Cup finals with a 2-0 win in Azerbaijan to open up a four-point gap at the top of European qualifying group four.

Goals early in each half from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose sealed victory for Joachim Loew’s side, who have played a game more than closest rivals Russia.

Germany’s trip to face Russia in Moscow on October 10 is likely to decide who tops the group, but Wednesday’s win gives the Germans breathing space as they retained their unbeaten record in qualifying.

Loew was able to call on the services of captain Michael Ballack, who had been an injury doubt, and his team took just 12 minutes to get on the scoresheet.

Bayern Munich star Schweinsteiger picked up the ball just outside the penalty area and blasted home a long-range shot.

Minnows Azerbaijan could create little threat and Germany doubled their lead just after the break when Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez smashed a shot at the Azerbaijan goalkeeper Farhad Veliyev and Klose headed the rebound into the empty net.

It made up for his first-half miss when the Bayern Munich stalwart drove his header over the bar with an …

VfL Bochum gained a precious point on Sunday, when the came back from three goals behind to draw 3-3 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Schalke 04 started into the season with a 2-1 victory at 1. FC Nürnberg, while DFB Cup winners Werder Bremen fell 2-3 to Eintracht Frankfurt. 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern München drew 1-1 later on Saturday in the evening match. The new Bundesliga opened on Friday with Champion VfL Wolfsburg beating VfB Stuttgart 2-0.

The fixtures of Round 1

The match on Friday (8.30 pm)

VfL Wolfsburg – VfB Stuttgart 2-0 (0-0)

The matches on Saturday (3.30/6.30 pm)

Borussia Dortmund – 1. FC Köln 1-0 (0-0)
1. FC Nürnberg – Schalke 04 1-2 (0-1)
Werder Bremen – Eintracht Frankfurt 2-3 (2-2)
Hertha BSC Berlin – Hannover 96 1-0 (0-0)
FSV Mainz 05 – Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 (1-2)
1899 Hoffenheim – Bayern München 1-1 (1-1)

The matches on Sunday (3.30/5.30 pm)

VfL Bochum – Bor. Mönchengladbach 3-3 (0-3)
SC Freiburg – Hamburger SV 1-1 (0-1)

[DFB.de]…

Germany completed their preparations for the European Championship in Finnland with a friendly win against fellow finalists Russia in Bochum. In front of 13,303 spectators, Germany took until the 52nd minute to break the deadlock through Kerstin Garefrekes only for Olesya Kurochkina to immediately equalise. But a Ksenia Tsybutovich own goal restored Germany’s advantage and substitute Martina Müller struck in added time as Silvia Neid’s side prepare to travel to Finland with the aim of winning a fifth straight European title.

DFB-coach Silvia Neid said: “It took us time today to get into the game against a Russian side strong in the tackle. We forgot how to finish in the first half, but the performance got better in the second, when we put more and more pressure on our opponents and created more chances.”

Neid did not make an half-time changes and her side were soon in front, Birgit Prinz’s cross flicked on by Inka Grings to Garefrekes, who made no mistake in front of goal. Russia had an immediate answer through Kurochkina from inside the box. Ten minutes later it was 2-1 when Bresonik’s free-kick was headed into her own net by Tsybutovich under pressure from Grings, and although …

Fans of FC Schalke 04, which represents western Germany’s Ruhr Valley in the country’s top league, the Budesliga, can continue to support their team with a round of “Blue and White, how I love you”.

The Gelsenkirchen club, which plays in Germany’s top league, the Bundesliga, has confirmed yesterday they had no intention of outlawing fans from singing ther traditional song after Islamic scholar Bülent Ucar, who the club asked to study the lyrics, judged it was not offensive.

The third verse contains the line:

Mohammed war ein Prophet, der vom Fussballspielen nichts versteht/ Doch aus all der schoenen Farbenpracht hat er sich das Blau und Weisse ausgedacht.

(Muhammad was a prophet who understood nothing about football/ But of all the lovely colours he chose [Schalke's] blue and white.)

Since a reference to the ode to team’s colours was carried in Turkish media, the team has received hundreds of complaints from Muslims.

Aiman Mazyek, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Muslims, said his group would not call for a ban on the song but would like “an explanation of its background”. He acknowledged that the line could anger some and noted that the area represented by the team had …