Luca Toni amd Miroslav Klose were both on the scoresheet as Bayern Munchen started their Bundesliga campaign with a solid 3-0 triumph over newly-promoted Hansa Rostock on Saturday.
The Italian, Toni, an €11 million summer signing from Fiorentina, opened his account on 14 minutes. Klose, a €12 million purchase from Werder Bremen, added a 2nd on 66 to settle home nerves. The former Kaiserslautern forward headed a 3rd with 5 minutes remaining to have completed the win.
In the day's other games, Werder Bremen were held to a 2-2 draw at VfL Bochum, Hamburger SV beat Hannover 96 1-0 at he Niedersachsenstadion, and Eintracht Frankfurt beat Hertha BSC 1-0 in front of 46,000 fans at the Waldstadion.
Felix Magath got off to a terrible start as Wolfsburg coach when his side slumped 3-1 at home to Arminia Bielefeld. Meanwhile, Energie Cottbus forced a scoreless draw at Bayer Leverkusen.
Champions Stuttgart drew 2-2 with last season's runners up Schalke 04 last night. In tomorrow's games, newly-promoted MSV Duisburg and Karlsruher SC take on Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Nurnberg, respectively.
31 July 2007
Luxembourg defender Jeff Strasser was elated to sign a 2 year deal with FC Metz, the French club where he started his career more than a decade ago.
The 32 year old was released after one season by RC Strasbourg, who finished 2nd in Ligue 2 behind his new club last term, however was quickly bought by Metz coach Francis De Taddeo.
"I feel like I did 12 years ago," mentioned Strasser, who started his career with Metz in 1993/94. "I am happy to be back."
Strasser, who has won 79 international caps, left the Lorraine club in summer 1999 and subsequently spent 3 years at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and 4 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he captained the side.
24 July 2007
Ivory Coast international Boubacar Sanogo has waved goodbye to Hamburg's boo boys by signing for rival German side Werder Bremen.
The 24 year old signed a 4 year contract at the Bundesliga club Tuesday.
Sanogo endured a torrid year at Hamburg, where he was booed by his own fans.
He was courted by both Bremen and Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart before he in the end signed for Werder in a deal thought to be worth US$ 5.5 million.
After agreeing terms Monday, Sanogo trained with his new club Tuesday and expects to play in the friendly against Paderborn the same night.
Sanogo was bought to replace Miroslav Klose, the top scorer at last year's World Cup, who was sold to Bayern Munich.
This is Sanogo's 3rd Bundesliga side having spent a year at both Kaiserslautern, where he scored 10 goals in 24 games, and Hamburg, 4 goals in 31 games, before signing for Bremen.
The move away from Hamburg will be a relief for Sanogo who suffered at the hands of his own fans for most of last season and admitted that the jeers damaged his confidence at the time.
05 July 2007
Norwegian UEFA Cup participants SK Brann have recruited Swedish forward Joakim Sjöhage from IF Elfsborg for a fee in the region of €300,000.
The 20 year old signed a contract with Brann until the end of the 2010 season after scoring 10 times in 57 league appearances for the Swedish champions.
"Moving here thinks right for me," mentioned Sjöhage. "Brann are playing for the title this year and also would like to do well in Europe."
Meanwhile, Brann have sold midfielder Helge Haugen to Tippeligaen rivals Tromsø IL for a nominal fee.
"I did not get enough playing time at Brann, so I needed a change," mentioned 25 year old Haugen, who played 88 league games in 6 campaigns with Brann.
He has also agreed a deal until the end of 2010 and will look to replace Patrice Bernier, who recently went to Germany's 1. FC Kaiserslautern on a free transfer.
Brann enter the UEFA Cup in the 1st qualifying round where they will face Welsh club Carmarthen Town AFC.
25 June 2007
Galatasaray SK unveiled 5 new transfers today, with €5 million FC Schalke 04 forward Lincoln set to follow tomorrow and the promise of more recruits to come as the Istanbul club look to build a team capable of challenging Fenerbahce SK after finishing 14 points adrift of the champions last season.
The 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Algeria defender Ismaël Bouzid, SC Rot-Weiss Essen duo Barış Özbek and Serkan Calık, Kayseri Erciyesspor goalie Orkun Usak and defender Servet Cetin from Sivasspor were the players to pen their contracts in front of the press this afternoon.
Bouzid said, "Competition for places is not a bad thing in a squad. There are a lot of good defensive players here and this is something which can push the team towards success."
Turkish international Servet, a former Fenerbahce player, added, "I came to Galatasaray to play. If I can play to my potential, I maybe here for lots of years."
Meanwhile, director of football Adnan Sezgin confirm the club had agreed terms with forward Gökhan Ünal and are confident of pushing through the deal inspite of Kayserispor's unwillingness to sell.
Antalyaspor left back Volkan Yaman is a certain arrival, though. "We'll have given them our 3rd-choice goalie Fevzi Elmas in exchange for his transfer which should be completed in the coming days," mentioned Sezgin.
Galatasaray, who have also signed Sweden captain Tobias Linderoth, will enter the UEFA Cup in the 2nd qualifying round.
22 June 2007
Brazilian midfielder Lincoln's drawn out move from Schalke to Galatasaray has in the end gone through.
The 28 year old put pen to paper on a 4 year contract in Istanbul Friday, leaving the Bundesliga after a 4 year spell.
In 3 seasons with Schalke after joining from Kaiserslautern, Lincoln played 83 games and scored 20 goals, playing an important position in the club finishing 2nd in 2005 and last season.
However, he struggled with indiscipline last season, missing the 1st 5 games after spitting at Stuttgart's Thomas Hitzlsperger in the pre season League Cup tournament.
He was later suspended for 5 weeks for punching Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Schneider.
Those incidents have convinced Royal Blues coach Mirko Slomka that, inspite of Lincoln's abilities, he should move on.
"These suspensions hit us hard," mentioned Slomka, who indirectly blamed the fleet-footed Brazilian for the fact they narrowly missed out on the Bundesliga title last season.
In his absence, the Gelsenkirchen side picked up only 7 of a probable 15 points, allowing Stuttgart to overtake them on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Now it will be Galatasaray who will aim to bring the best out of Lincoln.
And Schalke have wasted no time in replacing him either, confirming a deal for Swiss U21 international Ivan Rakitic from FC Basle Friday
18 June 2007
Galatasaray SK sign Algerian international defender Ismaël Bouzid from German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern as they continue to are preparing for Europe.
Having signed another foreign player last week, Swedish midfielder Tobias Linderoth, the club have revealed that they have brought in 4 times capped Bouzid as well with a statement on their official website saying that "details of the transfer will be explained later".
The 23 year old Bouzid was born in Nancy, France, and has played for FC Metz, 1. FC Union Berlin, Mouloudia Club d'Alger and Kaiserslautern.
Galatasaray finished 3rd in the Turkish Super Lig this season to book a place in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup.
