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German Bundesliga Roundup, Jan. 16


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Updated Jan 16, 2011 1:56 PM ET
Hannover rose to second place in the Bundesliga after winning 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Mohammed Abdellaoue gave the hosts the lead in the 15th minute, Christian Schulz made it 2-0 after 21 minutes before Didier Ya Konan finished off Frankfurt with his goal in the 89th.
Hannover's victory comes after neither Bayer Leverkusen nor Mainz could win to gain ground on Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund. Hannover has won six of its past seven games and has 34 points, 12 behind Dortmund. Frankfurt has lost four of its past six matches for 26 points in eighth place.

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"Many teams are not getting the points that they usually do, and that was the case yesterday as well," Hannover coach Mirko Slomka said. "Sure it feels good to be (second in the league). But we just have to continue to do what we are doing.
"Our biggest strength is winning the ball and then pushing forward quickly, and that worked again today."
Abdellaoue latched on to a long through ball by Sergio Pinto and beat goalkeeper Oka Nikolov to give Hannover the lead.
After both teams missed decent chances, Hannover doubled the lead when Schulz headed home Konstantin Rausch's corner.
Hannover nearly made it 3-0 after 53 minutes but Pinto struck the post.
After Frankfurt pushed forward looking to pull a goal back, Ya Konan hit home a cross from Lars Stindl.
In the late game, 10-man Kaiserlautern came back to draw 1-1 with Cologne at home to rise to 10th place with 22 points. Cologne has 16 points in 16th place.
Cologne was missing Youssef Mohamad, Kevin McKenna, Miso Brecko, Konstantinos Giannoulis and Mato Jajalo plus assistant coach Thomas Hassler after they were all infected with swine flu.
Cologne went ahead on one of the oddest goals of the season. Kaiserlautern defender Rodnei played a back pass to his 'keeper that glanced off the post, and Lukas Podolski blasted home the rebound in the 29th minute.
Cologne was unlucky to only lead 1-0 at the break after twice hitting the framework of the goal, and with Kaiserlautern striker Srdjan Lakic having been sent off after receiving a straight red card in the 39th minute.
Jan Moravek equalized for Kaiserslautern in the 51st minute, and the hosts nearly hit the front 10 minutes later but Florian Dick struck the crossbar.
 
Bayern Munich's Ribery out for two weeks


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Updated Jan 16, 2011 9:16 AM ET
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery will be out for two weeks after injuring his knee during the 1-1 draw against Wolfsburg on Saturday.

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An MRI Sunday morning confirmed a left knee strain.
Ribery was quoted on Bayern's website as saying that he is "happy and also relieved."
He will likely miss Bayern's next game Saturday at home against Kaiserslautern and the German Cup quarterfinal against Alemannia Aachen on Jan. 26.
Ribery, 27, left the Wolfsburg game in the first half after a challenge by Josue, who stepped on his left foot. Bayern officials had feared a more serious injury.
The France international had just returned to full fitness after a long layoff with an ankle injury.
 
West Ham fight to keep Martin O'Neill in their plans

• Irishman unimpressed by leaks about Grant 'sacking'
• Deal to take over until end of season still on table



  • Stuart James
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 January 2011 22.30 GMT <li class="history">Article history
    Martin-ONeill-West-Ham-007.jpg
    Martin O'Neill was said to be unimpressed by West Ham's handling of news about the managerial situation. Photograph: David Davies/PA West Ham United were tonight trying to keep alive their hopes of landing Martin O'Neill as their new manager after it emerged the Northern Irishman is understood to have been unimpressed with reports yesterday morning claiming he would be named as Avram Grant's successor later that evening.
    The West Ham board have been involved in discussions with O'Neill's representatives since the start of last week and he was warming to the idea of taking over at Upton Park on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
    A potential agreement has, however, been thrown into doubt after it was reported on the morning of the game against Arsenal, when Grant was tasked with taking charge of the team, that O'Neill would be appointed immediately after the match.
    O'Neill is believed to be disappointed with the way the story has been leaked and in particular the idea that he has accepted a position before the manager in post has been dismissed. There is an unwritten rule among managers that they should not pursue a job while someone else is still in place, and although it is fact of life that clubs will nearly always make soundings before sacking the man in charge, those discussions are generally kept private. West Ham's failure to do so has made the whole episode look undignified.
    It remains to be seen whether the damage is irreparable or if David Sullivan and David Gold, West Ham's co-owners, can talk O'Neill around and convince him to take over a club anchored to the foot of the table. The former Aston Villa manager has been their first choice to resurrect West Ham's season ever since they gave serious consideration to replacing Grant and it would be a blow if a deal fell through.
    Sam Allardyce, the former Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers manager, was the only other contender on West Ham's original short-list, but O'Neill, who has been out of work since he walked out on Villa on the eve of the season, would be a much more popular choice with the club's fans. He is a charismatic figure, is renowned for being an excellent motivator of players and has an impressive track record.
    Although there has been a feeling of surprise within football that O'Neill is interested in becoming the West Ham manager and is not targeting a higher-profile position, he is understood to be eager to return to the game after a five-month break. He has missed the day-to-day involvement and would welcome the chance to manage at a traditional club again and embrace the challenge of trying to keep West Ham up.
    Should O'Neill choose to take over at West Ham, his appointment would almost certainly be until the end of the season, with the aim of dragging the club clear of the relegation zone before reviewing his position in the summer. West Ham had been considering brokering a similar agreement with Allardyce after the club's owners decided to shelve talk of a long-term strategy and focus on the short-term priority that is survival.
    All the while Grant continues to resemble a dead man walking as he clings on to his job. "I prefer to talk about football rather than answer questions about other things around, especially when I am not the man you need to be asking," the Israeli said after the 3-0 defeat at home against Arsenal.
    "I had two choices and chose to focus on football. I want to focus on the thing I can control and this is the team."
 
Avram Grant's silence could be worth £5m in West Ham payoff battle

&#8226; Manager keeps his counsel after thrashing by Arsenal
&#8226; Learns from Zola's experience of boardroom provocation





  • Jamie Jackson at Upton Park
  • The Guardian, Monday 17 January 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Avram-Grant-West-ham-007.jpg
    Avram Grant has shrewdly avoided making any comment that could jeopardise compensation from West Ham. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Avram Grant's silence could be golden. While the West Ham United manager waits to be put out of his misery at Upton Park, his reluctance to name the senior club executives he claims have it in for him could ensure he gets his four-year contract paid up in full &#8211; thought to be worth at least £5m.
    Perhaps his refusal to speak out against the owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, or the vice&#8209;chairman, Karren Brady, derives from studying the fate of his immediate predecessor, Gianfranco Zola.
    Despite avoiding relegation the Italian was sacked at the close of last season for "breach of contract", the owners citing an apparently innocuous response from Zola to Sullivan's declaration that every player but Scott Parker was for sale. This followed a long and attritional campaign of public criticism of the team from Sullivan and Gold.
    Grant did not emerge for his usual chat after goals from Arsenal's Robin van Persie (twice) and Theo Walcott handed his side an 11th league defeat of a troubled season.
    The message was that the Israeli was reluctant to field yet more questions regarding his future, having woken on Saturday morning to media reports that claimed he would lose his job whatever the result at home against Arsène Wenger's team.
    Yet Grant might have decided to pass up the first chance to offer his views regarding his treatment by Sullivan, Gold and Brady. How long Grant remains piloting West Ham is moot as Martin O'Neill was last night locked in talks about whether to succeed him. The former Aston Villa manager was first sounded out by a West Ham executive last week.
    The sack is apparently inevitable for Grant and it could be a shrewd move to keep his own counsel to avoid giving any reason why he should not receive every penny he is due.
    The 55-year-old former Chelsea, Portsmouth, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Israel head coach did not accrue nearly four decades' experience in an often treacherous industry without learning a few lessons.
    Zola's tenure as manager ended when, despite retaining West Ham's Premier League status, Gold and Sullivan marched him out in May, framing his removal as a disciplinary matter.
    Following a 3-1 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in late March, Sullivan had published an open letter on the club's website that described the side as "shambolic", among other things. An exasperated Zola responded to this by asking: "What the hell is going on? Jesus Christ."
    When in late April Sullivan declared the fire sale of virtually all the club's players, Zola's reply was: "If I was Mark Noble or Robert Green or Valon Behrami, I wouldn't be very pleased to hear that I was for sale. What can I say to that?"
    That prompted his dismissal by Sullivan and Gold in hope that they might avoid paying Zola £1.9m in compensation. The case was settled in June and it is understood that Zola, with the backing of the League Managers Association, received all he was demanding.
    "I prefer to talk about football rather than answer questions about other things around, especially when I am not the man you need to be asking," Grant said on Saturday.
    "I had two choices and chose to focus on the football. Rumours on the day of a game do not help. It does not matter where the rumours came from. I still want to focus on the thing I can control and this is the team.
    "[Around] other teams there is a lot of quiet, so that has helped [them] but I think we have dealt with it all very well. If we do the right thing, there will be a bright future here and not just in the cup."
    West Ham take a 2-1 lead into the Carling Cup semi-final with Birmingham City next week. The chances of Grant being in charge appear remote. But, if O'Neill declines the job and Sullivan, Gold and Brady continue their reluctance to sack Grant, this impasse could run and run.
 
Avram Grant's silence could be worth £5m in West Ham payoff battle

• Manager keeps his counsel after thrashing by Arsenal
• Learns from Zola's experience of boardroom provocation





  • Jamie Jackson at Upton Park
  • The Guardian, Monday 17 January 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Avram-Grant-West-ham-007.jpg
    Avram Grant has shrewdly avoided making any comment that could jeopardise compensation from West Ham. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Avram Grant's silence could be golden. While the West Ham United manager waits to be put out of his misery at Upton Park, his reluctance to name the senior club executives he claims have it in for him could ensure he gets his four-year contract paid up in full – thought to be worth at least £5m.
    Perhaps his refusal to speak out against the owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, or the vice&#8209;chairman, Karren Brady, derives from studying the fate of his immediate predecessor, Gianfranco Zola.
    Despite avoiding relegation the Italian was sacked at the close of last season for "breach of contract", the owners citing an apparently innocuous response from Zola to Sullivan's declaration that every player but Scott Parker was for sale. This followed a long and attritional campaign of public criticism of the team from Sullivan and Gold.
    Grant did not emerge for his usual chat after goals from Arsenal's Robin van Persie (twice) and Theo Walcott handed his side an 11th league defeat of a troubled season.
    The message was that the Israeli was reluctant to field yet more questions regarding his future, having woken on Saturday morning to media reports that claimed he would lose his job whatever the result at home against Arsène Wenger's team.
    Yet Grant might have decided to pass up the first chance to offer his views regarding his treatment by Sullivan, Gold and Brady. How long Grant remains piloting West Ham is moot as Martin O'Neill was last night locked in talks about whether to succeed him. The former Aston Villa manager was first sounded out by a West Ham executive last week.
    The sack is apparently inevitable for Grant and it could be a shrewd move to keep his own counsel to avoid giving any reason why he should not receive every penny he is due.
    The 55-year-old former Chelsea, Portsmouth, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Israel head coach did not accrue nearly four decades' experience in an often treacherous industry without learning a few lessons.
    Zola's tenure as manager ended when, despite retaining West Ham's Premier League status, Gold and Sullivan marched him out in May, framing his removal as a disciplinary matter.
    Following a 3-1 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in late March, Sullivan had published an open letter on the club's website that described the side as "shambolic", among other things. An exasperated Zola responded to this by asking: "What the hell is going on? Jesus Christ."
    When in late April Sullivan declared the fire sale of virtually all the club's players, Zola's reply was: "If I was Mark Noble or Robert Green or Valon Behrami, I wouldn't be very pleased to hear that I was for sale. What can I say to that?"
    That prompted his dismissal by Sullivan and Gold in hope that they might avoid paying Zola £1.9m in compensation. The case was settled in June and it is understood that Zola, with the backing of the League Managers Association, received all he was demanding.
    "I prefer to talk about football rather than answer questions about other things around, especially when I am not the man you need to be asking," Grant said on Saturday.
    "I had two choices and chose to focus on the football. Rumours on the day of a game do not help. It does not matter where the rumours came from. I still want to focus on the thing I can control and this is the team.
    "[Around] other teams there is a lot of quiet, so that has helped [them] but I think we have dealt with it all very well. If we do the right thing, there will be a bright future here and not just in the cup."
    West Ham take a 2-1 lead into the Carling Cup semi-final with Birmingham City next week. The chances of Grant being in charge appear remote. But, if O'Neill declines the job and Sullivan, Gold and Brady continue their reluctance to sack Grant, this impasse could run and run.
 

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United

Rafael da Silva's red card was 'harsh', says Spurs' Harry Redknapp

&#8226; Tottenham's manager describes defender's trip as an accident
&#8226; 'It was like Mary Decker and Zola Budd at the Olympics'



  • David Hytner at White Hart Lane
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 January 2011 21.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history
    Rafael-da-Silva-Tottenham-007.jpg
    Mike Dean prepares to show Manchester United's Rafael da Silva the red card at Tottenham. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images Sir Alex Ferguson fumed at the referee Mike Dean for his decision to send off Rafael da Silva for a second bookable offence but the Manchester United manager could be cheered by his team's resilience in the 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, which carried them back to the top of the table.
    It was a day of four draws in the Premier League and perhaps the biggest controversy was Rafael's dismissal for a 74th&#8209;minute clip on Benoît Assou&#8209;Ekotto. Even Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, described the card as "harsh".
    "It was Mary Decker and Zola Budd," Redknapp said, referring to the infamous coming together of the 3,000m finalists at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "He was just running and he has clipped Benoît's heels. He has not broken his stride and stuck a leg out, saying 'I'll trip him'. He was trying to get out of the way."
    Rafael kicked a microphone at the side of the pitch but is unlikely to face further punishment unless Dean reports the incident. Ferguson has clashed with Dean in the past, most recently after his team's 2-1 defeat at home by Chelsea last April, while in November 2008 he was fined £10,000 and given a two-game touchline ban for his reaction to the referee's performance in United's 4-3 home win over Hull City. Ferguson was careful about what he said this time but his unhappiness was clear. "I don't need to discuss it. You can see it for yourself. I don't have to discuss the referee. It's out of my bounds now, thank God."
    United remain unbeaten and have two games in hand on their neighbours Manchester City, with whom they are level on points. "It could be a real thrilling end to the season," Ferguson said. "We have to win our games in hand. We go to Chelsea on 1 March, which will be a massive game. This was a decent point for us. Our defenders were particularly good." Redknapp said his team were the "outsiders of the five" contenders for the title. "But we are still there. This makes me realise we are not a million miles behind these other teams."
 

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United

Rafael da Silva's red card was 'harsh', says Spurs' Harry Redknapp

• Tottenham's manager describes defender's trip as an accident
• 'It was like Mary Decker and Zola Budd at the Olympics'



  • David Hytner at White Hart Lane
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 January 2011 21.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history
    Rafael-da-Silva-Tottenham-007.jpg
    Mike Dean prepares to show Manchester United's Rafael da Silva the red card at Tottenham. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images Sir Alex Ferguson fumed at the referee Mike Dean for his decision to send off Rafael da Silva for a second bookable offence but the Manchester United manager could be cheered by his team's resilience in the 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, which carried them back to the top of the table.
    It was a day of four draws in the Premier League and perhaps the biggest controversy was Rafael's dismissal for a 74th&#8209;minute clip on Benoît Assou&#8209;Ekotto. Even Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, described the card as "harsh".
    "It was Mary Decker and Zola Budd," Redknapp said, referring to the infamous coming together of the 3,000m finalists at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "He was just running and he has clipped Benoît's heels. He has not broken his stride and stuck a leg out, saying 'I'll trip him'. He was trying to get out of the way."
    Rafael kicked a microphone at the side of the pitch but is unlikely to face further punishment unless Dean reports the incident. Ferguson has clashed with Dean in the past, most recently after his team's 2-1 defeat at home by Chelsea last April, while in November 2008 he was fined £10,000 and given a two-game touchline ban for his reaction to the referee's performance in United's 4-3 home win over Hull City. Ferguson was careful about what he said this time but his unhappiness was clear. "I don't need to discuss it. You can see it for yourself. I don't have to discuss the referee. It's out of my bounds now, thank God."
    United remain unbeaten and have two games in hand on their neighbours Manchester City, with whom they are level on points. "It could be a real thrilling end to the season," Ferguson said. "We have to win our games in hand. We go to Chelsea on 1 March, which will be a massive game. This was a decent point for us. Our defenders were particularly good." Redknapp said his team were the "outsiders of the five" contenders for the title. "But we are still there. This makes me realise we are not a million miles behind these other teams."
 
Manchester United are crying out for a player like Spurs' Luka Modric

The elusive little Croatian showed the artful touches and nimble footwork that Sir Alex Ferguson's side are lacking


  • Luka-Modric--Nani-Tottenh-007.jpg
    Even in a cramped midfield against Manchester United the quality of Luka Modric shone through. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Manchester Utd via Getty Images Sir Alex Ferguson always wanted to know one thing from Harry Redknapp when his old friend was in charge at West Ham United. "How's Joe?" the Manchester United manager would ask. As in Joe Cole, who, at the time, was the hottest young talent in English football. Ferguson was not the only one to inquire about Cole and Redknapp used to enjoy throwing a protective arm around the prodigy.
    It is not difficult to imagine what Ferguson asks Redknapp about these days. He went on record before this visit to Tottenham Hotspur to admit that Gareth Bale was the one that had got away from him. Ferguson made what he described as a "good offer" to Southampton four years ago only to be rebuffed. Tottenham's capture of the Welsh flier looks a sounder investment with each passing week.
    Yet Bale is not the only Tottenham player who Ferguson might close his eyes and imagine in a red shirt. Luka Modric looked every inch the United player here, from the sureness of his touch to the way that he sought to impose his class upon proceedings. Redknapp's pre-match comment reverberated. "We have a few players here that Alex would love to have in his team," he said.
    In a helter-skelter first half, Modric produced a fistful of moments that cut through the tumult to advertise his quality. There was nothing better than the sharpness of his turn in the ninth minute, his low centre of gravity seeming to give him magnetic properties, and the subsequent ball out to Alan Hutton, whose cross might have been tucked away by Peter Crouch. The home crowd chorused Modric's name.
    Although this was not a game for the creative talents &#8211; witness Wayne Rooney's perspiration, rather than inspiration &#8211; Modric consistently demanded the ball. The intelligence of his darting runs and the smoothness of his technique were so easy on the eye and he did not need Wilson Palacios, all heavy touches and misplaced passes alongside him, to look good.
    The Croat can make opponents seem foolish with a drop of his shoulder. Darren Fletcher might attest to that after Modric left him trailing along the byline following a short corner routine, yet he is no mere jinking trickster. Despite his small frame he has plenty of strength and is not easily knocked off the ball. His intuitive grasp of the angles of a game and where to position his body ensures he rarely loses possession.
    Modric has settled into the role of the deep-lying playmaker since Rafael van der Vaart's arrival at Spurs and the position feels tailor-made for his vision, the clever weight of his pass and his ability to set the tempo. As Tottenham stepped on to the front foot in the second half, particularly after Rafael da Silva's sending-off, it was Modric who waved the baton. He did not neglect his defensive duties, though, as one timely interception from a Rooney cross on 67 minutes showed.
    United's supporters have wondered this season whether there is sufficient creativity in the centre of their midfield and Ferguson would surely relish the opportunity to work with Modric. There was interest expressed from Old Trafford at the end of last season but, happily for Tottenham, Modric, who signed a new six&#8209;year contract in the summer, feels a debt of loyalty to them.
    He is grateful that they took such an expensive chance on a player from the Croatian league and, with Chelsea having also shot covetous glances at him, has simply put his head down and channelled all of his energies into repaying Tottenham. This was the latest instalment. Nemanja Vidic might have had an argument and, frankly, nobody would choose to argue with the United captain, a totem in central defence, but Modric deserved the man-of-the-match champagne.
    Tottenham had entered the game full of confidence that they could end a winless streak against United that had stretched 10 years and 23 matches in all competitions. Certainly, they fear nobody on their own turf. But United kept them largely at arm's length &#8211; it was hard to recall Edwin van der Sar making a save &#8211; and, after a pulsating start, the game gradually took on the characteristics of a stalemate.
    Tottenham remain in fifth and their grand statement of intent did not materialise. They had to content themselves with an individual one from the little man with the No14 on his back.
 
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