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Van Nistelrooy needs time: Hamburg coach

Hamburg’s new star signing Ruud van Nistelrooy needs more time to get fit before making his Bundesliga debut, his coach Bruno Labbadia said on Wednesday.

Having spent most of the season on the bench at Real Madrid before signing for Hamburg 10 days ago, the 33-year-old Dutch hot-shot striker is only 60 percent fit, according to Labbadia.

And it looks as though the striker will sit out Hamburg’s Bundesliga game at Cologne on Saturday and needs plenty of fitness work after knee surgery in November 2008 and having played just 127 minutes of football for Real this season.

“We would never put someone under a pressure of time to say when they will be fit,” Labbadia told SID, a subsidiary of AFP, with his side fifth in the German league table.

“Ruud is still working his way back to fitness and it is only 60 percent.

“Whether or not he is in the squad, we will decide at the end of the week.”

Labbadia says the Dutchman needs “a few more weeks” to return to top fitness.

“We don’t want to rush him back too early and risk him getting injured,” said Labbadia.

A calf injury meant van Nistelrooy only trained with the squad for the first time on Tuesday.

“He has not played for the best part of a year, it is a different story if a player has just been out for a few weeks.”

Van Nistelrooy has signed a contract until June 2011 and Hamburg are reported to have spent four million euros on him.

He has already been crowned the best striker in Holland, having scored 62 goals for Eindhoven between 1998 and 2001, England, having scored 95 goals for Manchester United between 2001-06 and Spain, having netted 46 goals for Real between 2006 and 2010.

Having retired after Holland were knocked out of Euro 2008 by Russia in the quarter-finals, van Nistelrooy has said he would like to play for the Netherlands again at this summer’s World Cup.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: berlin, bruno labbadia, Bundesliga, calf injury, cologne, different story, dutchman, Eindhoven, England, euro 2008, fitness work, german league, Hamburg, Holland, knee surgery, MADRID, manchester united, new star, quarter finals, real madrid, russia, ruud van nistelrooy, SID, Spain, striker, the Netherlands, top fitness, Van Nistelrooy

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Heynckes turning talented Leverkusen into title contenders

The qualities of the young Leverkusen team were already evident last season. Under Bruno Labbadia, they were exciting to watch for the first half of the campaign but crumbled after the winter break to end up in ninth.

New boss Jupp Heynckes seems to be succeeding where Labbadia failed.

Undefeated and boasting the league’s best attack and defence, they have every right to dream of the Bundesliga title that has eluded them for so long.

Heynckes’ experience and his winning pedigree, including the Champions League with Real Madrid, has helped instil the mental steel needed to turn a losing position around.

His insistence on tall strikers has paid off with interest. After taking over he quickly benched in-form Greece international Fanis Gekas, a former Bundesliga top scorer, and put his faith in the attacking partnership of Stefan Kiessling and Swiss Eren Derdiyok.

Both tall and strong, they are a world apart from Gekas and already have a combined goal tally of 21.

Leverkusen have also shrugged off the absence of striker Patrick Helmes, injured since the start of the season, and captain Simon Rolfes, sidelined by yet another knee injury.

Heynckes was the first coach to give Toni Kroos, arguably the most gifted German player of his generation, enough time on the pitch to shine.

The 20-year-old playmaker, on loan from Bayern Munich where he was warming the bench, has been eye-popping this season, scoring eight goals and setting up seven, and is on a fast track for a spot in Germany’s World Cup squad.

Heynckes brought in defender Sami Hyypia from Liverpool to cement his backline and allow his team’s fast-paced and creative play to flow. The experienced Finn has locked down the Leverkusen defence with raw power and determination and has netted two goals and set up another two.

With the expected return to fitness of Renato August and Helmes, and the addition of Rolfes toward the end of the season in time for what looks like the title crunch match against Bayern in April, Leverkusen may finally shake off their painful “Neverkusen” tag.

PHOTO: Bayer Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes reacts during the Bundesliga match at home to Freiburg, Jan. 31. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender.

Tags: attack and defence, backline, Bayern, bayern munich, bruno labbadia, captain Simon Rolfes, creative play, fanis gekas, finn, german player, goal tally, greece, hyypia, Ina Fassbender, jupp heynckes, Liverpool, MADRID, new boss, patrick helmes, playmaker, real madrid, Renato August, sami hyypia, simon rolfes, stefan kiessling, toni kroos, top scorer, winter break, world cup squad

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Ze Roberto apologises to HSV

Ze Roberto has offered his apologies to his club Hamburger SV. The 35-year-old, who is in his homeland Brazil, surprised coach Bruno Labbadia and his team-mates by not reporting for training as planned last Sunday.

“I am sorry that I did not come to the training camp and to have informed HSV so late about my reasons,” Ze Roberto said on the club’s official website.

“I have a serious family problem which I can only resolve by being in Brazil.

“I hope to be back in Hamburg as soon as possible and will remain in contact with those in charge,” added the former Bayern Munich midfielder.

“I would like to ask people not to doubt the reliability I have always shown during my career.”

Ze Roberto is still recovering from an ankle surgery. “My foot is getting better,” the Brazilian midfield ace said.

“I now have to rebuild the calf muscles which I lost by wearing a plaster cast.”

Tags: Ace, ankle surgery, apologies, apologises, Bayern, bayern munich, brazil, bruno labbadia, calf muscles, coach, Hamburg, hamburger sv, last sunday, midfield, plaster cast, reliability, Roberto, team mates, training camp, ze roberto

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Buoyant Bayern hunt victory at emotional Hanover

Bayern Munich striker Ivica Olic warned the German giants will use their midweek Champions League success to boost their flagging confidence in a highly-emotional Bundesliga game at Hanover on Sunday.

Despite their 1-0 win over Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday in Europe, Bayern are seventh in the Bundesliga table and six points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen who host struggling Stuttgart on Sunday.

But Bayern’s game promises to be an emotional afternoon at Hanover in the home side’s first match since captain and goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide on November 10.

More than 35,000 mourning fans attended the memorial service for the national team’s goalkeeper at Hanover’s stadium two weeks ago and this will be the first Bundesliga game played there since.

Munich coach Louis van Gaal has been given the ultimatum he must win all four remaining league games – starting with Hanover – to safe guard his job after drawing his last three league games.

Bayern’s last league victory came more than a month ago against Eintracht Frankfurt, but having recovered from a calf injury, Bayern forward Olic is ready to strike against Hanover.

“We deserved our victory against Haifa and now I hope we can go on and win all our matches before Christmas – starting with Hanover,” said Olic who scored the winner on Wednesday.

“I was out for seven weeks and I played my first game with only a single training session with the team.

“My legs hurt now and I am tired, but I hope I can recover enough in the next few days before the Hanover match so I can be 100 percent again.”

It has been a testing week for Bayern whose Italian want-away striker Luca Toni has been told by van Gaal he can leave in January’s transfer window.

Toni earned himself a 25,000 euros fine on Wednesday for telling the Italian media his relationship with van Gaal “is as good as over” following just four league appearances this season and he has been thrown out of the squad.

Undefeated Leverkusen are home to Stuttgart, who are three from the bottom of the Bundesliga, with their last league win coming almost two months ago despite beating Glasgow Rangers last week to keep their Champions League dream alive.

Second-placed Werder Bremen are at home to defending champions VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday with Thomas Schaaf’s side having been beaten just once so far this season.

Wolfsburg, who are eighth in the Bundesliga, are still in contention for the knock-out stages of the Champions League despite being beaten 2-1 by CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.

Third-placed Schalke, unbeaten in their last eight league games, are now serious title contenders as they are just two points behind Leverkusen and will be hoping for three more points against midtable Moenchengladbach.

Mainz, who have climbed their way up to sixth in the table, are home to fifth-placed Hamburg on Saturday who had some bad news when Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto was ruled out for the rest of the year.

The 35-year-old had surgery on Thursday for damaged ankle ligaments.

The news is bad news for Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia who has strikers Paolo Guerrero and Mladen Petric, winger Romeo Castelen, defenders Collin Benjamin, Alex Silva und Bastian Reinhardt all out with long-term injuries.

Saturday

Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt

Hoffenheim v Borussia Dortmund

Werder Bremen v VfL Wolfsburg

Mainz 05 v Hamburg

Nuremberg v Freiburg

Borussia M’gladbach v Schalke 04

Sunday

Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart

Hanover 96 v Bayern Munich

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: Alex Silva, bayer leverkusen, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Bremen, bruno labbadia, calf injury, Collin Benjamin, committed suicide, eintracht frankfurt, first game, FRANKFURT, Goalkeeper, haifa, Hamburg, Hanover, italian media, league leaders, league victory, louis van gaal, Moscow, Munich, Paolo Guerrero, safe guard, seven weeks, six points, striker, Thomas Schaaf

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Hamburg stay top of the Bundesliga

Freiburg secured their third win in four German league games on Sunday when they routed Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 while Hamburg stay top of the table after beating Bayern Munich.

All three goals came in the second-half and the win lifts Freiburg up to tenth in the Bundesliga leaving Borussia in 12th before bottom side Hertha Berlin travel to play Hoffenheim on Sunday evening.

Freiburg striker Mohamadou Idrissou netted with a second-half header which gave his side the lead before midfielder Yesane Abdessadki drilled home an unstoppable shot on 72 minutes which took a deflection into the net.

And second-half substitute Julian Schuster made certain of the three pointe when he scored in the games with ten minutes remaining.

On Saturday, Mladen Petric scored 18 minutes from time to earn a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich to end the German giants’ five-match winning streak.

Bayern had French international star Franck Ribery available from the outset for the first time this season following injury but he was unable to prevent the Bavarians from slipping to their second league loss.

Munich are now sixth in the league and trail their northern rivals by six points.

Hamburg have 17 points from their seven games and lead Jupp Heynckes’ Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference after the latter bagged a 1-0 win at Cologne thanks to a late effort from Simon Rolfes.

Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia saluted his side for making amends after a German Cup loss on penalties in midweek at third division Osnabrueck.

“They know they slipped up in the Cup and this was a great riposte,” said Labbadia as Hamburg ended a three-game winless run.

Bayern, who face Juventus in Europe on Wednesday, had been seeking to go top for the first time in some 500 days with a win in Hamburg, coupled with a hoped-for loss for Leverkusen but instead the four-times European champions stand just sixth. Table

Germany international forward Mario Gomez had hoped to make the difference for the visitors from the south after coming on as sub after the break.

Instead it was he who allowed former Bayern veteran Ze Roberto to go down the wing and find Petric ghosting in ahead of defender Philipp Lahm, caught napping in the Bayern box.

Minutes earlier, Petric had come close to deflecting an Arjen Robben free-kick into his own net but the ball bobbled just off target.

With three minutes remaining Lahm tried to make amends but fired wide after Ribery fed him as Hamburg held on.

Earlier, reigning champions Wolfsburg showed their star has not faded with a 4-2 win over Hanover to leap back into contention on 12 points, level with Werder Bremen, 3-0 winners over Mainz, and one clear of Bayern.

The surprise champions have blown hot and cold this campaign, suffering three defeats for as many wins, and had slid down into midtable ahead of next week’s Champions League confrontation with Manchester United.

Schalke stand third on 13 points after Peruvian forward Jefferson netted the only goal away to local rivals and former European champions Dortmund, the South American firing home a left-foot strike following good work by Halil Altintop before an 80,000 crowd.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart ended a four-match winless run with a 3-0 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: bavarians, bayer leverkusen, bayern munich, berlin, Borussia, bottom side, Bremen, bruno labbadia, cologne, deflection, Europe, european champions, FRANKFURT, french international, german cup, Germany, goal difference, Halil Altintop, Hamburg, Hanover, Hoffenheim, international star, Jefferson, Julian Schuster, jupp heynckes, league games, Manchester, mario, mario gomez, Munich, riposte, seven games, simon rolfes, South American

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Ze Roberto eyes Bundesliga title – and world crown

League-leaders Hamburg face the biggest test of their tenure at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday as their Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto takes on his former club Bayern Munich.

The 35-year-old has enjoyed a new lease of life since swapping Bavaria for the Hanseatic city and with three goals in six games is hoping to help Hamburg win the German league title this year.

Bruno Labbadia’s Hamburg side will certainly have their credentials tested by third-placed Bayern who are getting stronger and chasing their fourth consecutive league win.

“Our team has a bright future and I am in the form of my life,” said the midfielder.

“Bayern always starts the season with the goal of being German champions, we must also make sure that doesn’t happen.

“My goal is to win the Bundesliga with Hamburg – and the World Cup with Brazil.”

Having effectively retired from the Brazil national team so he could re-join Bayern in 2007, Ze Roberto said he would love to play for his country again at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

“Resigning from the national team was the biggest mistake of my life,” he said having won 84-caps for his country.

“If national coach Dunga calls me, am I there.

“It is my biggest dream to still play at another World Cup for Brazil, I want to be a world champion.”

Hamburg suffered a German Cup upset when they lost their second round tie at third division Osnabrueck on Wednesday, while Bayern roasted second division Rot-Weiss Oberhausen 5-0 at the Allianz Arena.

After being dumped out of the German Cup on Wednesday by Cologne, defending league champions Wolfsburg are ninth and need a win to boost flagging confidence at home to Hanover.

Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio is banned for this weekend’s game having been sent off in the defeat by Leverkusen nearly a fortnight ago.

But both Edin Dzeko and strike partner Grafite are both in fine form playing in front of play-maker Zvjezdan Misimovic.

Jens Lehmann returns for Stuttgart against Eintracht Frankfurt after his club suspended the ex-Arsenal stopper for an unauthorised trip to Munich’s beer festival.

The 39-year-old missed Wednesday’s German Cup injury-time win against VfB Luebeck because he attended the Oktoberfest last weekend for a charity event after his side’s 2-0 defeat by Cologne.

Neighbours and bitter rivals Dortmund and Schalke meet in Saturday’s 134th Ruhr valley derby then later that night the draw for the third round of the German Cup takes place with both teams still involved.

With just one win in their last four games, Schalke are down to fourth in the league while Dortmund are 13th in the table with only their opening day of the season win over Cologne to show after six games.

Cologne are chasing their third consecutive win at second-placed Leverkusen having beaten Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in their last two games with striker Manasseh Ishiaku in form alongside Germany’s Lukas Podolski after scoring twice against Wolfsburg.

Friday

Nuremberg v VfL Bochum

Saturday

VfL Wolfsburg v Hanover 96

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04

Werder Bremen v Mainz 05

Cologne v Bayer Leverkusen

Eintracht Frankfurt v VfB Stuttgart

Hamburg v Bayern Munich

Sunday

Freiburg v Borussia M’gladbach

Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: allianz arena, Bayern, berlin, brazil, Bremen, bruno labbadia, cologne, consecutive league, diego benaglio, dunga, edin dzeko, eintracht frankfurt, FRANKFURT, german cup, german league, Germany, grafite, Hamburg, Hanover, hanseatic city, jens lehmann, league champions, league leaders, Lukas Podolski, mistake of my life, Munich, national coach, nuremberg, Roberto, rot weiss oberhausen, six games, South Africa, Wolfsburg, world champion

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Hamburg stay top despite Frankfurt draw

Hamburg remained top of the Bundesliga despite a 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday while rivals Bayer Leverkusen were held to a goalless draw by Werder Bremen.

League-leaders Hamburg got an early breakthrough when former Bayern Munich midfielder Ze Roberto netted in the eighth minute, but Frankfurt went into the half-time break all square after defender Marco Russ equalised.

Frankfurt, along with Leverkusen and Hamburg, are still unbeaten and the leaders struggled to break down Eintracht’s stubborn defence.

“We are disappointed,” admitted Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia.

“That was two points too few.

“We sat back a bit after taking the lead.

“Things were better after half-time, our main problem was that we didn’t have enough penetration in attack, but I am very happy with our attitude.”

Leverkusen remain second and level on points with Hamburg after they picked up a point in the 0-0 draw at home to Bremen.

“We are content with the point, we are still unbeaten and are playing good football at the moment,” said Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling.

“Both sides did not want to leave themselves open at the back and we couldn’t finish the few chances we had.”

Hertha Berlin remain rooted to the bottom of the table after they were hammered 4-0 by fellow bottom-three dwellers Freiburg at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Teenage goalkeeper Sascha Burchert had a Bundesliga debut to forget when the 19-year-old leaked three goals before half-time, but his defence did him no favours as they allowed Freiburg’s attack to run riot.

Freiburg’s Croatia midfielder Ivica Banovic was the chief tormentor as he scored the first and last goals to help lift his side up to 11th in the table.

On Saturday, Belgium defender Daniel Van Buyten scored the winner to seal a 2-1 victory over Nuremberg as Bayern Munich picked up their third straight league win which put them third in the table.

The same day Oktoberfest – the Munich beer festival – opened in the south German city, Van Buyten’s winner at the Allianz Arena quenched Bayern’s fans’ thirst for league points.

Striker Ivica Olic had put Bayern ahead before forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting threatened to spoil the party in Munich with an equaliser for Nuremberg, but Van Buyten headed the winner.

Having thrown away a 1-0 lead in the Champions League against Rangers on Wednesday in a 1-1 draw, Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel suffered another disappointment when Cologne picked up their first win of the season at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Cologne got off to a dream start when striker Sebastian Freis headed his side into the lead after 25 minutes and it was enough to give his side the three points.

Former German international goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was left red-faced after he brought down Cologne’s Manasseh Ishiaku well out of his area, but Wilfried Sanou was on hand to score from 30 metres out to seal a 2-0 win in the dying stages.

Hoffenheim came back from being 2-0 down to seal a 4-2 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to go fourth, while Bochum were beaten 3-2 at home by Mainz who stay fifth.

Hanover held Dortmund to a 1-1 draw.

On Friday, champions Wolfsburg ended a run of three straight league defeats with a 2-1 win at Schalke as striker Edin Dzeko scored twice.

Wolfsburg were bouyed by a mid-week Champions League debut win over CSKA Moscow and the result leaves the Wolves ninth.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: bayer leverkusen, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Bremen, bruno labbadia, chief tormentor, Daniel van Buyten, Eric, favours, german city, half time, ivica banovic, league leaders, markus babbel, Maxim Choupo-, midfielder, Moscow, Munich, munich beer festival, nuremberg, south German, stefan kiessling, taking the lead, werder bremen

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Veh optimistic of Hamburg’s title credentials

Armin Veh has hailed Hamburg as serious title contenders, after they kept the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg at bay.

“Hamburg are a great bet for the title this season, they’ve got a really good side,” said VfL coach Veh following his side’s 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Northerners on Sunday.

Indeed, the result left Bruno Labbadia’s charges just behind leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table on goal difference.

A performance which showed commitment, flair and desire, HSV ended Wolfsburg’s 20-match unbeaten home run in spectacular fashion. However, talk of a first championship title in 22 years were played down by Labbadia.

“Armin has put real pressure on us by saying that, but I would do the same if I were him. I think it’s a bit early for all that, though. We’ve had a good start to the season, but that’s it for now,” said the 43-year-old former German international. “The first half was very good, but we didn’t make the most of our chances. There is plenty of room for improvement,” he added.

Striker Mladen Petric was slightly more belligerent in his views: “If we play 31 more games like that then we’ll win it.” “If we carry on like that, we’ll be very hard to beat,” agreed defensive stalwart Joris Mathijsen.

Veh unsatisfied

“We were poor, particularly in the first half. We had Diego to thank for keeping the score down to 2-0 at half time,” said VfL playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic. Sentiments shared by his coach: “In the first half we were nowhere to be seen. You can’t expect to get a result like that,” said Veh, who experienced defeat for the first time as Wolfsburg manager.

Conversely, one man who was particularly pleased with the result was Romeo Castelen, Hamburg’s Dutch midfielder who was making his Bundesliga return following almost two years out with a serious knee injury: “When I scored and all the players were lying on top of me I could barely breathe. I was so happy at that moment, you wouldn’t believe it,” said the former Feyenoord man.

As HSV celebrated victory, Wolfsburg were quick to look to the future. The ‘Wolves’ take on a dormant force in the form of FC Bayern Munchen on Saturday: “We’ve just lost to one big team so we need to work hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We are well aware of how difficult Bayern will be,” said last season’s top goalscorer Grafite.

Tags: 22 years, Armin Veh, bayer 04 leverkusen, Bayern, bruno labbadia, flair, goal difference, Hamburg, HSV, joris mathijsen, knee injury, midfielder, playmaker, plenty of room, romeo castelen, sentiments, spectacular fashion, title contenders, unsatisfied, vic, Wolfsburg

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Hamburg stun Wolfsburg, Leverkusen lead league

Defending champions VfL Wolfsburg slumped to a shock 4-2 defeat at home to Hamburg on Sunday to leave Leverkusen top of the Bundesliga, while German giants Bayern Munich were humbled by Mainz.

Hamburg raced into an early 2-0 lead after Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio conceded an own goal three minutes into the game before Dutch midfielder Eljero Elia netted the second after just seven minutes.

The champions fought back in style and equalised with playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic pulling a goal back on 52 minutes before setting up Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins’ header in the 56th minute.

But Hamburg were not to be denied and Croatia striker Mladen Petric put his side back in the lead on 75 minutes before Dutch midfielder Romeo Castelen scored the fourth right on the stroke of full-time.

“They way we presented ourselves in the first half has nothing to do with Bundesliga football,” fumed Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh.

“We were terrible in defence and Hamburg deserved the win.

“They were the best team for 90 minutes, were more aggressive and created more chances.”

The defeat – Wolfsburg’s first in the league since May – leaves the Wolves fourth while Hamburg climb to second behind Leverkusen, who stay top on goal difference having hammered Freiburg 5-0 on Saturday.

“I said at the break that we needed to put them under far more pressure and to get to 3-0 as fast as possible,” said Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia.

“That did not happen, which makes our reaction at 2-2 even more fantastic.”

Elsewhere, Werder Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro marked his return to the Bundesliga since rejoining the north German club from Chelsea with two goals on Sunday in the 3-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to leaves his club seventh in the league.

And Hertha Berlin ended a week to forget when they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at VfL Bochum which was their third reversal in a week.

On Saturday, Bayern Munich were humbled 2-1 by promoted minnows Mainz as goals from Andreas Ivanschitz and Aristide Bance put the home side 2-0 up at half-time before Mainz’s Nikolce Noveski scored an own goal.

Bayern’s new coach Louis van Gaal is still waiting for his first league win since taking charge in July as his side were outplayed by Mainz.

Van Gaal left unfit midfielder Franck Ribery out of his squad, but the Frenchman is expected to be given game time for next Saturday’s clash with champions Wolfsburg with Bayern badly needing their playmaker back.

Bayern could not force the equaliser and Mainz picked up their first victory of the season to move into fourth place.

Bayer Leverkusen went top of the table after three games when they hammered Freiburg 5-0 as Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok and midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta both scored two goals.

Hanover’s Czech Republic striker Jiri Stajner scored twice and missed a penalty in his side’s 2-0 win over Nuremberg while Cologne were held 0-0 by Frankfurt as Stuttgart drew 1-1 at Dortmund.

On Friday, Felix Magath’s Schalke 04 lost their 100-percent record when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Hoffenheim to go third in the table.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: andreas ivanschitz, aristide, Aristide Bance, Armin Veh, bance, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Bremen, bruno labbadia, CHELSEA, Claudio Pizarro, cologne, croatia, czech republic, diego benaglio, felix magath, FRANKFURT, german club, goal difference, Goalkeeper, Hamburg, Hanover, hertha berlin, midfielder, mladen, moenchengladbach, north German, nuremberg, romeo castelen, three minutes, Van Gaal, zvjezdan misimovic

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Ze Roberto signs for Hamburg

Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto has joined Hamburg on a two-year contract.

The 34-year-old former Brazil international signed for Hamburg on Thursday, the club said. Ze Roberto was a free agent after turning down Bayern Munich’s offer of a one-year extension to his contract there.

Ze Roberto played for Bayern between 2002-06 and again between 2007-09, winning four Bundesliga titles and four German Cups.

“He is a technically outstanding player and brings incredible experience with him,” Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia said.

He also played four seasons at Bayer Leverkusen, had a season at Real Madrid, and spells with Santos, Flamengo and Portuguesa in his homeland

By: Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: bayer leverkusen, Bayern, bayern munich, brazil, bruno labbadia, Bundesliga, four seasons, free agent, Hamburg, homeland, MADRID, midfielder, Munich, rajput, real madrid, Roberto, Santos, signs, ze roberto

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