What have the UEFA Cup and the Eurovision song contest got in common?

A) Some people don’t take them as seriously as they could.

B) They give lesser known participants the chance to appear on prime-time TV.

C) East European countries have started to dominate them

And the answer, I’m starting to think, is C … because of A and B.

This year will be the third year in the past six that an ex-Soviet team plays in the UEFA Cup final after victories by Russian sides Zenit St Petersburg last year and CSKA Moscow in 2005.

Watching Shakhtar Donetsk’s dramatic victory over fellow Ukrainian team Dynamo Kiev, I wondered why eastern European teams were enjoying such a love affair with a competition others have lost their passion for.

Then it struck me — it’s not the competition itself, it’s the winning. Winning anything … even the things no one else takes every seriously.

In a similar trend to Europe’s second-tier club competition, seven of the last 10 winners or runners-up in the continent’s bottom-rung singing competition have been east European.

While others plonked some Z-list no-hopers on the stage, Russia brought out Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushchenko to perform during their song and duly won last year’s edition.

While English sides like Aston Villa sent several reserve players on to the pitch, Russian and Ukrainian teams showcased their strongest sides, usually featuring several expensive Brazilian or African imports.

They really want to win it.

Before their defeat in the semi-final second leg Ukrainian league leaders Dynamo Kiev had a survey on their website asking fans which competition should be the club’s top priority.

When I last looked, 87 percent of more than 10, respondents had plumped for the UEFA Cup.

I can’t imagine if the same question was asked of Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur fans, the result would be the same — surely they would vote for the Premier League.

During several years spent in Moscow, I used to notice that when a Russian team or person won anything it was the government who was among the most excited — perhaps a throwback to Soviet times where sporting victories were a useful way of showing the country in a good light to the rest of the world.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has got in on the act this year.

“I am convinced that on May 20 in Istanbul in the UEFA Cup final Ukrainian club football will once again confirm its might, tactical talent and irrepressible striving for victory,” local media quoted him as saying.

Were it not for Dynamo drawing Metalist Kharkiv in the last-16, Ukrainian teams might have grabbed three of the last four places, as English ones did in the Champions League.

They have certainly not had an easy ride in the competition, having overcome teams like Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur, Sampdoria and Olympique Marseille.

But the question in my mind is are these ex-Soviet teams actually better than the rest or are they just winning because no one else can be bothered?

They certainly have much to gain with victory — foreign players may be even more tempted to join their leagues if they win European trophies, if they weren’t already convinced by the very attractive salaries the clubs’ wealthy owners can offer.

FOOTBALL PHOTO: Players of Shakhtar Donetsk react against Dynamo Kiev during their UEFA Cup semi-final in Donetsk, May 7, 2009. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

EUROVISION: Svetlana Loboda of Ukraine performs during rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow May 6, 2009. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Having seen the changes at the top of the Bundesliga in the past few months you cannot help but feel sorry for newcomers Hoffenheim, who have played some of the most exciting football this season.

They won promotion last year and halfway through the season they topped the standings in a sensational run. They shared the top spot at the halfway mark with Bayern Munich but were ahead on goal difference and style of play.

But that is where their Cinderella debut season with their free-flowing, attacking football ended; the clock struck 12 and the golden chariot turned into a defective Trabant.

The league’s top scorer at the time, Vedad Ibisevic, who netted 18 times in 17 matches, tore his ligament during the winter break. Out for the rest of the season.

Then came midfielder Carlos Eduardo’s five-match ban after fighting with Hamburg’s Ivica Olic during a friendly match.

As if that was not enough they also missed striker Chinedu Obasi — twice through injury — before the tranquillity of the team was again shattered by a weeks-long doping affair involving Andreas Ibertsberger and Christoph Janker.

The two defenders were 10 minutes late for a doping test but they did avoid punishment with the blame placed on club officials.

But that was not the last of Hoffenheim’s woes. Newly-signed keeper Timo Hildebrand has managed only a handful of appearances after being plagued by minor injuries.

Then came the ongoing 11-match winless streak, though many of those matches should have clearly been won.

In their 0-0 draw at home against Werder Bremen, striker Boubacar Sanogo alone hit the same post three times. “At the end I was laughing. I could not believe it,” he said.

So from first they are now down to eighth, their dreams of European soccer at their brand-new Rhein Neckar Arena dashed as fast as striker Demba Ba’s surging runs.

Coach Ralf Rangnick admits there is no point in talking about a European spot anymore but refuses to change his young team’s attacking style.

And for the football fans out there, that is great news.

PHOTO: TSG Hoffenheim’s coach Ralf Rangnick awaits the start of the German Bundesliga first match against Hamburg SV in Hamburg April 4, 2009. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen

Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is no stranger to controversy. But in recent weeks he has stirred up a debate despite being in the twilight of his playing days.

First he delayed the publication of his memoirs for next year and then signed another one-year contract extension with Stuttgart after saying last year this was his final season.

Everyone asked why. Then came the reason.

The former Arsenal keeper, 39, stunned the nation with his admission that he wants to compete in another World Cup, in South Africa next year, overriding his international retirement following Germany’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the Euro 2008 final.

Germany boss Joachim Loew and national goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke quickly ruled out calling up Lehmann again, saying it would be a bad signal for the younger keepers.

But Lehmann said at the weekend that the chances of Germany needing a quality keeper of his calibre next year “are going to be very high.”.

While Loew has yet to decide on a first choice keeper since Lehmann’s departure, there are at least four vying for the top spot.

There’s Hanover’s Robert Enke, who played in the last two World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Wales, Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler, Werder Bremen keeper Tim Wiese as well as young Manuel Neuer, who plays for Schalke.

“It is a shame. He used to be a nice guy before he went to Stuttgart. But now all he does is provoke,” Wiese said this week.

Lehmann has indeed been involved in several controversial incidents recently, including angrily ripping the headband off Stuttgart defender Khalid Boulahrouz during a UEFA Cup tie.

He also threw a Hoffenheim player’s boot into the stands and haggled with a referee about where Bremen midfielder Diego should position the ball for a free kick. Diego then scored from the spot chosen by Lehmann.

Whether his desire to return to the national team is just another of his antics remains to be seen.

PHOTO: VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann during their UEFA Cup match against Zenit St.Peterburg, Feb. 26, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen

It is now widely accepted that, after a long stint as the world’s most glamorous championship in the 1980s and 90s, Serie A has fallen behind the Premier League and Spain’s Primera Liga.

Problems with hooliganism and the 2006 match-fixing scandal have not helped and attention is now moving to whether the Italian top flight can repel competition from the Bundesliga for third place.

With Italy’s representations all out of this season’s Champions League before the quarter-finals, former Germany coach Rudi Voeller recently told Reuters that he is hopeful the German championship can overtake Serie A in the European rankings and wrestle away its right to a fourth slot in the competition.

Earlier this month, Italy’s top sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport published a survey that suggested the Bundesliga has already beaten Serie A back into fourth, with the French league not too far behind in fifth.

The survey looked at a series of factors aimed at measuring the championships’ pulling power. These included percentages on how full the stadiums are and the number of players with at least one international cap, estimated revenues for this season, the players’ average ages and the value of their salaries and transfers.

Serie A clearly has plenty of issues to address although Gazzetta may have gone a bit far with its conclusions.

The weakness of the survey was that perhaps it did not give enough weight to the enduring appeal derived from Italian sides’ history of success in Europe.

“Italian teams have reached the final of the Champions League 10 times over the last two decades and AC Milan won it just two years ago, so the situation is not that alarming,” Italian football federation vice president and former European Cup winner Demetrio Albertini told Reuters.

Nevertheless, with history continually in the making, Serie A had better watch its back.

PHOTO: Werder Bremen’s Claudio Pizzarro celebrates after scoring against and ultimately eliminating AC Milan in their UEFA Cup match at the San Siro, February 26, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

German media have already decided that Grafite’s brilliant 77th-minute solo goal in Wolfsburg’s 5-1 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday is the goal of the year.

He somehow managed to elude five Bayern players before scoring with a cheeky backheel.

It may seem a bit early to be choosing the “Tor des Jahres” with nine months left in 2009 but even the normally reserved public TV broadcast “Das Aktuelle Sportstudio” proclaimed it “the most spectacular goal in Bundesliga history”.

The electrifying goal has featured in German newscasts all weekend.

Grafite’s goal, coming two days after his 30th birthday, also served as a fitting metaphor for the season as it helped Wolfsburg jump to the top of the Bundesliga in front of Hamburg SV, Hertha Berlin and Bayern.

The small club from the northern town made famous by the Volkswagen factories have now won eight of their nine matches since the winter break (the only blemish a draw at Cologne) after ending the first half of the season back in ninth place and nine points behind Bayern.

It is hard to get enough of the Brazilian’s magical 12-touch goal, which was his second of the match and 20th in the Bundesliga this season, putting him alone at the top of the scoring charts.

Grafite first beat Bayern’s Andreas Ottl and Christian Lell on the left and then dodged lunging goalkeeper Michael Rensing before duping compatriot Breno and Philipp Lahm with the quick backheel just as he appeared to be dribbling away from danger.

“Grafite makes record-champs Bayern look like fools,” read Kicker.de’s headline.

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath said: “You only get one goal like that in a lifetime.”

Grafite, whose father died in October, was his usual modest self afterwards.

“I had my 30th birthday a few days ago so this was a nice present.”

PHOTO: VfL Wolfsburg’s coach Felix Magath (L) shakes hands with Grafite during their Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich, April 4, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen

Schalke 04 had high hopes for the 2008/09 season but after only a few weeks it was clear the pre-season favourites, with only three wins in the first nine league matches, were just non-starters.

Coach Fred Rutten saw things go even worse as they were eliminated from the Champions League, then the UEFA Cup and were even dumped out of the German Cup by second-division Mainz.

Schalke fans, among the most fervent supporters in Germany, were fuming and demanding the sacking of manager Andreas Mueller and coach Fred Rutten. “Rutten Raus” and “Mueller Raus” chants taunted the pair in almost every match following the winter break.

Even when Schalke scored, their fans would jeer and whistle. Mueller was sent packing in March and a 2-1 defeat against Hamburg sealed Rutten’s fate as well.

But Schalke’s woes were far from over. With no chance of gaining a UEFA Cup spot and forced to take a budget cut with no Champions League revenues next season, the club went in search of a manager with former Bayern Munich keeper Oliver Kahn seen as the frontrunner.

But Kahn, who met Schalke officials to discuss his 30-page concept for the club, surprisingly turned down the offer saying it was too early for him. “They need someone who can be there 100 percent. Time-wise that is not possible for me at this point,” Kahn said.

So back to the search for Schalke, who are looking for an interim manager to steer them through nine remaining league matches with the team stagnant in eighth place, plus a coach for next season and a manager.

The only problem is the new manager is supposed to approve the new coach, and as long as there is no new manager there is no new coach

Meanwhile Bayern Munich are grinning in the corner as yet another recent competitor to their Bundesliga dominance fades into the background for the time being at least.

PHOTO: Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer dives during their Bundesliga match against Hamburg SV in Gelsenkirchen, March 22, 2009. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath was asked two weeks ago, after his team won their fifth consecutive league match, whether they could become German champions

“If we win all our 11 remaining fixtures then we can be champions,” he told the reporter with a hint of sarcasm. “But we are not title contenders, let’s make this clear,” he quickly added.

Two weeks later Wolfsburg have extended their winning streak to seven matches, sitting comfortably a point behind league leaders Hertha Berlin.

But even after this weekend’s 3-0 win against Arminia Bielefeld, Magath is still not satisfied.

“This result does not reflect the match,” he said. “We allowed Arminia far too many chances. We did not play well and were lucky to get away with a win.”

It has become a running joke in Germany that even if Wolfsburg win the Bundesliga, Magath will still be complaining afterwards.

Wolfsburg are going into the final stretch of the championship in mint condition. They have hardly any injuries while strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite are in amazing form.

This could be down to Magath’s notorious fitness regime which some players have compared to torture.

Midfielder Christian Gentner, who joined from Stuttgart in 2007, admitted life was harder at Wolfsburg. But when you watch them play, Magath’s side make it look easy, attacking for 90 minutes especially when the opponents are running out of breath after 75.

So champions or not, they must be doing something right, Felix?

PHOTO: Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath arrives for their German Cup quarter-final match against Werder Bremen, March 4, 2009. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

After watching a Bundesliga game in which all the goals are scored by Peruvians, it is hard to imagine that the South American country’s national team is in such a predicament.

Paolo Guerrero scored twice for Hamburg SV on Sunday in their 2-1 win over Schalke 04, whose consolation was scored by his compatriot Jefferson Farfan.

But neither of them will be on the field when Peru host arch-rivals Chile in a South American World Cup qualifier, nor will Claudio Pizarro who has scored 12 goals for Werder Bremen this season.

Once considered the third team in South America behind Brazil and Argentina, Peru lie bottom of the 10-team South American World Cup qualifying group with a paltry five points from 10 games. Their results have included a 5-1 defeat in Ecuador and 6-0 thrashing in Uruguay. They have scored five goals in 10 games yet feel they can afford the luxury of doing without their top players.

Farfan and Pizarro were both suspended for 18 months by the Peruvian federation for alleged acts of indiscipline at the team hotel following a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in November 2007.

The bans were later cut to three months and have long since ended by coach Jose del Solar has refused to recall the pair, nor defender Santiago Acasiete who was banned alongside them.

Guerrero, meanwhile, is serving a six-match suspended for his furious reaction to being sent off during the Uruguay match.

Pizarro, in particular, has repeatedly protested his innocence and accused the Peruvian federation of using the alleged incident — based on the evidence given by a television reporter — as a smokescreen to hide its own problems,

“He (Del Solar) knew perfectly well that I was not involved and told me personally, but never said anything in public,” Pizarro said in a newspaper interview with El Comercio last month. “That hurt me. He knows he let me down.”

Peru’s problems go far beyond alleged indiscipline by the players. Last year, the in-fighting amongst Peruvian officials reached such a point that FIFA briefly suspended the country.

The players also complain about the country’s notorious tabloid newspapers and reality television shows, often accusing them of turning a quiet beer with friends into stories of all-night debauchery.

Last year, television presenter Magaly Medina spent two months in prison after being found guilty of defaming Guerrero.

In the meantime, Peru flounder at the bottom of the table and Del Solar’s refusal to recall Pizarro and Farfan seems to be a well-aimed shot in his own foot.

PHOTO: Schalke 04’s Mladen Krstajic challenges Guerrero for a header in Gelsenkirchen, March 22, 2009. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

What a Bundesliga season! Exciting, fast-paced and at least five teams in the running for the title and believe it or not, Bayern are not top of the table.

But next season may be very different. Many of the league’s top players who have carried their teams into title contention could leave at the end of the campaign.

Hertha Berlin strikers Andriy Voronin and Marko Pantelic have fired their team to the top but are on their way out.

Voronin, who has scored eight goals in the past six matches, is on loan from Liverpool and with Hertha’s budget shrinking for next season, the more goals he scores the more difficult it will be for them to keep him. Only a Champions League spot could help finance his stay.

Pantelic, with six goals, looks even more certain to leave after recovering from injury but then being left on the bench for the past two matches as strained ties with club and coach continue.

Surprise package Wolfsburg, four points behind, could see strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko, who have scored a combined total of 30 league goals, packing their bags with several English clubs reportedly circling for the pair.

Speculation about whether Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery will stay has been growing and much is riding on a Champions League berth for next season.

Werder Bremen, who are through to the last 16 in the UEFA Cup after ousting AC Milan, could lose their own pillars in midfield and attack.

Brazilian Diego, among the league’s most exciting and gifted players, looks poised to move to a bigger European club with media reports suggesting Juventus are his preference. Peruvian Claudio Pizarro, on loan from Chelsea, is also unlikely to stay despite his 12 league goals.

Werder are hesitant about buying him because of an ongoing investigation into his co-ownership of a management firm embroiled in a financial affair that led to the resignation of Werder’s chairman.

By the time next season starts, the Bundesliga could look a lot poorer in terms of talent.

The credit crunch is biting into German soccer, with teams starting to consider the idea of salary caps to further reduce annual running costs.

It was Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness who first warned some time ago that the financial downturn would hit Bundesliga clubs, especially mid-table ones, who would not be able to balance their budgets. Now Bayer Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voeller and, more surprisingly, Hoffenheim billionaire backer Dietmar Hopp have come out in favour of salary caps.

Salary caps, financial limits on the total amount spent on players’ wages, already exist in all professional sports leagues in the United States.

“I hope there will be an upper limit for players’ wages,” Voeller, who earned the best money of his long career in Italy and France. “We have reached the top limit.”

Hopp has poured just under 200 million euros into Hoffenheim to help bring the club from the lower regional divisions to the Bundesliga. The tycoon has turned them into title contenders and built a new stadium as well, but even he said contracts were now too high.

“What players earn is too much. If this crisis continues we will go under,” Hopp said after admitting that his shares had lost value worth about 2 billion euros in the stock market fall.

Germany has been hit hard by the crisis and while its clubs have always been less exuberant than their Italian, Spanish or English counterparts, they could soon decide to spend even less.

Several clubs have hinted they would look into reducing salaries from next year. It may sound bad for the quality of football but isn’t it ultimately better for the sport’s social responsibility?

PHOTO: The boot of TSG Hoffenheim’s Sejad Salihovic lies on top of the net during their Bundesliga match at VfB Stuttgart Feb. 21, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen