Reuters Soccer Blog

It’s still July and already we see a European domestic shock

Yes it’s July when people should be on beaches in Europe rather than sweltering in soccer stadiums.

Well modern football (and Euro 2012 at the end of the campaign) dictates we have to start proper matches in July in the European season these days.

The Scottish league has already started while on Friday VfL Wolfsburg made a miserable start to their season by going out 3-2 at fourth division RB Leipzig in the first round of the German Cup.

Borussia Moenchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart, the other Bundesliga teams playing on Friday, beat third division opposition while former German champions Rot-Weiss Essen, now in the fourth tier, overcame second division Union Berlin on penalties.

The first round is a potential minefield for Bundesliga and second division clubs as the seeding system forces them to play one-leg ties away to lower division opponents.

Playing before the league has started adds to the chances of top teams being caught unprepared.

Daniel Frahn scored a hat-trick for RB Leipzig, who were known as SSV Makranstaedt until 2009 when the Red Bull energy drinks manufacturer bought the playing licence and changed the name.

Germany doing just fine without Ballack

Germany captain Michael Ballack was in the stands to watch his team lose 2-1 to Australia in a friendly on Tuesday, the first time he was present since their World Cup quarter-final win over Argentina last year.

He was in no mood for any chats with reporters, opting to sit back and watch the game, surely knowing that his own international career is quickly drawing to an end.

The last time the 34-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder played for Germany was in March last year against Argentina when he won his 98th cap. An ankle injury meant he missed out on the World Cup in South Africa and a shinbone injury in September ruled hin out of the first half of the current Bundesliga campaign.

German media have speculated about the player’s possible return to the team but as much as Ballack would like to get another, last, shot at a major title at Euro 2012, it looks highly unlikely that this will happen.

It is not so much his form that keeps him from being recalled by coach Joachim Loew but rather how the young German team has learned to play without him. Fast, fluid, technically strong and with an enthusiasm and maturity that have won them a new generation of fans.

Ballack on the other hand seems to represent the previous generation: the one where hard work, discipline and raw determination earned Germany their fierce reputation as one of the most consistent and effective teams on the planet over a period of decades.

Whereas before Ballack was the ultimate alpha male in the team, the new-look Germany does not really depend on just one undisputed leader but enjoys spreading responsibility around despite the Australia defeat.

Soccer Break Wednesday

Now the international period is over we can focus on domestic issues again, or can we?

Tuesday’s matches provided plenty of drama, from the battles Spain and the Netherlands had to fight to get through tricky Euro 2012 qualifiers, to Ghana’s lighting up of London, to Australia’s World Cup revenge against Germany in a friendly.

Brazil’s two-goal hero against Scotland continues to grab the headlines. Would you be interested in signing the talented 19-year-old Neymar?

For two of Europe’s biggest clubs there is bad news. The strike that could have seen the cancellation of La Liga matches this weekend has been called off, so Real Madrid must play three days before their Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Staying with a North London theme, Arsenal could be without striker Robin van Persie after the Netherlands forward was injured against Hungary in the 5-3 thriller. No doubt Arsene Wenger will have something to say so keep your ears open.

And what about Jens Lehmann? Gunners fans…would you trust him in goal over Manuel Almunia?

Some good news now. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says the game is developing well in the United States, though there’s always a flip side. After the encouraging 1-1 draw against Argentina on Saturday, the U.S. lost 1-0 to Paraguay on Tuesday.

Soccer Break Wednesday

Happy middle of the week to you all, and if like me you are in London where the sun is out and there is very little football to write about, you are forgiven for thinking the season is over and the grasscourt tennis season is about to kick in.

Don’t look so worried, David (right). While the weather will probably change before I’ve finished writing this blog, the good news is it’s only March and there is plenty more football left. It’s just this week it’s the international break.

One of the most intriguing matches is Friday’s qualifier between Serbia and Northern Ireland. Why? There will be no supporters in the ground after Serbia’s clash with Italy in October was abandoned following crowd trouble and the 2006 World Cup winners were handed a 3-0 win.

Also in action on Friday are Italy, France and the 2010 World Cup finalists Spain and the Netherlands, while on Saturday Wales host England in a British Isles derby and Norway host Denmark in a Scandinavian battle. Germany and Russia are two other big names playing.

Chelsea fans fond of Guus Hiddink should also keep a close eye on next Tuesday’s Turkey v Austria match. Blues supporters, should Carlo Ancelotti go if Chelsea fail to win any silverware this year?

Back to European football, and read here for a very dedicated look at the major European leagues including an analysis of AC Milan’s loss in form that has made the Serie A title much more open.

Some good news for Barcelona fans on Tuesday was fullback Dani Alves renewing his contract until 2015.

Paul the Octopus will predict no more…

It is with great sadness that we report the death of the world’s foremost psychic cephalopod.

Paul the Octopus, the mystic mollusc himself, became a more significant World Cup figure than Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo or Franck Ribery with his extraordinarily accurate predictions from his tank at Sea Life in Germany.

From our story today:

The two-year-old celebrity octopus made his choices after being offered two containers with food, each with a flag of the two teams playing, and eating out of one of them.

“We grew very fond of him,” said Sea Life general manager Stefan Porwoll. “He passed away during the night peacefully,” he said as the marine life centre flew flags at half mast and all employees wore black armbands.

 The country was shocked and distraught when he picked Spain to beat Germany in the semi-final after tipping German wins over Argentina, England, Ghana and Australia, as well as their shock defeat by Serbia and Spain’s final win over the Dutch.

 He was right again on that last one, so at least he leaves us with a perfect World Cup record.

Premature move for Swiss prodigy Ben Khalifa?

The Swiss Super League is certainly not the strongest in the world but it’s a fairly safe bet to say that it beats the German fourth division. So why has 18-year-old Nassim Ben Khalifa, one of Switzerland’s most exciting prospects, swapped the former for the latter?

Last year, Ben Khalifa hit the headlines when he led the attack in the Swiss team which surprised everyone by winning the world under-17 championship in Nigeria.

He was runner-up in the vote for the best player of the tournament and also scored four goals. Back home, he was a regular first-team player in his debut professional season for Grasshoppers, scoring eight goals as he helped them finish third in the table.

In the midst of all this, German Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg stepped him and snapped him up for the 2010-2011 season. Yet they appear to have little intention of fielding him any time soon. Ben Khalifa told Swiss media this week that he is fifth or sixth in the strikers’ pecking order and would have to fight for his place with Edin Dzeko and Grafite, the two players who have topped the Bundesliga scoring charts in the last two seasons.

For the time being, this means that Ben Khalifa is turning out for the reserve team VfL Wolfsburg II, who play in Regional League North, the fourth tier of German professional football. This has also had a knock-on effect with his Switzerland career — having made his full international debut against Austria in August, Ben Khalifa will be with the under-21 team this weekend rather than travelling with the seniors for the Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro.

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld says he made the decision due to Ben Khalifa’s lack of match practice.

It hardly seems like a move forward. Yet the story is typical of many promising young players from Latin America, Africa and the smaller European nations. They move abroad to a bigger league in their late teens, get shunted into the reserves and are barely heard of again.

Euro 2012 qualifiers – live

We’re following all tonight’s Euro 2012 qualifiers live. Join us here for updates, comments and pix … and details of all the goals as they go in.

Ballack clings on to captaincy but will he make the team?

When Germany coach Joachim Loew confirmed Michael Ballack as team captain this week he put an end to a tug-of-war with defender Philipp Lahm. Lahm had been the captain at the World Cup in South Africa and wanted to remain after Ballack’s return from injury.

The 33-year-old Ballack was forced to miss the tournament due to an ankle injury but had insisted he was the undisputed team captain. Yet without Ballack’s heavy presence in midfield, Germany played exciting fast-paced football in South Africa, finishing in third place with their youngest World Cup squad in 76 years and winning considerable respect.

Germany’s young players, including joint-top World Cup scorer Thomas Mueller, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil and Jerome Boateng immediately became household names. Ozil and Khedira signed for Real Madrid, Mueller extended his contract at Bayern Munich and Boateng joined Manchester City

Loew opted to stick with Ballack as captain going into the Euro 2012 qualifiers yet the Bayer Leverkusen skipper will not play in the upcoming games against Belgium and Azerbaijan. Loew said he lacks match practice. It is also unclear whether he will be called up for the qualifiers in October. By that time he will be 34.

So Loew appears to have found a compromise that sees Ballack save face without actually returning for now. Still waiting for an answer over the long term is whether he will ever get back into the starting line-up.

Loew has made it clear that Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger, both of whom play in Ballack’s favoured holding midfield position, will be his first choices even when Ballack is fully fit. And why wouldn’t they be? Khedira is 23, Schweinsteiger is 26 and the two have seamlessly combined from day one. Ballack, long the alpha male in the squad, will have to consider the possibility of being second choice, accepting a place on the bench as Lahm leads the starting team into a game as captain.

Ballack has considerable star power in Germany and when he is fit he still remains a force to be reckoned with but whether that will be enough to give him one last shot at a major trophy, something that has eluded him for so long, remains to be seen.

Schalke get Ruhrpott Raul but Spain may have the last laugh

Raul’s decision to join Schalke 04 in Germany rather than one of the English sides interested in taking him will have plenty of Real Madrid fans scratching their heads, I suspect. “What is he doing going to the Bundesliga when he could have gone to la Premier?” I can hear them ask. ”What a step down after playing for Real in the Best League In The World (TM)!” “And where is this Schalke place anyway?”

So pretty good news for the Bundesliga then, eh? It’s rare for a player of Raul’s considerable reputation, and even more distinguished salary, to choose Germany over England and he hasn’t even gone to Bayern, the one big beast of the Bundesliga.

It’s certainly true that German football is in a pretty good state at the moment. The recent focus on keeping costs under control rather than splurging on big players looks increasingly prudent next to the financial excesses of some notable clubs in Europe’s other big leagues and the quality of the football has been improving too, as exciting young players have grasped the opportunities presented to them.

Let’s not forget either that Michael Ballack is back, opting to return to Bayer Leverkusen after his long spell at Chelsea, while Bayern Munich have held on to Franck Ribery after the Frenchman apparently decided a new contract in Bavaria might be his best bet, given the circumstances.

But I’d wait a few more weeks before declaring it boom time for the Bundesliga. While Spanish eyes will briefly turn to Gelsenkirchen to see Raul make his debut, attention will quickly focus back home, where Real Madrid are reportedly interested in signing at least two of Germany’s best players at the World Cup.

Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil are the two most serious targets, according to the media, and signing either or both of them could turn out to be of far more significance than Raul’s arrival near the end of his career.

Khedira and Ozil are the sort of players the Bundesliga needs to keep if it is to engage new audiences. If they end up in Spain, and are followed over the next couple of seasons by the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Mueller and other fast and fearless players from Germany’s World Cup campaign the last laugh will go to La Liga.

Sorry Germany, the oracle octopus has spoken

There are only three things that are certain in life — death, taxes and the World Cup predictions of a British-born octopus in western Germany.

That being the case, there’s hardly any point in playing Wednesday’s semi-final between Germany and Spain — the Spanish have got it won.

Paul the Octopus has spoken, eating his food from the container with the Spanish flag at Sea Life and thus sealing Germany’s fate.

Paul has a perfect World Cup record — correctly predicting the results of all five of Germany’s matches so far, even the shock defeat against Serbia, and scoring exactly the same number of goals as Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney into the bargain.

German hopes are dangling by two tiny threads.

Firstly, while Paul has a perfect record here, he did get one match wrong at Euro 2008, predicting a German win over Spain in the final. Secondly, coach Joachim Loew has been persuaded not to wash his famous blue jumper before the end of the World Cup.

The baby blue cashmere number has become a good luck symbol, which leaves us with an intriguing match in store for Wednesday — the octopus versus the goat-hair.