German Muslims have inundated one of the country's top soccer teams, Schalke 04, with complaints about a verse in the club's anthem which, they say, is disparaging towards the Prophet Mohammad.

The club has its home in Gelsenkirchen in Germany's industrial heartland and immigrants make up about a third of the town's population. Most of them have a Turkish background. Germany's biggest mosque was opened in nearby Duisburg last year and many Schalke supporters are Muslims, as chat rooms like this one point out.

The lines in question are: "Mohammad was a Prophet who doesn't understand football" although the words that follow seem positive: "But from all the beautiful colours he came up with blue and white." Schalke's colours are blue and white.

The club, which plays in Germany's Bundesliga top league and has some of the country's most ardent fans, is taking the complaints seriously. A spokesman has said Schalke has asked an Islamic expert to analyse the text.

But what is most striking is that the song is not new. Some say it dates back to 1924.  So why has it suddenly started to offend Muslims?

The answer may lie in the mounting resentment in Germany's Muslim community after politicians were slow to condemn the murder of an Egyptian woman in a court in eastern Germany about a month ago, which we blogged about at the time. The crime was widely viewed as racially motivated.

Germany's Central Council of Muslims has summed up the situation. "Many Muslims in Germany no longer have a sense of security. Nerves are wearing thin," General-Secretary Aiman Mazyek was quoted as saying in Bild daily, adding he did not believe the club had malicious intentions. 

This storm is another sign of just how tense community relations are in Germany. Maybe a passion for soccer can help overcome some of the divisions.

A German official wanting to make the pronunciation of the African vuvuzela instrument clear to German reporters said last week: “Vuvuzela: it sounds like Uwe Seeler“.

This seems to be the only thing Seeler, the Hamburg striker who reigned supreme from the mid-50s to the early 70s, has in common with the African instrument that caused considerable controversy during the Confederations Cup in South Africa last month.

Seeler is a quiet, soft-spoken and reserved man while the vuvuzela makes a loud, monotonous drone that drove players and broadcasters crazy in South Africa. Many have asked FIFA to consider banning them during next year’s World Cup in the country.

Now a German firm has won the rights to market the instrument across Europe — “the original sound of South Africa” — and has ordered thousands of the little trumpets to be used by fans in the Bundesliga saying the vuvuzela craze will take off ahead of next year’s showpiece.

They have even ordered vuvuzelas that come in three pieces so they can not be used as missiles in stadiums as they fall apart upon impact.

The German soccer league said it would carefully examine the impact they have on matches before considering any action against them even though German national coach Joachim Loew has said he hates the sound.

“I would get rid of them if there was any way. The sound gets on your nerves after a while,” Loew said.

Several players who heard the sound in the stadiums during the Confed Cup share that view.

FIFA in turn ruled out banning them from the World Cup saying they were a crucial aspect of South African flair that was necessary for the success of the competition.

“(Banning them) would mean one would have to take away the cow bells from Swiss fans and ban English fans from singing,” FIFA’s Hans Klaus said last week.

But Germany’s southern neighbour, Austria, has already put a lid on them. Vuvuzelas will not be allowed in Austrian stadiums for fear they could be used as projectiles and could trigger aggression among fans, state authorities said.

At the end of the day, football is neither tennis, nor golf. It has always been a loud game. You already have drums, rattles, real trumpets, whole brass bands, cow bells, firecrackers and even didgeridoos.

Could we just leave the vuvuzela alone?

“U” is an interesting letter in German. One of the first things that springs to mind is “U-Boot” (submarine) and then there is the “U-Bahn” (underground train) as well as “U-Haft” (jail).

But after Germany’s U21 team won the European championship, thrashing England 4-0 in Sweden on Monday to give the country all three “U” titles (U17, U19 and U21), there’s another “U” word that comes to mind: “Ueber alles” — as in “Deutschland Ueber Alles”.

“U-nglaublich (unbelievable), U-nfassbar (unreal) and U-nwiderstehlich (irresistable),” wrote Germany’s best-selling daily Bild, clearly caught up in the U-fever.

In May, they beat the Netherlands in the final to win the U17 championship it hosted with a national televison audience watching. Last July, Germany won the U19 championship, beating Italy 3-1 in the final. And Monday’s win over England was watched by a record 8.2 million, making it by far the most popular TV show in Germany all week.

England came under heavy fire in their home media for their “pathetic capitulation”, as the Daily Mirror called it or for “suffering yet more agony at the hands of the Germans”.

The Guardian noted that “Goalkeeping blunders are not the sole preserve of the England senior team”.

But in Germany the U21 team were feted as conquering heroes. Stern.de breathlessly predicted this was the team that would win the 2014 World Cup.

“It was great the way they beat England down at first and then played them into the ground,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew, who was in Sweden for the final.

The German DFB (FA) claimed credit for the three titles, with DFB President Theo Zwanziger saying the “good structures” put into place in recent years and the “good work” done by DFB sporting director Matthias Sammer was the reason for the success.

The Bundesliga also took credit, saying they had trained the players. “What I’m especially pleased with is that all the players are from Bundesliga clubs,” said Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball.

And the German clubs, predictably, said they were responsible with officials from Hertha Berlin and Mainz arguing their good training, investment and talent development programmes had made the difference.

But the big question U have to ask is: Does it all matter? Does winning any or even all of the “Under-” tournaments mean U will later win the Euros or the World Cup?

PHOTO: German players celebrate celebrating after beating England 4-0 in the U21 European Championship final in Malmo June 29, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Strong

Now that the Bundesliga is done and dusted and Wolfsburg are deserved champions, one should spare a thought for Hamburg SV who until a few weeks ago were in the running for three trophies. They ended up with none.

But Hamburg are arguably the only team in the Bundesliga this season who managed to play high level football in all competitions. Wolfsburg only needed to do it for one, after being eliminated early on in the UEFA Cup and the German Cup. Bayern were out in the last eight in the Champions League and the German Cup.

Third-placed Stuttgart and fourth-placed Hertha Berlin also had only the Bundesliga to focus on.
 
Martin Jol’s Hamburg, plagued by injuries and suspensions throughout the season, were in the running for the Bundesliga title until three weeks from the end. They also reached the German Cup and UEFA Cup semi-finals where they lost to rivals Werder Bremen. And that is the really bitter part.

Werder, their rivals in northern Germany, eliminated them in both competitions and a week later also inflicted a Bundesliga defeat that dashed all of Hamburg’s title hopes.

They then lost further ground and going into the final matchday they were in danger of even missing a European spot for next season altogether.

That is until the very last minute of their match against Eintracht Frankfurt when Piotr Trochowski, arguably their most valuable player this season, scored the winner for a 3-2 victory, beating Borussia Dortmund to the last spot in the new Europa League next season.

Wolfsburg are only 90 minutes away from winning their first German championship and they have equalled or broken several records in achieving that.

No other team have ever had two strikers score 20 goals or more in a Bundesliga season. Grafite has 26, Edin Dzeko 25.

Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in one season in the Bundesliga with 10 consecutive victories after the winter break. They have a near perfect home record, dropping only two points in 16 matches this term.

What can they improve on after such a season?

Coach Felix Magath will not be there next term, having signed with Schalke 04. Grafite has said he will stay on but Dzeko looks unlikely to partner him up front next season with big European clubs including Arsenal rumoured to be eyeing the Bosnian and team mates.

But don’t expect Volkswagen-backed Wolfsburg to be a one-off thing.

Former VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh is a leading candidate to succeed Magath. Veh has tasted Bundesliga success with Stuttgart in 2007.

What is even more important though is that Wolfsburg have another three years on the contract of playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic, the main reason why Grafite and Dzeko have scored so many and why the team are a match away from winning the Bundesliga.

Misimovic, who had a spell at Bayern Munich, has been the driving force of the team, capable of splitting open defences with a vast arsenal of skills and his presence at Wolfsburg will be guarantee for other players to remain.

Car maker Volkswagen has invested heavily in the team under Magath, and with a boost in revenues next season due to Champions League football, it looks set to continue spending.

So for next season, just like in the final match of this campaign, Wolsburg have their fate in their own hands.

PHOTO: VfL Wolfsburg players celebrate following their German Bundesliga soccer match against Hannover 96 in Hanover, May16, 2009, REUTERS/Christian Charisius

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

When former Germany keeper Jens Lehmann said earlier this month he wants to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, many said it was just another provocative statement by the 39-year-old at the twilight of his career.

Even Germany coach Joachim Loew and national goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke ruled out a return, saying there were four talented keepers in the squad already, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler, Hanover 96 keeper Robert Enke, Manuel Neuer who plays for Schalke and Werder Bremen’s Tim Wiese.

Lehmann, who retired from the team after their Euro 2008 final loss to Spain, kept at it, saying he wanted to come back. “If the national team has the need for a keeper like me then they will approach me,” the former Arsenal and now VfB Stuttgart keeper said this week.

After Werder Bremen and Leverkusen qualified for the German Cup final, Lehmann could actually be right.

Germany are on an Asian tour from May 29 to June 3, but it now looks like they are fresh out of keepers. Wiese and Adler will play in the May 30 Cup final, Neuer will be at the U21 European championships and Enke could be locked in a relegation play-off with his club.

That leaves a few other options but none as attractive as Lehmann.

Arminia Bielefeld’s Dennis Eilhoff has had a very good season but just like Dortmund’s Roman Weidenfeller, is not as big a name and crowd puller as Lehmann for such a tour. Former Germany keeper Timo Hildebrand has had an injury-plagued return to the Bundesliga after signing for newcomers Hoffenheim late last year after a fruitless spell in Spain.

With several other big names missing from the squad — captain Michael Ballack will be with Chelsea at the FA Cup final, Real Madrid’s Christoph Metzelder still has league action, Bremen’s Torsten Frings plays in the German Cup final — Lehmann could possibly just sneak in.

PHOTO: Stuttgart’s goalkeeper Jens Lehmann gestures during their German Bundesliga first division soccer match against Herta Berlin in Stuttgart March 21, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

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

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

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.