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.

Turks have nicknamed Luis Aragones “dede” or “granddad” since he became Fenerbahce coach last July – at first to convey the respect they’d show a wise and experienced elder, but nowadays to express their fury at a man they view as an incompetent geriatric.

Calls for his resignation have increased since Fenerbahce lost the Turkish Cup to bitter Istanbul rivals Besiktas last week. A victory could have sweetened Aragones’ severance package from his contract, but would no longer have saved his job, Turkish media said.

The 70-year-old Spaniard arrived in Turkey on a high, having just led Spain to victory in Euro 2008, their first major title in 44 years.

But his spell at Fenerbahce has gone from bad to worse. The Istanbul side, Champions League quarter-finalists in 2008, failed to reach the knockout stages of this season’s competition and finished bottom of their group with just two points.

With two matches left of the Turkish league, Fenerbahce languish in 5th, 10 points behind leaders Besiktas, and heading for their lowest league finish since 2003.

Aragones’ gruff manner and often lethargic mood pitchside have won him few friends in Turkey.

Club president Aziz Yildirim has acknowledged fans’ despair and pledged sweeping changes to restore the team’s spirit, and get them back into the Champions League. Aragones’ fate has not yet been officially announced but among rumoured replacements are former coach Christoph Daum, who won two league titles with the club.

PHOTO: Fenerbahce’s Spanish coach Luis Aragones waits for the start of their Turkish Cup final against Besiktas at the Ataturk stadium in Izmir, western Turkey, May 13, 2009. REUTERS/ Murad Sezer

“There is no nightlife in Sivas,” states Sivasspor coach Bulent Uygun.

This is why his team are surprise leaders of the Turkish championship.

Located in Anatolia’s bleak central heartland, Sivas is a tortuous 12-hour drive from the temptations of Istanbul. Turkey’s glittering beach resorts aren’t much closer.

You’d have thought the 38-year-old Uygun might have a bit more sympathy for his players. But to a man nicknamed “the soldier”, and whose website displays poems he has penned to Turkish generals and the Turkish Republic, discipline is key.

“There are only a few shops where my players can buy drinks but I’m in contact with the shop owners,” Uygun told Hurriyet newspaper.

“I am informed as soon as one of my players buys drinks and I warn him.”

With two months to go, Sivasspor have a real chance of breaking the Istanbul teams’ 24-year stranglehold on the title — and Uygun is excited.

“Sivasspor will be champions and show a good example to other Anatolian teams.”

He also relishes the prospect of minnows Sivasspor, with a budget of just $12 million, joining the Champions League.

But how will his clean-living team fare when swapping conservative Central Turkey for the drinking dens of Soho and Madrid?

PHOTO: A calf looks out of the back window of a cab as it is transported to shelter after a cold snap caused temperatures to fall below minus 22 C in the central Turkish town of Sivas, Jan. 11, 2002. REUTERS/Anatolian FS/WS

This week’s two World Cup qualifiers between Spain and Turkey have prompted the Spanish media to look back at a dramatic moment in the history of the two nations’ soccer teams.

It came at the end of the last of three matches the pair played in early 1954 to decide which would qualify for the World Cup in Switzerland later that year.

Spain won the first game 4-1 in Madrid but Turkey shocked the Spaniards by winning the second 1-0 in Istanbul. That meant they had to play a decider in Rome, goal difference not being taken into account in the rules of the time.

After the clash in the Italian capital ended in a 2-2 draw, the stalemate had to be resolved by drawing lots and a 14-year-old Roman named Luigi Franco Gemma, the son of an employee at the stadium, was picked to draw one name from the pot.

Adrian Escudero, scorer of Spain’s second goal in Rome, takes up the story:
“We shut ourselves away in the dressing room feeling utterly dispirited, thinking that there was nothing more we could do, that everything had gone so badly that the kid wouldn’t pick our name,” he told Friday’s As newspaper.

“And of course he picked Turkey. The disappointment was tremendous. We felt helpless. It was dramatic.”

As said the Turks invited Gemma to go to Switzerland as their mascot but did not say whether he accepted.

They went on to lose twice to eventual winners West Germany, 4-1 and 7-2, but did manage a 7-0 victory over Korea.

Drawing lots is a highly unsatisfactory way of resolving a qualifying group but one that could make for some great television.

PHOTO: Spain’s Fernando Torres juggles with a ball during a training session near Madrid. March 25, 2009. Spain will face Turkey in a 2010 World Cup qualifier match on March 28, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Galatasaray took a gamble in replacing German coach Michael Skibbe with former captain Bulent Korkmaz just three days before their UEFA Cup tie against Bordeaux.

But there was jubilation at the Ali Sami Yen stadium on Thursday after the team clinched a place in the last 16 with Sabri Sarioglu’s 90th minute decider sealing a thrilling 4-3 win.

“There was a lack of motivation before I came,” Korkmaz said after the game, which ended a run of five matches without a victory.

“Tonight my players showed how they can play… We have done nothing yet, this is just the beginning.”

His side will play Bundesliga side Hamburg SV next.

Known affectionately to fans as the “Buyuk Kaptan”, (Great Captain), Korkmaz won eight domestic titles and the UEFA Cup in 2000 with Galatasaray. He was also capped 102 times by Turkey.

“He has brought us the spirit of 2000,” rejoiced a supporter on a Galatasaray blog. “Bulent is our boy.”

With his broad smile and coiffed black hair the Buyuk Kaptan certainly cuts a dash on the touchline.

But he has a patchy record as a manager. Since becoming a club coach in 2006 he has had stints with Kayseri Erciyesspor, Bursaspor and Genclerbirligi - all of them brief.

Fans see no better man to ferry their team across the Bosphoruous come May to a UEFA Cup final to be held in the stadium of bitter rivals Fenerbahce. But does Korkmaz risk joining the ranks of great players who fade into ineffectual managers?

PHOTO: Galatasaray’s supporters celebrate during their UEFA Cup match against Girondins Bordeaux at the Chaban Delmas stadium, Feb. 18, 2009. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

As the dust settles on Euro 2008 and attention turns to transfer market, it will be interesting to see how many of the top performers from the tournament will be on the move in the coming weeks.

If Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United generated endless speculation at the start of the Euros, the finals ended with other names enjoying newly-acquired prominence. 

Andrei Arshavin’s form for Russia has already prompted a paper mountain of speculation about his future, with Barcelona the dream destination of the Zenit St Petersburg forward. Euro 2008 top scorer David Villa is also expected to be leaving Valencia - even if his four goals for champions Spain will have inflated the Mestalla club’s asking price considerably.  

Another name to consider from UEFA’s 23-man team of the tournament is Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavyluchenko - scorer of three goals for Russia - who according to one British newspaper on Tuesday is now on the radar of Manchester United. 

England may not have been present in Austria and Switzerland but the Premier League boasted six players in the team of the tournament and more may be headed to Europe’s most lucrative league before the start of the season.

At almost 32, Spain’s fine holding midfielder Marcos Senna may be tempted away from Villarreal for a potential last big pay day, while it would have been negligent of scouts to ignore the players that took Turkey to the last four - Galatasaray wide man Arda Turan, in particular.    

In some cases, players already had their transfers tied up before stepping into the Euro shop window. The 16.6m pound deal Tottenham sealed for Dinamo Zagreb’s playmaker Luka Modric certainly made sense when seeing him perform so impressively for Croatia.  

Of course, a player’s ability to shine in the international spotlight is no guarantee he will turn it on week in, week out for his club side as Tottenham fans with memories of another eastern European recruit will know only too well.  

Romanian Ilie Dumitrescu arrived at the White Hart Lane club after scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Argentina at the 1994 World Cup but did not last a full season before being shipped out on loan to Sevilla.

Turkey coach Fatih Terim said he would probably leave following their unlucky 3-2 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2008 semi-finals.

Given the way his determined and depleted side played and the gracious manner in which Terim conducted himself, a move to a big European club may not be far away.

Of course the former Galatasaray boss already had short stints at AC Milan and Fiorentina at the start of the decade. The Italian media and fans were suspicious of a Turkish manager and he was not given ample time to show what he could do.

After dealing with a raft of suspensions and injuries and still leading Turkey to an unprecedented European Championship semi-final, he fully deserves another opportunity at a top European club. His side never gave up, scoring some improbable late goals, and against Germany in Basel they were better side for much of the game and should have won.

I was most impressed with his amazing dignity in the pre and post match news conferences. He refused to make the suspensions an excuse or criticise the referees. The snappy dresser, who changes his sweaty shirts in the dugout, also congratulated Germany and said they had to accept the result even if they were unfortunate.

So which club chairman will be singing “you’re the one for me, Fatih”?

(Apologies to those who do not know obscure songs by British crooner Morrissey.)

Mark Meadows in Basel

PHOTO: Turkey coach Fatih Terim after their Euro 2008 semi-final defeat by Germany at St Jakob Park stadium in Basel, June 25. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen

Germany made it into the final of Euro 2008 despite playing some truly awful football against Turkey.

The question now is can anything stop them winning their fourth European Championship in Sunday’s final in Vienna?

Fans back home in Germany missed some of the second half after a storm in Vienna caused a problem with the TV signal. That was a shame, because it was only in the last few minutes in Basel that Germany actually started playing the way they should have done all along.

In the first half they were far too careless with the ball, seemed to underestimate how dangerous Turkey could be and deservedly fell behind to a goal from Ugur Boral.

Germany equalised with their one moment of quality in the first half, when Bastian Schweinsteiger clipped in from Lukas Podolski’s cross, before a talking-to from coach Joachim Loew at the break served to sort them out.

“I told them we have to play more seriously, and stop losing the ball,” Loew said.

The dressing down worked and when an otherwise anonymous Miroslav Klose headed in on 79 minutes, Germany looked to be on their way. Another twist saw Semih Senturk equalise before Philipp Lahm bagged a 90th minute winner.

Germany win even when they don’t play well. Can they really be stopped?

On Sept. 8 2007, Turkey slumped to a 2-2 draw with minnows Malta in Euro qualifying.

The Turkish fans who made the journey to Ta’Qali would never have believed their Euro 2008 journey would take them to a first European Championship semi-final against Germany.

For most of Friday’s quarter-final with Croatia, they doubted it too. 

Robbed of seven members of the 23-man squad through injury and suspension and 1-0 down as the clock hit 122 minutes, Turkey were on their way out.

The Croatians were thinking of a rematch with Germany in the semi-finals and emulating their 2-1 win in the group stages to set up a first major tournament final appearance.

But the Turks, who came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against the Czechs in the group stage, again dug deep into their powers of recovery.

Semih Senturk’s late, late strike forced the game into penalties, and at that point there was only going to be one winner. The Croatian players looked in shock and just weren’t ready for the shootout. The excellent Luka Modric shot wide with the opening kick and Croatia crumbled.

But have Turkey peaked? Can they raise themselves again? How much longer can they continue to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

The task is mighty, but after their recovery in qualifying after the Malta shambles and there resilient displays over the past fortnight, no one should right off Turkey.

Germany beware.

Wow, Donald Sutherland seems very upset by that penalty decision!      

A lot of people in football look like a lot of other people but more people in Euro 2008 seem to have doubles than in any other tournament.     

It’s well known by now of course that Portugal and soon to be Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is the spitting image of Hollywood actor Gene Hackman. 

But has anyone else noticed the incredible similarity between Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero and rock legend Bruce Springsteen. I went to see Springsteen at the Emirates stadium the other week and when he did his knee slides I thought I was watching Del Piero celebrating a goal against Arsenal.      

George Clooney has been in goal for Greece here, or rather George Clooney-alike Antonios Nikopolidis while Donald Sutherland has temporarily left his role in the TV series Dirty Sexy Money to coach the Polish team, or was that Leo Beenhakker complaining about Howard Webb’s refereeing decisions?      

Fatih Terim, the dashing Turkish coach could, I reckon, walk into Hollywood passing himself off as either Robert de Niro’s older brother, or Joe Pesci’s taller brother. And while we are with the Turks Nihat Kahveci is a dead ringer for Mads Mikkelsen, who played the villain Le Chiffre in the latest 007 movie Casino Royale.

I know they are different people though, because Nihat didn’t cry tears of blood when he scored twice as Turkey beat the Czechs, just tears of joy.      

Any others?

PHOTOS: REUTERS/Tony Gentile and Brendan McDermid