SV Hamburg coach Kurt Jara is counting on a change of fortune when his side take on reigning champions Bayern Munich at the AOL-Arena tomorrow with his team searching for their first win of the 2003/04 Bundesliga campaign.
Bayern crushed Hamburg 3-0 at the same venue last season but under pressure coach Jara is looking for a reaction from his team after a torrid start to the new season.
"What we built up in eight weeks has been broken down in 21 days," raged Jara after the 5-1 thrashing by VfL Wolfsburg last Sunday.
Hamburg will take heart from their win on penalty kicks in the semifinal of the League Cup, a competition they won with a 4-2 triumph against Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern have yet to lose in the Bundesliga and could be boosted by the return of talisman midfielder Michael Ballack.
The German international missed the friendly with Italy due to a calf complaint but has an outside chance of travelling to Hamburg.
"If he can train with the team we will consider playing him at the weekend," coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told German newspaper <
Hitzfeld also confirmed that Dutch international striker Roy Makaay would be handed another chance to notch his first Bundesliga goal after failing to find the net in the 2-0 win over VfL Bochum last Saturday.
Bayer Leverkusen hope to extend their 100 percent record to four Bundesliga games after collecting nine points from their opening three fixtures in the German top-flight.
Klaus Augenthaler's troops face VfL Bochum at the Ruhr Stadium today and will be fully aware of the potential stumbling block against a side that garnered six points from them last season.
Peter Neururer's side won 2-1 in Bochum last time around and the 48-year-old manager is confident of ending the winning streak of Bayer with their first victory of the new season.
"We will beat Leverkusen," vowed Neururer. "We managed it twice last season."
Eight points separate pace-setters Bayer from 14th placed Bochum.
Jupp Heynckes will look to build on Schalke 04's 2-1 win over Cologne last Sunday with another three points against Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and