MANCHESTER -- Ivica Olic was slightly limping at the late-night banquet in Manchester's Worsley Park hotel but still smiling when a reporter asked him about his running battle with Man City defender Stefan Savic a couple of hours earlier. "Big problems," the Bayern Munich striker said in broken German, before smiling even more. His foot was hurting from a kick by Savic in the opening minutes but it obviously didn't seem to matter all that much. Olic got his retaliation in by elbowing Savic into the advertising board a little later and was duly booked for his troubles.
Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen enjoyed five-goal romps and champions Borussia Dortmund also secured a fine win in the German Bundesliga Saturday.
"Typical Germans," Sir Alex Ferguson sneered after Manchester United's away-goals quarterfinal exit against Bayern Munich (4-4 on aggregate) in the Champions League 12 months ago. The Scot was referring to the perceived gamesmanship of Ivica Olic, Franck Ribéry, Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who all made sure referee Nicola Rizzoli was well aware that United defender Rafael had already been on a yellow card before his dismissal.
One sole error of judgment, a little slip or loss of concentration, and your entire career can go do down the drain. That's the frightening reality of life as a professional goalkeeper. The idea that an outfield player could be similarly affected by a single mishap seems absurd. But perhaps that's exactly what happened to Mario Gomez.
Miroslav Klose scored the only goal of the game as Germany's exciting young side began their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 1-0 Group A win over Belgium in Brussels.
Thomas Mueller celebrated signing a new contract with Bayern Munich by helping the Bundesliga champions to win the pre-season German Supercup clash with runners-up Schalke on Saturday.
Nearly 11 months of competition have come to this, a Champions League final to be duked out in king of rings, the Santiago Bernabeu. In the blue corner, the lip-curled sneer of Jose Mourinho, who actually seems to be enjoying his success at Internazionale -- this is a league and cup double-winning season -- about as much as a punch in the face. In the red corner, Louis van Gaal, whose Bayern Munich side thrashed Werder Bremen 4-0 to claim its own double last weekend.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich remain on course for a unique treble of trophies after crushing Werder Bremen 4-0 in the German Cup final on Saturday.
Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title for a record 22nd time thanks to a 3-1 away win over relegated Hertha Berlin on the final day of the German season.
Croatian striker Ivica Olic scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich crushed Lyon 3-0 to reach the Champions League final 4-0 on aggregate.
Bayern Munich smashed seven goals past struggling Hannover to re-establish the German giants' two-point lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday night.
Dutch winger Arjen Robben scored a spectacular volley in the second half, and Bayern Munich advanced over Manchester United into the European Champions League semifinals.
Bayern Munich produced a spirited fight back to knock 10-man Manchester United out of Europe's Champions League and set up a semifinal against Lyon.
Not that Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced; he clearly fancies Rooney to net the away goal that would take some nerves out of the return encounter at Old Trafford. "He's had an unbelievable season," he said -- and the United boss is also smiling about having Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand back in the center of his back line: "Strong in the back and strong as a team, and we look very strong now."
Bayern Munich scored in injury-time to defeat Manchester United 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, while Lyon beat their French rivals Bordeaux 3-1.
Schalke claimed top spot in the Bundesliga on Saturday as previous leaders Bayern Munich suffered a second successive league defeat ahead of next week's Champions League quarterfinals.
A wonder goal from Arjen Robben helped Bayern Munich snatch a 3-2 away victory over Werder Bremen which fired them back to the top of the German Bundesliga table for at least 24 hours.
Bayern Munich returned to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time since May 2008 with a 2-0 victory at home to Hoffenheim on Friday night in the first match after the German winter break.
Schalke moved to within a point of German Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen after winning 2-0 away to fellow title hopefuls Werder Bremen on Saturday night.
Bayern Munich eliminated fellow European powerhouses Juventus from this season's Champions League with a superb 4-1 win in Turin on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid took a step closer to the last 16 of the Champions League after easing past Zurich 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Gonzalo Higuain.
Last season's losing finalists Manchester United opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win away to Besiktas, while Wolfsburg beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 in Tuesday night's other Group B clash.
Coach Louis Van Gaal is still seeking his first win in charge of Bayern Munich following Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Werder Bremen, which left the German giants four points behind champions Wolfsburg after only two rounds.
CNN's Kate Giles previews the upcoming German Bundesliga soccer season.
Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw by Hoffenheim in their opening match of the Bundesliga season and first under new coach Louis van Gaal.
Werder Bremen are through to the UEFA Cup final, where they will face Ukrainian side Shakhtar Dontesk, after winning 3-2 at Bundesliga rivals Hamburg on Thursday to progress on the away goals rule.
Goalkeeper Tim Wiese made three consecutive penalty saves as Werder Bremen beat 10-man Hamburg 3-1 on penalties to reach the German Cup final, after the match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time.
Bundesliga title chasers SV Hamburg have been paired with Premier League Manchester City in the draw for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup made on Friday.
CSKA Moscow produced a professional performance to get past Aston Villa's 'reserves' in the second leg of their UEFA Cup last-32 tie on Thursday, winning 2-0 on the night for a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Martin Jol's SV Hamburg went to the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over reigning champions Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich have agreed a deal to sign Croatian international striker Ivica Olic from Bundesliga rivals Hamburg, the German champions have revealed on their official Web site fcbayern.de.
Bundesliga side Hamburg have finished top of UEFA Cup Group F after defeating Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa 3-1 in the final round of matches.
Premeir League side Aston Villa are through to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, despite scrashing to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of minnows Zilina in Group F.
SV Hamburg's German title challenge faltered as they could only muster a 1-1 draw at lowly Bochum on Sunday.
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic sent out a defiant message on Wednesday after naming an injury-hit squad for World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and England.
Austrian police try to contain violence between Croatian and Turkish fans in Vienna.
Turkey will play Germany in the semifinals of Euro 2008 after winning a dramatic penalty shootout against Croatia in Vienna.
BASEL, Switzerland -- Remember 4-4-2? That basic formation you most likely played when you were kids? Four defenders in a line (maybe one of them might drop off to sweep), four midfielders in a line (the wide guys acting, effectively as wingers) and two forwards, also pretty much playing alongside each other.
Croatia sent out a message of intent to the other Euro 2008 finalists as they stunned highly-fancied Germany 2-1 in Klagenfurt to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Croatia held off a furious late onslaught from Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria to win 1-0 in their opening Group B match in Vienna on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, Niko Kovac scored the only goal in the 30th minute, as Croatia withstood a late rush to defeat Moldova 1-0 in their friendly match in Rijeka.
Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto earned a point for Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich with a second-half equalizer as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Hamburg on Sunday and move four points clear.
Hamburg's German Bundesliga title bid suffered a big blow after being held 1-1 at home by 10-man Hanover on Saturday.
Bayern Munich maintained their advantage at the top of Group F but missed the chance to reach the UEFA Cup knockout rounds with a game to spare as Braga came back to earn a point in a 1-1 draw in Portugal.
SV Hamburg shrugged off last week's news that coach Huub Stevens will leave the team by beating Hansa Rostock 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Croatia demolished England's dreams of a place in the Euro 2008 finals with a dramatic 3-2 triumph at Wembley that sent Russia through as Group E runners-up.
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has recalled three players to his squad for next month's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Andorra and England in Zagreb.
Croatia trio Bosko Balaban, Ivica Olic and Dario Srna have been expelled from their Euro 2008 qualifying squad and fined after leaving the team's training camp to go partying in a nightclub.
Croatia striker Ivica Olic will miss their remaining World Cup qualifiers after suffering a serious knee injury in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Brazil.
Brazil had to come from a goal behind to draw 1-1 with Croatia in Split in a frendly international largely dominated by the world champions.
Croatia maintained their lead at the top of World Cup qualifying Group 8 with an impressive 3-1 victory over Bulgaria.
The battle for control of Champions League Group F match begins in earnest on Wednesday when AC Milan face Barcelona at Rome's San Siro stadium.
Croatian striker Ivica Olic, who tested positive for a banned substance, and Swiss striker Alexander Frei, who was alleged to have spat at England's Steven Gerrard, will face no sanction, UEFA has ruled.
Ten-man Switzerland battled to a goalless draw with Croatia in a poor-quality opening Euro 2004 Group B clash on Sunday in Leiria.
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