Philipp Lahm: I See No Reason To Leave Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich full-back Philipp Lahm has indicated his desire to sign a new contract with the Allianz Arena side.

Speaking to the media after die Roten’s comfortable 4-2 victory over Freiburg on Friday night, the German national team captain announced once again that no-one has come forward to offer him a fresh deal, though at the same time he is not pushing for a move away from the club.

“I see no reason to leave the club,” the 26-year-old declared. “There are currently no negotiations with the leaders; we still have time.”

Presently, Lahm is contracted to FCB until the end of 2012, but if he wasn’t to sign a contract before the summer, then clubs could begin to circle the defender with thoughts of offering him a pre-contract agreement in January 2012.

Regarded widely as one of the most talented full-backs in the world game and versatile enough to play on either flank, the diminutive tackler is seen as a prized asset.

Sami Khedira Reveals He’s Having No Problems Communicating With Spanish Speaking Team-Mates

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira says that even though he doesn't speak Spanish very well, he can still communicate with his team-mates on the pitch.

Khedira admits that neither he nor compatriot Mesut Oezil can speak fluent Spanish yet but insists that this doesn’t impede them in matches.

"Oezil and I are ready to help,” Khedira is quoted as saying by Madrid’s official website. “We are creative and we can help Xabi Alonso.

“We don't speak Spanish very well at the moment, but we communicate well with our team-mates."

The defensive midfielder went on to speak about the upcoming match against Hercules.

"We have a good chance to win titles this season. If we play well as a team we will have chances to win in Alicante.

"We know our match against Hercules will be difficult. We faced them in the pre-season. They are dangerous and strong in attack.

"They have [Nelson] Valdez, whom I knew in the Bundesliga, and [David] Trezeguet, who always finds room in which to score."

Khedira concluded by stating he is confident that he will score sooner rather than later for the Blancos.

“I'm sure I will score soon. I've had chances to but was unlucky. I come closer to netting a strike each day. I've analysed my team-mates on the pitch, which will help me score."

Spain, Germany dominate Ballon d'Or nominations

FIFA World Cup champion Spain had seven players nominated for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, followed by Germany with five, as the two countries combined for 12 of the 23 selections announced Tuesday.

Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, David Villa and Xavi were nominated from Spain, while Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger were picked from Germany.

Klose, Lahm, Muller and Schweinsteiger also appeared in the Champions League final for Bayern Munich, a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan. Milan's Wesley Sneijder as well as Dutch teammate Arjen Robben - who led the Netherlands to the World Cup final - of Bayern also made the list.

Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo - the last two FIFA World Players of the Year - also made the list but are not favored to capture the award this season.

No English player made the list, and just three from the Premier League - Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba and Asamoah Gyan - were nominated.

All of the nominations played in the World Cup, and nine of them also appeared in the UEFA Champions League final.

The FIFA Ballon d'Or will be awarded for the first time, as the former FIFA World Player of the Year award and Ballon d'Or were combined. Three finalists will be announced on Dec. 6, with the winner announced Jan. 10.

Brazil's Marta and Germany's Birgit Prin, who have combined to claim the last seven women's FIFA World Player of the Year awards, are among the 10 finalists again this year.

Awards for the best men's and women's coach were also be given this year, with Spain's Vincente del Bosque, who led his team to the World Cup title, and Jose Mourinho, who led Inter to the Champions League title, among the nominations on the men's side.

Following are all the men's FIFA Ballon d'Or nominations:

Argentina - Lionel Messi; Brazil - Daniel Alves, Julio Cesar, Maicon; Cameroon - Samuel Eto'o; Germany - Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger; Ghana - Asamoah Gyan; Ivory Coast - Didier Drogba; Netherlands - Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder; Portugal - Cristiano Ronaldo; Spain - Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, David Villa, Xavi; Uruguay - Diego Forlan.

Mental burden destroying Bayern Munich - Philipp Lahm Accumulated games played catching up with German giants

Bayern Munich may have beaten rivals Werder Bremen in last night's DFB Pokal second round clash, but die Roten continue to struggle domestically. In an interview, vice-captain Philipp Lahm revealed that the Bavarians' woes are being compounded by the mental burden of an ever-increasing gap between them and leaders Mainz.

"It is the mental effort that is destroying us, because the distance to make up is 12 points," Lahm told Sport-Bild.

Lahm also admitted his personal shortcomings thus far: "I am not playing up to the level I can reach."

As reigning champions and traditional powerhouses of Bundesliga football, Bayern are in the uncharacteristically low table position of 11th place. Their next match will be on Friday as they host Freiburg.

A special player for the Special One

BARCELONA -- Jose Mourinho's fiercest critics reckon that the Real Madrid manager only falls in love every time he looks in the shaving mirror. But it's not true.

Sometimes footballers make him fall head over heels, and one of the last times Cupid hit home was when the Special One's heart had just been broken.

Roll back to 2007, when Mourinho and Roman Abramovich spectacularly divorced. Chelsea's Champions League draw with Rosenberg was enough to make Abramovich sack the man who, just a few weeks previously, had completed a record 64 home games undefeated.

Sitting at home nursing an expensive payoff from Chelsea's Roman emperor, Mourinho naturally tuned in to watch "his" team play Schalke 04 -- even though Avram Grant was now in charge. Mourinho was instantly brought into full attention by the play of a strangely named 18-year-old German, Mesut Ozil.

Substituted just after the hour, Ozil couldn't have been aware that he had already changed his life.

But the Special One knows a special talent, and he reached for a pen to scribble some notes, the gist of which read: Buy this guy soon.

At the time, the petit playmaker didn't look like a world-class talent the way, say, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney did when they were younger. But the best coaches get joy from discovering kids with raw talent and molding them into top-class players.

Ozil, of course, went on to inspire Werder Bremen to victory over Mourinho's Inter Milan, and to push Germany to the gates of the World Cup final. A creative, quick-footed and agile No. 10 had emerged on the international scene.

So when Mourinho took over at Madrid, he couldn't believe that Ozil was available on the transfer market for $19 million this summer. It mostly had to do with the fact that the player had twelve months left on his contract with Werder Bremen, after which he could sign for the club of his choice on a free transfer.

It was astonishingly bad housekeeping by Werder Bremen. It had planned to sell the player to Bayern Munich for around $30 million, but Ozil refused to go. He warned Werder that he would sit tight and leave for free at the end of his contract unless the right deal with the right club was hashed out. Game, set and match to Ozil and Real Madrid.

Mourinho would have authorized his club to pay at least another $5 million to $6 million to land Ozil. But in the end, he was ecstatic that everything worked out so smoothly.

When Ozil arrived at the Bernabeu, he didn't speak Spanish, looked paler than Andres Iniesta, was tired from the World Cup and lacked the upper-body strength that little guys such as Messi and Sergio Aguero have developed in order to maximize their abilities. In short, you could be forgiven for thinking that Ozil would struggle, at least in his first few months in Spain.

But despite all these things working against him, the German has mesmerized fans, fellow players and the media since the day he arrived.

This season, he has played in every Real Madrid match, scoring three times and notching six assists. He also handled with aplomb the hostility of the Turkish media and fans when Germany faced Turkey in Euro 2012 qualifying earlier this month. Ozil is third-generation German, but some Turks think of him as having betrayed them because of his Turkish ancestry. Although the match was in Berlin, the city's large Turkish community meant that the crowd was heavily in favor of the visitors. Ozil's response? He scored in the 79th minute to help lead Germany to a 3-0 victory.

"Germany is my country and I couldn't imagine playing for any other national team," Ozil told reporters.

Germany coach Joachim Löw said in the postmatch press conference: "I know, from experience, how much Madrid fans are going to enjoy Ozil when he hits top form. He'll be a leader for Mourinho and a rival for Messi."

In order to achieve that, along with Ozil's stated goal to AS newspaper of "winning all three major trophies because we are a hungry squad and Mourinho is the best coach," he has some work to do. His average game time is 68 minutes in La Liga and 69 minutes in the Champions League. If he had more stamina and physical power, Mourinho would use him more. Gym work lies in Ozil's future. He also needs to hit the books and learn Spanish, so he can better communicate with his teammates.

After Ozil strengthens his mind and body, Mourinho will have a world-beater on his hands and a natural replacement for the vision and technique of Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez.

A special player for the Special One.

Philipp Lahm Satisfied With A Point After Bayern Munich Draw With Hamburg

Bayern Munich fell further off the pace of the Bundesliga leaders on Friday evening as they were held to a frustrating draw against Hamburg, though Philipp Lahm doesn’t believe the 0-0 scoreline was especially catastrophic.

Head coach Louis van Gaal indicated his belief that his side should have picked up the full complement of point immediately after the game, but Germany captain Lahm has suggested getting anything from the fixture at all should be considered a minor success.

“Obviously, we wanted to come away with the three points, but HSV had a huge chance to win it at the end, so we have to be satisfied with a point. After all, HSV aren’t just any old team,” the defender told his club’s official website in the aftermath of the fixture. “Overall it was a reasonable performance, but we need more determination and precision in the final third.”

Injury-hit Bayern presently lie ninth in the Bundesliga standings, nine points behind Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, having played a game more.

Twente Match Almost Like A Final - Per Mertesacker

Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker has heaped the pressure on his team ahead of tonight's Champions League clash with Twente.

"It is almost like a final," the Germany international said according to Kicker. "We need to take something."

"From the games against Twente we should get four points," Werder boss Klaus Allofs added. "But six would be better."

Both Twente and Bremen have taken just one point from two Champions League matches, and are three points behind Tottenham and Inter in Group A. Both of tonight's contestants still have a chance to qualify for the knockout rounds, but will be keen to at least finish third in their group and earn a spot in the Europa League.