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Fed-up fans of Bundesliga strugglers Stuttgart protested outside the Mercedes-Benz Arena following Sunday's 5-3 loss to Bayern Munich.
Driven to despair by their club's worst-ever start to a league season, fans demonstrated outside Stuttgart's home ground calling on the club's board to resign.
Club president Erwin Staudt attempted to address the angry crowd with a loudspeaker but was unable to defuse the situation.
The supporters are also believed to be upset with the sacking of manager Jens Keller and the appointment of Bruno Labbadia.
Labbadia is the third manager to take the reins at Stuttgart this season after Christian Gross made way for Keller in October.
Stuttgart are second-bottom on the Bundesliga table with just 12 points from 17 matches.
Van Nistelrooy committed to Hamburg 22 December 2010
Veteran striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has pledged to see out the remainder of his contract with Bundesliga side Hamburg.
The 34-year-old Dutchman arrived at the club in January 2010 after making his name at Manchester United and Real Madrid, but has failed to produce his best form for Armin Veh's side.
Hamburg are ninth in the Bundesliga, and like his club, van Nistelrooy has struggled to find consistency in his performances this season.
But despite the disappointing start to his time at the Imtech Arena, van Nistelrooy said he is keen to stay and add to his tally of 10 goals in 25 matches for Hamburg.
"The year of 2010 has been very disappointing, both for me and the club," Van Nistelrooy told Bild.
"When I joined everything looked great. We were in fourth position and had a good chance to claim the Europa League."
"Sadly, we finished the season empty-handed but it was not a wrong decision for me to decide to play for this club.
I wanted to help the club." "I did not achieve that, so I am going to remain until the end of the summer."
Hamburg sit four points out of the European places on the table, but will not have the chance to improve their position until they take on Schalke in their first match back after the winter break on January 15.
Turkish delight : Turkish giants Besiktas have made a swoop for Werder Bremen striker Hugo Almeida, seen here.
(GSM) - Turkish giants Besiktas have made a swoop for Werder Bremen striker Hugo Almeida.
The announcement comes by the Turkish side following the signing of Simão from Atlético Madrid on Wednesday.
Werder Bremen, who were unable to meet the Portugal striker's wage demands, have now sold Almeida to Besiktas for a fee of € 2 million (£1.7m) rather risk losing him for nothing when his contract would have expired.
Almeida, who has scored 11 goals in 20 games for Werder this season, has scored a total of 63 goals in 176 games for the Bundesliga side while racking up 12 goals in 33 international appearances for Portugal.
Besiktas are currently way off the pace in the Turkish championship as they lie fifth, 14 points adrift of leaders Bursaspor after 17 matches.
Spain, ahoy!: Bayern München defender Martin Demichelis, seen here, has confirmed his switch to Spanish side Málaga.
(GSM) - Bayern München defender Martin Demichelis is set to leave the German giants to join Spanish side Málaga.
The Argentina international has confirmed his departure despite the Bavarian club having yet to announce the deal.
Following a difficult season after falling out of favour, the 31-year-old told the Bild newspaper that the paperwork has been signed and he is heading for pastures new.
''I said my goodbyes to my team mates in the dressing room,'' Demichelis revealed.
''The transfer is completed. It has been seven unforgettable years.''
Demichelis, who arrived in Munich in 2003, forged a strong partnership with Lúcio during the 2007-08 season which helped set a new league record of only 21 goals conceded all season.
However, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal told him in the summer that he would no longer be considering him for the first team.
<cite class="source"> </cite>Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko is closing in on a Bundesliga-record €40 million move to Manchester City, according to reports in Germany on Wednesday.
<cite></cite>Edin Dzeko has been a long-time transfer target of Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini
Dzeko, 24, has made no secret of his desire to leave Wolfsburg and City have been linked with a swoop or some time, despite the Bosnian previously stating that AC Milan would be his preferred destination.
But with City looking to consolidate their position in the upper echelons of the Premier League, Roberto Mancini is moving for Dzeko in a bid to boost his side's ability to challenge for the title.
The arrival of Dzeko would likely force the sales of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, while Mario Balotelli - already struggling to earn a regular first-team place - is unlikely to welcome the Bosnian with open arms.
Mancini has confirmed that he is a fan of Dzeko, with the Wolfsburger Allgemeine newspaper quoting Mancini saying: "We have the chance to win the league this year and the decisive factor could be Edin Dzeko.
This player can decide titles and that is why we want him.''
Wolfsburg's managing director Dieter Hoeness declared last week that his club is preparing to make major changes to the playing personnel after a disappointing first half of the season.
Selling a player of Dzeko's talent may not be his preference, but the player's malaise at the 2009 Bundesliga champions, who currently seem unlikely to provide him with the chance to play in the Champions League next season, may be one of the reasons the team has not been functioning since Steve McClaren took over as coach in the summer.
A fee of 40 million euros, which the Wolfsburger Allgemeine reports would be made up of an initial fee of 30 million euros with five million to follow in the case of City qualifying for the Champions League, while five million euros would go on signing-on and agent fees, would break the Bundesliga's transfer record.
Bayern Munich currently hold that with their 30 million euros outlay on Mario Gomez from Stuttgart in 2009.
Diego's sale from Werder Bremen to Juventus last year is the most expensive foreign sale to date at 27 million euros, while he returned to the Bundesliga last summer, joining Wolfsburg for a cut-price fee of 15.5 million.
And the Wolves are set to make a huge profit on a player they signed for just four million from FK Teplice in 2007.
He won the Bundesliga golden boot award last season after coming runner-up to his team mate Grafite in Wolfsburg's championship-winning year.
He has already found the back of the net 10 times this season, taking his overall tally to 66 in 111 games for the Wolves.
Cologne's new director of sport Volker Finke believes his club have pulled off a major transfer coup by signing Japan international Tomoaki Makino from Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
<cite></cite>Tomoaki Makino becomes the fifth Japanese player in the Bundesliga
The 23-year-old will join the Goats for an undisclosed fee after participating in the Asian Games in Qatar next month and will sign a contract until June 2013, after successfully passing a medical.
"I am delighted with the transfer of Tomoaki Makino to Cologne,'' said Finke on Cologne's official website.
"I have been watching the player in Japan for a long time and I am convinced about his qualities.
"Makino can play in several positions defensively while he can also set the tone going forwards.''
Finke, who will be officially starting his work with Cologne in February, played a major role in bringing Makino to the Bundesliga, according to Cologne's general manager Claus Horstmann.
"We are delighted that our cooperation with Volker Finke is already bearing its first fruits,'' he said.
"We are grateful that we have been able to complete this transfer thanks to his good contacts in Japan.
Gladbach try to shore up Bundesliga's worst defence
15:54 GMT, Fri 31 Dec 2010
BERLIN, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Table-propping Borussia Moenchengladbach announced two new signings on Thursday in their attempt to shore up the Bundesliga's leakiest defence.
Borussia, who have shipped 47 goals in 17 league matches, said on their website (www.borussia.de) that they had signed Austrian defender Martin Stranzl from Spartak Moscow and Norwegian youth international Havard Nordtveit from Arsenal.
Stranzl, 30, who has previous Bundesliga experience with TSV Munich, has won 56 caps for Austria.
Nordtveit joined Arsenal as a 17-year-old three years ago without managing to break into the first time.
He captained the reserves in his first season as has since played on loan at Salamanca, Lillestrom and Nuremberg.
Gladbach reached the winter break with 10 points from 17 games although their only two wins were big ones -- 6-3 away to arch-rivals Bayer Leverkusen and 4-0 at Cologne.
Their defeats included a 7-0 mauling at fellow strugglers VfB Stuttgart.
Bayern set to sign Brazilian Luiz Gustavo from Hoffenheim
18:00 GMT, Sat 1 Jan 2011
BERLIN, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich are poised to boost their defence by signing Brazilian Luiz Gustavo from Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim.
"The terms of the deal bringing the 23-year-old to the Saebener Strasse have been agreed between the Bayern board and the south-western outfit," the champions said on their website (www.fcbayern.t-home.de) on Saturday.
"Provided there is no last-minute hitch the Brazilian will sign a four-and-a-half year deal keeping him in Munich until 2015," said the Bavarians before adding the player would undergo a medical on Sunday.
Luiz Gustavo, who has never played for his country, can feature at left back, centre back or in a defensive midfield position and has performed impressively since joining Hoffenheim in 2007 from Corinthians-Maceio.
Bayern are fifth in the Bundesliga, which has reached the halfway mark and is on a winter break, with 29 points from 17 games, 14 behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
They have reached the quarter-finals of the German Cup and will also meet holders Inter Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.
BERLIN, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick has quit after 4-1/2 years during which he led the village team from the third division to the Bundesliga.
Rangnick's decision followed the announcement on Saturday that their Brazilian defender Luiz Gustavo is being sold to champions Bayern Munich.
Hoffenheim said on their website (www.achtzehn99.de) that Rangnick would be replaced by his former assistant Marco Pezzaiuoli.
"It's a unqiue case for a player to be sold without the coach being directly informed," Rangnick was quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper. "That led to my decision."
Dietmar Hopp, the co-founder of software giant SAP who has bankrolled Hoffenheim's rise from obscurity, paid tribute to Rangnick as he played down any differences between the pair.
"The unique success of our progress to the top flight will remain closely connected with Ralf Rangnick," he said on Hoffenheim's website. "He has developed and established an exemplary sporting structure for the club.
"As the project of reaching the top flight was accomplished two years ago, it is understandable that Ralf Rangnick is looking for other challenges."
Rangnick took over the club in 2006 when they were still in the Regionalliga Sud, part of the third tier of German football, and won promotion to the second division in his first full season.
They were promoted to the Bundesliga the following 2007/8 season and have been there since. In 2009, Hoffenheim, originally from the village of Sinsheim, moved to a new 30,000 capacity stadium, the Rhein-Neckar Arena.
Hopp has been backing the club since the 1990s when they were an amateur side.
Hoffenheim are eighth in the Bundesliga with 25 points from 17 games.
Werder sign Swedish striker Avdic to replace Almeida
21:34 GMT, Mon 3 Jan 2011
BERLIN, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Struggling Werder Bremen signed Swedish striker Denni Avdic on Monday to replace the departed Hugo Almeida.
Avdic, 22, scored 19 goals in the Swedish league this season for Elfsborg.
"He is a good central striker who can hold up the ball well, heads the ball well, can smell the goal and works well in defence," said general manager Klaus Allofs on the club's website (www.werder.de).
Werder are 14th in the Bundesliga with 19 points from 17 games.
The 26-year-old Portuguese striker Almeida, the club's top scorer this season with nine goals, left Werder late last month to join Turkey's Besiktas.
St Pauli shocked after ex-player admits taking bribes
21:32 GMT, Tue 4 Jan 2011
BERLIN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Bundesliga club St Pauli reacted with shock on Tuesday after a former player said in a magazine interview he took 100,000 euros ($133,100) to fix five matches in 2008.
Rene Schnitzler, who played for the club when they were still in the second division, told Stern magazine he accepted the money from a Dutchman working with a betting outfit, although he denied influencing any matches.
St Pauli said Schnitzler, who is now 25 and dropped into regional football after leaving the club in 2009, ended up not playing in three of the five games, which were all away.
"Even when no manipulation has taken place, it is a kick in the face," St Pauli team manager Christian Boenig told reporters. "We didn't notice anything conspicuous and neither did the other players, had we done so we would have reported it.
"But it's a very uneasy feeling when a player whom we've discussed tactics with and worked with in private is connected with the betting mafia. "We knew Rene had problems and we had offered him help, but we were not aware they were so deep."
Coach Holger Stanislawski added: "It's simply very disappointing when something like this happens." German media said the matches were against Hansa Rostock, Duisburg, Augsburg and two against Mainz 05.
Schnitzler said he was addicted to gambling. "Since I was 18, there has hardly been a day when I did not bet," he said in an excerpt from the interview which Stern's website said would be published in full on Wednesday.
St Pauli said they were cooperating with prosecutors in Bochum, who in 2009 exposed a match-fixing ring with more than 200 members who tried to fix games across Europe.
German media said Schnitzler does not currently have a club.
Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba refuses to join training camp
10:22 GMT, Thu 6 Jan 2011
BERLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba has refused to travel to a mid-season training camp in Spain because he wants to move to the Premier League, the Bundesliga club said.
The episode involving the Senegalese striker comes after a troubled week for Hoffenheim in which coach Ralf Rangnick, who led them from the third division to the Bundesliga, quit over the sale of defender Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich.
"Demba's behaviour will naturally entail consequences," general manager Ernst Tanner told the club's website (www.achtzen99.de). "There's no way that this unauthorised action against his employer and also against his team mates will be tolerated.
"We've already had one situation in Hoffenheim, in which Demba Ba wanted to leave by hook or by crook. The way and manner in which the player has tried to put pressure on his employer for a second time is unique in the Bundesliga."
The French-born striker joined Hoffenheim in August 2007 when they were in the second division and helped them win promotion in his first season with them. He has scored six Bundesliga goals this season and media speculation has linked him with struggling West Ham United.
Rangnick, who had been in charge for 4-1/2 years, quit on Saturday. He was replaced by his former assistant Marco Pezzaiuoli. Hoffenheim are a former village team who have risen to the Bundesliga with the financial backing of Dietmar Hopp, the co-founder of software giant SAP.
The are eighth in the Bundesliga with 25 points from 17 games.
Ballack returns to play first game since September
21:44 GMT, Thu 6 Jan 2011
BERLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Injury-plagued Michael Ballack played his first game for four months when he came on at halftime in Bayer Leverkusen's friendly against Rot-Weiss Oberhausen on Thursday.
Ballack helped his team win 2-1 against the second division outfit in his first match since Sept. 11, when he fractured his shinbone in the 2-2 draw with Hanover 96.
"I needed match practice and this was a good start," the 34-year-old said on Kicker magazine's website (www.kicker.de).
Ballack, who missed last year's World Cup in South Africa and has not played for Germany since injuring his ankle in the FA Cup final with Chelsea last May, joined his former club Leverkusen this season after a four-year spell in England.
Philipp Lahm took over as Germany captain in his absence and there has been much speculation in the media about whether Ballack, who has 98 caps, will regain his place in the national team let alone be reinstalled as skipper.
Manchester United are reportedly plotting a 15 million-pound move for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa.
The Japan midfielder has scored an impressive eight goals in 17 appearances since joining the Bundesliga side at the start of the season, sparking rumours of a move to the English Premier League.
The News of the World claims that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been following the 21-year-old since his move from Cerezo Osaka.
He is reportedly being considered as a long-term replacement for ageing stalwart Paul Scholes.
United are believed to have scouts observing Kagawa at the Asian Cup in Qatar, where Japan face Saudi Arabia and Syria following a 1-1 draw with Jordan in their opening match.
Kagawa has already been recognised for his exploits in Germany, winning Kicker magazine's award for the top discovery of the Bundesliga season.
He received 29.3 percent of the vote after 286 of his fellow professionals were polled for their choice.
Borussia Dortmund increased their lead on top of the Bundesliga to 13 points after a crushing 3-1 win away at nearest rival Bayer Leverkusen.
Dortmund have lost just twice in the league this season, and it will take an extraordinary effort form the chasing pack, which includes Leverkusen and Mainz, to reel them in.
The game marked a return to football for Germany captain Michael Ballack, who was an unused substitute for Leverkusen in his first game back from a fractured shinbone he suffered in September.
After a goalless first half at BayArena, Dortmund sprung to life in the second period and took the lead just four minutes after the break thanks to a goal from striker Kevin Grosskreutz.
Polish defender Lukasz Piszczek launched a long throw into the penalty area and after some calamitous defending from Leverkusen's Daniel Schwaab, the ball broke for Grosskreutz who coolly slotted a low shot past Rene Adler.
Grosskreutz made it 2-0 just four minutes later when he pounced on some more slack defending from Leverkusen before slamming a shot from the edge of the area.
And the 22-year-old had a hand in Dortmund's third just two minutes later when his tackle on Manuel Freidrich saw the ball fall for Mario Goetze, whose shot went through the legs of Adler to make it 3-0.
Leverkusen salvaged some pride 10 minutes from the end when Renato Augusto 's cross found Stefan Kiessling at the back post and the German international steered the ball home, but it was too little too late for the hosts, who fell to third behind Mainz on goal difference.
Mainz have the chance to close the gap on Dortmund when they travel to Stuttgart on Saturday.
Hannover climbed to second in the Bundesliga after a convincing 3-0 away win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Mirko Slomka's side took full advantage of slip-ups to Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz on Saturday by producing the victory in their first match since the winter break.
While the three points are important, Slomka will have been delighted with the manner in which his side performed at the Commerzbank-Arena.
With Frankfurt firmly established in the top half, it was never going to be an easy trip but Mohammed Abdellaoue kick-started proceedings with his 15th-minute goal.
Konstantin Rausch then supplied Christian Schulz just six minutes later and the visitors had already established a two-goal advantage with less than 25 minutes on the clock.
Frankfurt battled but could not find the elusive goal that would bring them back into the match and Didier Ya Konan wrapped up the rout with his 89th-minute strike, his 10th goal of the season and fifth in four matches.
In the day's other match, Kaiserslautern came from a goal down to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw with Cologne at the Fritz-Walter Stadion.
Germany striker Lukas Podolski opened the scoring after 29 minutes but Jan Moravek struck back just after half-time to ensure both sides would share the spoils.
Cologne's point takes them out of the relegation zone and into 16th while Kaiserslautern sit 10th.
Mainz 05 lost more ground on Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund after going down 1-0 to struggling Stuttgart on Saturday.
A Martin Harnik strike with 12 minutes remaining at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion proved enough for relegation-threatened Stuttgart to beat the early season front-runners in the first round back following the winter break. Mainz are now 13 points behind Dortmund.
Defending champions Bayern Munich also slipped further behind Dortmund after they could only draw 1-1 away to Wolfsburg.
German international Thomas Mueller opened the scoring just seven minutes in at the Volkswagen Arena, but defender Sascha Riether rescued a point for Steve McLaren's side with four minutes remaining. Bayern, in fifth place, are 16 points behind Dortmund.
Last season's third-placed side Werder Bremen are just two points better off than Wolfsburg, but did secure a valuable 2-1 win at home to Hoffenheim.
Claudio Pizzaro put Bremen ahead in the 36th minute at the Weserstadion, before Boris Vukcevic appeared to have salvaged a point for Hoffenheim when he equalised with just three minutes to go. But fan favourite Torsten Frings delivered the goods for the hosts with a 90th-minute winner.
Freiburg twice came from behind to draw 2-2 away to St Pauli. Marius Ebbers netted the opener for hosts St Pauli in the 13th minute at the Millerntor-Stadion. Papiss Cisse levelled for Freiburg a minute after the hour mark, before substitute Gerald Asamoah restored St Pauli's lead.
Senegal striker Cisse netted his second to pull level again with 15 minutes to go. The draw leaves St Pauli just three points clear of the bottom three, while overachievers Freiburg are sixth.
Bottom side Borussia Monchengladbach managed just their third victory of the season with a 1-0 win away to Nuremburg. Roman Neustaedter scored the game's only goal in the eighth minute at the Frankenstadion.
Finally, Hamburg halted Schalke's run of three straight wins with a 1-0 defeat at the Veltins-Arena.
Former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was the hero for the visitors, notching his fifth goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Hamburg improve to seventh on the table with their second straight victory, while Schlake remain 10th.
Bundesliga wrap: Gomez leads Bayern rout, Dortmund held
23 January 2011
Four second-half goals saw Bayern Munich romp to a 5-1 victory over Kaiserslautern in Saturday's Bundesliga action.
The performance from Louis Van Gaal's side was the highlight of the day's play in the German top flight, with Mario Gomez striking a hat-trick in the triumph. Both sides entered the game in form, with Bayern unbeaten in six while Kaiserslautern had not lost in five.
Arjen Robben opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when he made the most of Thomas Mueller's assist and just a minute after the break, Gomez doubled the hosts' lead.
Kaiserslautern were entertaining thoughts of a comeback when Jan Moravek pulled one back just after the hour-mark, but Gomez's second with just 10 minutes remaining wrapped up the result.
The in-form striker snared his treble five minutes later, making it a remarkable 22 goals in his last 17 matches in all competitions for Bayern, before Mueller added the fifth in injury time.
League leaders Borussia Dortmund remain 13 points clear at the top of the standings, despite sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Stuttgart. Mario Gotze put the table-toppers in front on the stroke of half-time but Dortmund were made to pay by Pavel Pogrebnyak who struck with five minutes remaining.
Hannover failed to take advantage of Dortmund's slip-up as they were beaten at home by Schalke by a solitary goal. Despite sitting a whopping 12 points behind Juergen Klopp's side on the league table, Hannover found themselves in the usual position of second before kick-off. But their league position counted for nothing as Raul struck the sole goal in the match after 33 minutes after good build-up work from Lukas Schmitz.
In other matches, Simon Kjaer's 82nd minute goal gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 away win at Mainz, Julian Schieber's equaliser gave Nurenburg a point in a 1-1 draw with Freiburg and Lukas Podolski scored twice as FC Cologne moved out of the relegation zone with a thumping 3-0 win over Werder Bremen.
Bayer Leverkusen reclaimed second place in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 away win over bottom side Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.
Nine days after being dismantled 3-1 by league-leaders Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen took the lead after 37 minutes when Michal Kadlec fired a stunning free-kick past an outstretched Christofer Heimeroth in the Monchengladbach goal.
Gonzalo Castro made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time when he headed home a cross from Arturo Vidal at Borussia-Park. Germany captain Michael Ballack came off the substitute's bench for Leverkusen 10 minutes after the restart, his first appearance since fracturing a shinbone in September.
Monchengladbach pulled a goal back after 65 minutes thanks to a Martin Stranz strike, but eight minutes later Castro lobbed Heimeroth for his second goal to secure the win. Leverkusen are now 11 points behind Dortmund ahead of their home clash with Hannover on Friday.
In Sunday's other game, a last-gasp goal from Hoffenheim midfielder David Alaba helped rescue a point for his side in their 2-2 draw with St Pauli at Rhein-Neckar-Arena. Hoffenheim took the lead after half an hour when Marvin Compper shot home from close range, but second-half goals to Max Kruse and Gerald Asamoah gave St Pauli a 2-1 lead with nine minutes to play.
With time ticking away, Alaba fired a left-foot shoot past St Pauli goalkeeper Thomas Kessler to deny the visitors a win that would have lifted them out of the relegation zone. Instead they remain in 16th position on goal difference, level on 19 points with their next opponents - 15th-placed Cologne.
The point lifts Hoffenheim to eighth place and they next face ninth-placed Schalke on Saturday.
