SOCCER: Wanted - goalie and head coach

After two weeks of abstinence from Bundesliga soccer, fans returned to the stadiums with high expectations. Especially, after the German national team won twice during World Cup Qualification last week. However, Week 27 also featured fans protesting against the scheduling of games and the apparent disregard of their interests by the German Soccer Federation, DFB (read previous Bundesliga Ticker for more details). As for other news:

· Major League Soccer got back one of its talents after Bayer Leverkusen released Landon Donavan. The 19-year-old immediately signed a four-year contract with the San Jose Earthquakes.

· Besides losing Donavan, Leverkusen also lost its goalie, Adam Matysek, to injury. The 33-year-old injured his shoulder during the World Cup Qualifier against Norway. Not a crisis if Leverkusen still possessed an adequate back-up goalie. Unfortunately, the club released former starter Pascal Zuberbühler just a few weeks ago. Therefore, Berti Vogts and his coaching staff decided to start Frank Juric against Schalke. But after losing the game 3-0, Leverkusen better prays for Matysek's quick recovery.

· The show must go on! Eintracht Frankfurt once again attempted to find a head coach. Werner Lorant, currently coaching first-divisional club TSV 1860 Munich, confirmed Frankfurt's interest and told the media that the two sides will meet in the near future. Recently, Lorant, who played for Frankfurt from 1978 to 1982, openly thought about leaving the Bavarian club. However, in the past Lorant often talked about leaving Munich but always decided against it.

And the way Frankfurt approached potential candidates in the past, Lorant will probably stay put.

· Unlike Frankfurt, VfL Bochum already presented its new head coach for the upcoming season. Bernard Dietz will succeed interim coach Rolf Schafstall at the end of the season. Even though Bochum probably won't escape relegation, Dietz, currently coaching Bochum's amateur team, agreed last Wednesday to coach the club in the second division. His goals for the next season include rebuilding the squad, getting back to the first division, and play an entertaining style of soccer that excites both players and fans.

Now, check out the results and standings for Week 27:

German Bundesliga Results
VfL Wolfsburg - Hansa Rostock 2:1
Hertha BSC Berlin - TSV 1860 Munich 3:0
VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Cologne 0:3
Hamburger SV - SpVgg Unterhaching 1:1
SC Freiburg - Eintracht Frankfurt 5:2
FC Bayern Munich - Werder Bremen 2:3
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - FC Schalke 04 0:3
1. FC Kaiserslautern - Borussia Dortmund 1:4
VfL Bochum - Energie Cottbus 1:0

German Bundesliga Standings
Position (Last week) TEAM GP W L T PTS
1. (1.) FC Bayern Munich 27 15 8 4 49
2. (4.) Borussia Dortmund 27 14 7 6 48
3. (5.) FC Schalke 04 27 13 7 7 46
4. (2.) Bayer 04 Leverkusen 27 14 9 4 46
5. (6.) Hertha BSC Berlin 27 15 11 1 46
6. (3.) 1. FC Kaiserslautern 27 14 9 4 46
7. (7.) 1. FC Cologne 27 11 9 7 40
8. (8.) SV Werder Bremen 27 11 9 7 40
9. (9.) VfL Wolfsburg 27 10 8 9 39
10. (10.) SC Freiburg 27 10 8 9 39
11. (12.) Hansa Rostock 27 10 13 4 34
12. (11.) TSV 1860 Munich 27 9 11 7 34
13. (13.) Hamburger SV 27 9 12 6 33
14. (14.) FC Energie Cottbus 27 9 16 2 29
15. (15.) Eintracht Frankfurt 27 8 14 5 29
16. (16.) SpVgg Unterhaching 27 7 12 8 29
17. (17.) VfB Stuttgart 27 6 12 9 27
18. (18.) VfL Bochum 27 6 16 5 23

German Bundesliga Top5-Scorers
NAME (CLUB) POINTS GOALS ASSISTS GP
Sergej Barbarez (Hamburger SV) 23 18 5 25
Ebbe Sand (FC Schalke 04) 22 15 7 26
Giovane Elber (FC Bayern Munich) 21 15 6 23
Vasile Miriuta (FC Energie Cottbus) 19 10 9 23
Emile Mpenza (FC Schalke 04) 18 9 9 20