Football Dispatch

Tuesday Football
22 May 2007
VFB Stuttgart ended fifteen title-barren years in the Baden-Wurttemberg capital, Saturday. A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Energie Cottbus in front of over 55,000-fans at the Gottleib-Daimler Stadion secured the club's first piece of silverware since the Intertoto Cup in 2002. Stuttgart will also be playing in the German Cup Final on 25 May and look a good bet to win a first-ever double. Their most recent domestic cup success came ten years ago under the direction of Joachim Low. Stuttgart's league trophy was not secured until dinner-time, however. Radu paced visiting Cottbus to an early lead with his opener in the 19th-minute; and Schalke, requiring a Stuttgart loss to claim the title for themselves, opened brightly against Arminia Bielfeld in Gelsenkirchen. Cassio Lincoln and Halil Altintop gave 2nd-place Schalke a 2-0 lead within a quarter-of-an-hour and heaped the pressure on trailing Stuttgart. With each of the Bundesliga's nine matches kicking-off simultaneously, it appeared as though the title could be heading north to the Ruhr for the first time since 1958. Therefore, it was with great relief that Tomas Hitzlsperger equalized for Stuttgart just prior to the half-hour mark. After the interval, there was no looking back for the Champions-elect. Sami Khedira's 5th league-goal of the season sealed the deal and the Bundesliga title for the hosts.

The Portuguese title also came down to the wire this season. Porto claimed their second Liga championship on the bounce by beating Desportivo Aves 4-1 at Estadio do Dragao. Lisandro Lopez scored twice in the second-half to pace the hosts and Jorge Ribeiro converted a back-breaking own-goal just at the hour-mark. Sporting Lisbon had entertained title-hopes of their own heading into the final round of the domestic season. The capital side finished a single point back of the champions. Benfica, in 3rd-place, completed their campaign just 2-points adrift of Porto.

There is no shortage of bad feelings between Liverpool and AC Milan ahead of tomorrow's Champions' League Final in Athens. Steven Gerrard sparked a war of words with Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti when he claimed that the Rossoneri had already celebrated victory at half-time two years ago in Istanbul. Ancelotti quickly shot back at the Liverpool captain -- calling his remarks "bullocks." Milan midfielder and ex-Rangers star Genarro Gatusso stoked the blaze further by insisting that English clubs use their financial advantage to buy success.

Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, is intent on turning Liverpool into a Premiership contender. Despite the club's second Champions' League Final appearance in three seasons, the 47-year-old manager will tinker with his squad over the summer in hopes of creating a domestic force for years to come. Andriy Voronin is already headed to Anfield; and the Liverpool boss will also attempt to sign one of Carlos Tevez, Darren Bent, and David Villa. Sevilla's Daniel Alves remains high on the priority list as well. Benitez is desperate to alter the club's reputation as a "cup side" by winning a first title since 1990.

Roman Abramovich will not stand in the way of Andriy Shevchenko's return to the Serie-A. The Chelsea owner is considering his options after the 31M-pound signing endured a season-long struggle in English football. AC Milan, meanwhile, have insisted that they would welcome the 30-year-old striker back to the San Siro with open arms. Milan president and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will host Shevchenko as his personal guest at the Champions' League Final in Athens, tomorrow. Milan have offered 12M-pounds and defender Kakha Kaladze in exchange for the Ukrainian hitman. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho would prefer that Shevchenko be sold outright rather than loaned to Milan. The Rossoneri, on the other hand, are keen on the type of temporary deal which brought Hernan Crespo to the club in 2004.

Owen Hargreaves has been given the green-light to leave Bayern Munich. The 26-year-old England midfielder has been the subject of overtures from Manchester United since starring at the World Cup last summer. He is now set to seal a dream move to Old Trafford and will be unveiled by the Premiershipo champions by the end of the week. The Canadian-born defensive-midfielder will sign a 4-year deal worh 60,ooo-pounds per-week at United.

Peter Hill-Wood seems to have a change of heart regarding foreign ownership. The Arsenal chairman will meet with American business tycoon Stan Kroenke before the end of June to discuss the latter's ongoing interest in taking-over the London club. Just last month, Hill-Wood and the board of directors ousted vice-chairman David Dein for courting the Kroenke consortium. Dein's exit caught manager Arsene Wenger by surprise and sparked rumors that the Frenchman would depart in the summertime. Hill-Wood's gesture to Kroenke may be a sort of olive branch to Wenger.

Harry Redknapp will bolster Portsmouth's lineup over the summer. He has already lined-up for a swoop on Eastlands -- with 29-year-old defender Sylvain Distin as his target. Distin is out of contract with Manchester City this summer and is seeking a "fresh challenge." Ghana striker Sulley Muntari is also poised for a move to Fratton Park and ex-Newcastle defender Titus Bramble could be headed to the south coast as well.