Bayern Munich spent over 70 million euros ($94.36 million) to build their squad back up over the close season but injuries mean even their resources will be tested when they host Hanover 96 on Saturday.


Bayern played so well in beating Hansa Rostock 3-0 and Werder Bremen 4-0 in the opening two games that their only two threats would appear to be complacency or an injury crisis.

The personnel situation cannot yet be called a crisis but coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will be concerned that he has only one striker for Saturday's game.

Luca Toni, the new Italian signing who has scored twice already, will have to lead the line alone after Miroslav Klose joined Jan Schlaudraff and Lukas Podolski on the casualty list.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marcell Jansen are also big doubts after they were forced to miss Germany's friendly against England at Wembley on Wednesday.

Centre-back Lucio has a calf injury but could be fit for the visit of Hanover, who got their first win of the season when they came from a goal down to beat Karlsruhe last Friday.

Despite the concerns, Bayern will be overwhelming favourites to make it three wins out of three on Saturday, and Hitzfeld is already having to field suggestions that his side can go through the entire season without giving up top spot.

'There's a long way to go yet this season and a lot can still happen,' Hitzfeld told reporters. 'You can be very unlucky with injuries. There are still plenty of question marks.'

Bayern could in fact lose top spot, at least for one night, when Hamburg SV play away at Bochum on Friday.

Hamburg are the only other side apart from Bayern with maximum points from two matches.

They should be boosted by Rafael van der Vaart's apparent acceptance that he will be staying put, with Valencia now having given up their pursuit of the Dutch playmaker.

Champions VfB Stuttgart have just a point from their opening two games. They go in search of a first win of the season at home to Duisburg on Saturday. The good news for coach Armin Veh is that Mexican international Ricardo Osorio is fit again.

Werder, who also have just a point to their name, are the other obvious under-performers after the first two rounds.

Coach Thomas Schaaf has had no such positive news in the build up to Saturday's game away to Cup winners Nuremberg, as he copes with a genuine injury crisis depriving him of players like Torsten Frings, Tim Borowski and Carlos Alberto.

Last season's runners-up Schalke 04, who have four points, are in action away to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Germany crashed the opening party at London's new Wembley Stadium with a 2-1 friendly win on Wednesday. By doing so, Germany ensured they were the last full international team to win at the old Wembley and the first to win at the newly rebuilt stadium.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard put England ahead in the ninth minute but a bad mistake by England goalkeeper Paul Robinson in saving a cross from Bernd Schneider gifted Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi an equaliser in the 26th minute. Schalke left-back Christian Pander, making his Germany debut, scored the winner in the 40th minute, blasting past Robinson from distance after a skilful build-up.

Jens Lehmann wants England to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals claiming a tournament without them would 'not be as interesting'. The Germany goalkeeper will play in the friendly against England tonight at Wembley, days after claiming the visitors are mentally superior and that England are not blessed with many world-class players.

The 37-year-old hopes England do make it the finals of the tournament next summer in Austria and Switzerland despite only sitting fourth in Group E and facing critical qualification matches against Israel, Russia and Estonia over the next two months.

Lehmann said: 'I hope England qualify for the Euro 2008 finals. A big tournament without them will not be that interesting and I think they will be there. 'Teams go through different periods but at the end of the day their quality and togetherness will help them to qualify. England have some outstanding players in their side and when you see them playing in the Premier League or Champions League, you can see that there is a lot of quality. For some reason they do not deliver in big tournaments but I don't know why this is. I just hope they will not deliver against us at Wembley.'

Meanwhile, the under-fire Arsenal keeper insists he can handle the pressure against England. Lehmann has already made two costly howlers during Arsenal's start to the new Premier League campaign. His shocking attempted clearance against Fulham on the opening weekend presented striker David Healy with the simplest of goals and he allowed a shot from David Dunn to slip through his grasp in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn on Sunday.

But the 37-year-old remains number one in the eyes of Germany coach Joachim Low and the Arsenal stopper is ready to meet the challenge of tonight's showpiece friendly and ignore the critics. Lehmann said: 'I have done two mistakes in three plays, this is right. The comments do not matter to me. I must judge my achievement myself. 'The mistakes were so simple, unique, that I now have no reason to have to think about my fundamental skill as a goalkeeper. Apart from these mistakes I have played substantially well. The first mistake occurred in the first ball contact of the season when I had two thoughts all at once. This game is nothing special for me, I can handle it.'

Low is under no illusions that Lehmann has the mental toughness to overcome tonight's test at the new Wembley. The Germany coach commented: 'Jens knows such situations, he can stand such pressure well. He has proved this in the approach to the World Cup with his duel with Oliver Kahn.'

Low's preparation for their clash with England has been wrecked by numerous injuries to some of his key players as he looks ahead to September's Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales. Low is without several long-term absentees, including captain Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings, Lukas Podolski and Tim Borowski, while first-team regulars Miroslav Klose, Marcell Jansen and Bastian Schweinsteiger have also been forced out in recent days.

Low added: 'There are 60 players injured in the Bundesliga, there has to be a reason. The tackling of some players leaves a lot to be desired. I am not saying anything bad about (Werder Bremen defender) Naldo (who injured Klose at the weekend), but that was typical of many Bundesliga fouls in that the player simply goes for the legs without any chance of winning the ball. Some players think they have won a tackle simply by hacking down their opponent, pulling their shirt or fouling to break up the play. A tackle should be an attempt to win the ball and start an attack or score, but today I see players who just want to stop their opponent.'

Germany will be without their captain Michael Ballack and striker Mario Gomez when they take on England in a friendly international at Wembley on August 22. Ballack has yet to recover from ankle surgery, while Gomez, the Player of the Year in the Bundesliga last season, is recovering from a thigh injury. Midfielders Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski as well as striker Lukas Podolski were also left out of a 20-man squad, named on Thursday, because of injury.

Coach Joachim Löw has called-upon two twenty-year old Bundesliga players to bolster-up the Mannschaft for the upcoming game against England in Wembley (Wednesday, August 22, 8 P.M. local time). Serdar Tasci and Sami Khedira from VfB Stuttgart, the reigning Bundesliga champions, will meet the rest of the team in Frankfurt on Sunday. Tasci and Khedira are the only two newcomers on a roster of 20 players.

Löw has nominated four players from the ranks of VfB Stuttgart: Tasci - a defender with overall 7 games in the juniors national teams of the DFB, Khedira - a midfielder with four international juniors' appearances, as well as the two more experienced midfielders Thomas Hitzlsperger and Roberto Hilpert.

'With Ballack and Frings out we're missing the heart of the team,' Loew said at a news conference today. 'We're obviously in a tight spot with all the injuries but we aren't complaining, even though we'd love to have our best team to play against England.'

Germany are five points clear at the top of Euro 2008 qualifying group D. Their next competitive match is away to Wales on September 8.

'The game against England will be a good gauge in terms of the European Championship,' Loew said. 'It's an honour for us to be playing at the new Wembley. It's a sporting classic, like Wimbledon tennis or Formula One at Monaco. The atmosphere and setting should inspire the whole team.'

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Timo Hildebrand (Valencia, Spain), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal, England)

Defenders: Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid, Spain), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Roberto Hilbert (VfB Stuttgart), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Sami Khedira (VfB Stuttgart), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg SV)

Forwards: Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04)

Miroslav Klose will have the perfect stage to try for his 100th Bundesliga goal on Saturday when Bayern Munich travel to take on his former club Werder Bremen. Klose transferred from Werder to Bayern for €10 million in June at the end of a drawn-out transfer saga.

The winner of the Golden Boot at the 2006 World Cup showed Bayern's persistence had been worth it when he struck twice and set up a third for Luca Toni in the opening day's 3-0 win over Hansa Rostock. Those goals took his tally to 99 in 210 Bundesliga games and his return to the Weserstadion on Saturday could be the platform for a celebration.

Bayern's win over Rostock last weekend had fans and pundits purring approval at the club's new determination to play attacking football. But the first real test of the theory comes at Werder, who finished last season a place above Bayern in third.

'We got the start we wanted against Rostock but we won't assume we've won the title after one match,' Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's website. 'We know we have a good team but I'm warning everyone not to get big-headed or arrogant.'

Werder drew 2-2 with Bochum on the opening weekend and followed that up with a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a tough Champions League qualifier on Wednesday. Tiredness is likely to be a factor, especially considering the club's injured list, which includes senior midfielders Tim Borowski and Torsten Frings.

VfB Stuttgart kicked off the defence of their title last weekend with a decent 2-2 draw at home to Schalke 04, the team they pipped to the championship last season. Next up is an away game against Hertha Berlin on Saturday and that should be a good opportunity for the champions to record their first win.

Hertha were far from impressive in last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, although Stuttgart hopes could be hit by the absence of Mario Gomez, last season's Bundesliga Player of the Year, who is doubtful with a thigh strain.

Schalke will be seeking revenge as well as a first win of the season when they host local rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Schalke's surprise 2-0 defeat by their great rivals on the penultimate day of last season saw them overtaken by Stuttgart, effectively costing them a first league title in almost 50 years.

Germany striker Miroslav Klose scored twice and Italy's Luca Toni got another on their debuts for Bayern Munich in a one-sided 3-0 victory over Hansa Rostock at home on Saturday.

Bayern, championship favourites after their record 70 million euros ($96 million) spending spree in the off season, lived up to pre-season expectations with an entertaining attacking style not seen in Munich for years.

It took just 14 minutes for Italy striker Toni, a transfer from Fiorentina, to get his first Bundesliga goal with his very first shot.

Klose broke through to the left and unselfishly slotted the ball for Toni to tap in as Rostock keeper Stefan Waechter came out to challenge Klose, who joined from Werder Bremen.

Klose doubled the lead against newly promoted Rostock by pouncing on a loose ball in the 66th minute when Waechter mishandled a Philipp Lahm shot.

Klose then outjumped two Rostock defenders five minutes from time to head in a Lahm cross at the far post.

'Three points and three goals -- it's a good start,' said Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who wants to win four titles this campaign after the team finished without any silverware last season.

'We showed discipline and kept pushing forward...The second half was very good. I'm glad the decision to play Toni worked out so well. He's a constant threat in front of the goal.'

Toni missed the last two weeks of the pre-season with a knee injury and only resumed training on Thursday.

France midfielder Franck Ribery, the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history at 25 million euros, was also a constant threat for Bayern with fine passes and several shots that delighted the sell-out crowd of 69,000.

Bayern kept Waechter busy with 25 shots on goal. Despite his blunder against Klose, Waechter had several good saves and prevented an even more one-sided result. Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn did not have to make a single save.

'Bayern were clearly better,' said Rostock coach Frank Pagelsdorf. 'We weren't able to stop their crosses. We've got our work cut out for us.'

VfB Stuttgart will kick off their title defence on Friday against 2006/07 runners-up Schalke 04 but both are already looking over their shoulders at new-look Bayern Munich, the hot favourites.

Having spent a record 70 million euros ($96.38 million) on new talent in the close season, Bayern have set out to make amends for a humiliating fourth place last season that ended their 10-year-long annual passage to the Champions League.

Strengthened by France midfielder Franck Ribery, Germany's Miroslav Klose, defender Marcell Jansen and Italy's World Cup striker Luca Toni, Bayern have dazzled in the pre-season with their new attacking style.

They won the six-team, pre-season League Cup last month, beating Stuttgart, Schalke and Werder Bremen, who finished third in 2006/07.

But Stuttgart, who spent a modest eight million euros for Romania striker Ciprian Marica and paid out a 1.5 million euro loan fee for Ewerthon, are confident they can pick up where they left off last season - winning eight games in a row.

'We're going to do everything we can to keep improving,' said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh ahead of Friday's match that kicks off the Bundeliga's 45th season.

'Our initial goal is to continue playing attacking-style football and giving the crowds something to get excited about,' added Veh, who has already said Bayern are the early favourites to win a 21st Bundesliga championship.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld wants to win three more titles this season after the League Cup: the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the UEFA Cup.

The 70 million Bayern spent on transfer fees is almost half the 170 million total that all 18 teams invested. The amount broke the previous record of 147 million set in 2001/02.

'We've reacted to last season, invested quite a bit and got a lot more quality,' said Hitzfeld, whose team play at home against Hansa Rostock on Saturday.

'It's going to be a lot more fun to watch Bayern Munich this season,' he added.

Ribery, who came to Bayern from Olympique Marseille for a Bundesliga record transfer fee of 25 million euros, has personified the new-look Bayern in pre-season. He scored three goals in two League Cup games and created a string of chances.

Mario Gomez, who scored 14 goals to lead VfB Stuttgart to last season's Bundesliga title, was voted Germany's footballer of the year ahead of Werder Bremen playmaker Diego and Bernd Schneider of Bayer Leverkusen.

Stuttgart coach Armin Veh was overwhelmingly voted coach of 2006-07 in the annual poll by German sports writers announced on Wednesday, picking up 449 votes to finish well in front of Nuremberg's Hans Meyer with 228.

Gomez, 22, is the youngest player to win the award since it was launched by Kicker magazine in 1960. He was also the first VfB Stuttgart player to win the award in 19 years - since Juergen Klinsmann took the honour.

Gomez, a German international who also has Spanish citizenship, got 196 votes, Diego 175, and Schneider had 156.

Klinsmann finished 11th in the voting for coach of the year even though he stepped down just before the season began after leading Germany to third place at the World Cup.

Second division St. Pauli beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on Saturday to knock the Bundesliga side out in the first round of the German Cup.

Fabian Boll scored in the 87th minute for St. Pauli, regular giantkillers who reached the semi-finals two years ago. For Leverkusen, who finished fifth last season in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Cup, it was their first Cup exit in the first round in 11 years in a match played in front of a crowd of 15,000 in Hamburg.

Werder Bremen avoided embarrassment against third division side Eintracht Braunschweig with a Boubacar Sanogo in the 90th minute giving them a 1-0 win.

On the first weekend of competition in the new season after a three-month break, three other Bundesliga clubs advanced to the next round with victories over opponents from lower divisions.

Borussia Dortmund beat FC Magdeburg 4-1, Hanover 96 defeated Rot-Weiss Ahlen 3-1, and Hertha Berlin came safely through 3-0 against SpVgg Unterhaching.