“Germany coach Joachim Loew has offered 39-year-old former international goalkeeper Jens Lehmann a glimmer of hope over a possible return to the squad. Lehmann, who called time on his Germany career following the 1-0 defeat to Spain in last year’s European championship final, had a recent change of heart and said he would like to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.” (EPSN)
De Almeida sacked as Angola coach (BBC)
“Angola national coach Mabi de Almeida has been fired after just seven months in charge of the Palancas Negras. The announcement was made at a news conference in Luanda on Friday despite recent assurances that he would not be sacked.”
Scudamore takes risk by backing Bin Hammam (Guardian)
“Richard Scudamore has taken the unprecedented step of providing political support to Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Asian Football Conference’s president, as he stands for re-election to the Fifa executive committee.”
Gavin Hamilton on ways to revive the UEFA Cup (World Soccer)
“So the UEFA Cup Final in Marseille will be an all Ukrainian-German affair, after Hamburg and Werder Bremen and Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk made it through to the respective semi-finals.”
Rash Tackles and Inconsistent Referees Challenge MLS (SoccerLens)
“There were seven sending offs this past weekend in relatively unimportant MLS match-ups. In the contest between the hapless Galaxy and Chivas USA, the referee red-carded LA’s US international star Gregg Berhalter in his MLS debut for hauling down a player with a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and ejected the Galaxy’s Alan Gordon (dissent) and Chivas’ Paulo Nagamura with two yellow cards apiece.”
Scissors Kick 