A report in newspaper Bild has claimed Germany coach Joachim Loew is the frontrunner to succeed Louis van Gaal at Bayern Munich.
The news comes despite the fact Loew is still under contract to the national squad until the end of the 2011/12 season.
The 51-year-old has been manager of Germany for four-and-a-half years since stepping up from his role as Jurgen Klinsmann s assistant in the wake of the 2006 World Cup, with impressive performances at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup further bolstering his credentials.
Bayern have struggled to build on the successes of last Bundesliga season, which saw them complete a domestic double and finish as runners-up to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
A 3-1 defeat to Hannover at the weekend finally forced …
Niko Kranjcar will spend a second consecutive season on loan at QPR, after signing on again for the London club from Dynamo Kiev.
Kranjcar, 30, represented QPR 31 times in the Championship last season, helping the Loftus Road outfit back into the Premier League.
The Croatia international, who has worked under Harry Redknapp previously at Portsmouth and Tottenham, said QPR was a club close to his heart after signing up for another campaign on Monday s deadline day.
It s a great feeling to be back, it feels like home. I felt a special emotion with the club and the fans, Kranjcar said in a press release.
The fans were phenomenal last season. I had a great relationship with them and hopefully it s only going to get better.
I really feel happy here,…
Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi has warned that qualifying from Group C at the FIFA World Cup will be easier said than done.
Lamouchi s team will take on Colombia, Japan and Greece in Brazil, with their opening fixture coming against Alberto Zaccheroni s side on Saturday.
Many see an Ivorian team containing the likes of Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba and Gervinho as favourites to progress to the last 16.
However, the African nation were eliminated in the pool phase at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, leading to Lamouchi to call for a sense of perspective when it comes to their chances this time around.
If you know football, you could say that it s open (and) evenly balanced, but certainly not easy, he told L Equipe.
I think that the four teams are level. Each…