Messi and the ‘Hand of God’ mark II

Lionel Messi has repeatedly said he will never be able to emulate Maradona but he is giving it his best shot, managing near carbon copies of Maradona´s most famous and infamous goals in the same season.

Bremen secures second; Nurnberg relegated

Werder Bremen clinched second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at the BayArena on Saturday which ended Bayer Leverkusen’s European dreams.

A goal from Markus Rosenberg in the 80th minute won it for Thomas Schaaf’s side, who beat Schalke to second place and a spot in the group stages of the Champions League next season.

Bayer was condemned to a seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga, which rules them out of even a place in the Intertoto Cup and left their fans calling for the head of coach Michael Skibbe. Schalke sealed Nurnberg’s relegation from the Bundesliga but was unable to secure second place despite their 2-0 victory. Marcelo Bordon struck twice (19 and 60) as the Royal Blues collected their fifth victory in six games to finish in third place and secure the final qualification spot for the Champions League. Bayern Munich collected the Bundesliga title in style after an emphatic 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin.

Nedved will stay at Juventus next season

Czech winger Pavel Nedved has signed a new one-year contract with Juventus after deciding not to retire, the Serie A side said on Tuesday.

The Turin club have finished third in their first season back in the top flight following their demotion for match-fixing in 2006. They will enter the Champions League qualifiers next season, prompting the 35-year-old left winger to stay.