Third division St Pauli knocked out Hertha Berlin in the third round and pulled off another big upset by beating Werder Bremen 3-1 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The popular Hamburg-based club now get a lucrative home tie, certain to be televised, against Bayern on April 11 or 12. Eintracht Frankfurt host Arminia Bielefeld in the other semi-final. The final will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on April 29.

Makaay double seals victory for champions Bayern

FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Roy Makaay struck an eye-catching double and Michael Ballack added a free kick to give Bayern Munich a 3-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach as they returned to Bundesliga duties on Friday. Makaay controlled a deflected through ball on his thigh and tucked home past Kasey Keller in the 13th minute while Ballack's perfect strike made it 2-0 to the champions 10 minutes into the second half. Belgian striker Wesley Sonck pulled one back within 60 seconds but Makaay restored Bayern's two-goal lead with a fine volley in the 69th minute. A 15th win from 18 Bundesliga games stretched Bayern's lead to nine points, although Hamburg SV can cut that to six if they win at Nuremberg on Saturday. Bayern have 47 points from 18 matches, with Hamburg on 38 from 17. Werder Bremen, who visit Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday, are two points further back in third. Bayern's superiority in the first league match after the six-week winter break will be a depressingly familiar sight for their rivals. The only surprise was that they did not add to the early lead given to them by Makaay in the first half of a game played in freezing conditions. Lucio and Ze Roberto each forced desperate clearances after breaking forward, with Gladbach struggling to hold on. Ballack's well placed free kick from the edge of the box looked to have signalled the end of the contest only for Sonck to drag a deflected Eugen Polanski cross back past Oliver Kahn on the next attack. Bayern had a tough 120-minute Cup workout against Mainz in midweek but they showed no ill effects as they surged forward in search of another goal. That came as Makaay waited for Hasan Salihamidzic's long ball to drop and clattered it first time past Keller. 'I was very satisfied with that performance,' said Bayern coach Felix Magath. 'You could see it was an advantage for us to have that Cup match to find our rhythm.'

FRANKFURT, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich are eager to make a point to their domestic rivals when they get World Cup year underway with a home tie against Mainz in the quarter-finals of the German Cup on Tuesday.

'We have to make a special effort to make sure we set off with a win on Tuesday,' Bayern's manager Uli Hoeness told reporters as he looked forward to the return to competitive action in Germany following the long mid-season break. 'I've got a very good feeling about this. We'll be starting the year in our best form.' Bayern won a league and cup double last season and two games in four days will give a decent clue as to how well prepared they are to repeat the trick. They will be strong favourites to see off Mainz, who signed off from 2005 in 14th place in the 18-team Bundesliga and are likely to be facing a long fight to avoid the drop. On Friday, Bayern face a tougher looking challenge away to Borussia Moenchengladbach as the Bundesliga programme resumes. Felix Magath's side hold a six-point lead at the halfway stage but the team struggled over the final few weeks of last year and the coach will trust that a training camp in the sunshine of Dubai will have energised the players. Michael Ballack has shaken off an ankle injury he picked up in Dubai and the Germany captain should be fit for Tuesday to begin what could be his final year at the club. Ballack's contract expires at the end of the season and the midfielder has expressed interest in leaving Germany after the World Cup, which runs for a month from June 9. The German Cup quarter-final programme continues at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday when Bayern's ground-sharing partners TSV 1860 Munich of the second division host Eintracht Frankfurt. The other two quarter-finals are also on Wednesday. Arminia Bielefeld are at home to second division strugglers Kickers Offenbach, while third division St Pauli, who produced a huge upset in beating Hertha Berlin in the last round, are rewarded with a home tie against Werder Bremen.

The Bayern Munich playmaker has long been linked with a move away from the Bundesliga and Real now look like strong favourites for his signature after Manchester United decided against trying to sign him. Ballack's agent, Michael Becker, will meet Madrid's director of sport Emilio Butragueno some time this month to discuss the 29-year-old's future. Bayern look almost certain to lose their star player on a free transfer next summer after he rejected their latest contract offer, and Juventus are also believed to be monitoring his progress closely. 'We have always said we would like to listen to other offers,' said Becker. Although it now seems almost inevitable that Ballack will leave Munich in the summer, the club still hold out some hope that a compromise can be reached. 'We are waiting for Mr Becker to come to us, that is our agreement,' said Bayern's general manager Uli Hoeness.

Juergen Muth, manager of the Arena GmbH, told Germany's SID news agency that they would quickly be able to expand the capacity in time for Bayern's Jan. 24 German Cup quarter-final against Mainz because no major construction is needed. He said that the additional capacity for the stadium will be made through selling more standing tickets. For the World Cup matches, including the tournament's opening match on June 9 when Germany plays Costa Rica, the capacity will be unchanged at 59,416 because the standing room only areas will be turned into seating.

'We have come to an agreement,' Hoeness said in a statement on the club's website. 'Willy will stay certainly another four years with us.' The announcement ends months of speculation during which the 28-year-old said he would leave the Bundesliga champions to join Italian club Juventus. Sagnol joined Bayern in 2000 and won the Champions League with them in 2001 as well as three Bundesliga crowns and two German Cup titles. In a separate statement also published on Sunday, Bayern said they were upbeat about the future of Germany captain Michael Ballack but nothing had been decided yet. Ballack is out of contract with Bayern at the end of the season. 'The Bayern coach confirms his expectations that Ballack will play for the club next season,' Bayern said.

BERLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes Germany captain Michael Ballack will leave at the end of the season.

'I think he will go. If you can't extend your contract inside six months, then you also won't manage to do so afterwards. That's my experience. We've been speaking to Ballack from May to November,' Rummenigge told Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper on Friday. Ballack says he has not yet decided whether he will remain at Bayern after the 2005-06 season. The playmaker's agent has fuelled speculation of a possible move on a free transfer to a top club in Spain, Italy or England next season after his Munich contract expires.Real Madrid are favourites to sign him. Rummenigge, speculating about possible purchases for next season, praised Werder Bremen midfielder Tim Borowski and Germany striker Lukas Podolski, currently with Cologne. 'Of course it would be desirable if he (Podolski) would be playing here in the summer,' Rummenigge told Bild.

FRANKFURT, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is staying on at Bayern Munich until 2008, club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Monday.

'The contract for a further two years has been agreed,' Rummenigge said on Bayern's website. 'It's not signed yet but it will be this week.' The 36-year-old Kahn, who joined Bayern in July 1994, said he was ready to sign a new two-year deal in two newspaper interviews published on Sunday. His current contract is due to expire at the end of the season. Kahn was named best player at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan after helping Germany reach the final, where they were beaten by Brazil. His form suffered after the tournament but he has been outstanding over the past 12 months and is on course to win his personal battle with Jens Lehmann over who will be Germany's number one at the World Cup on home soil next year.

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