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Seagate’s 5mm Laptop Ultrathin HDDs are joined by WD’s 7mm Blue 1TB in aiming at Haswell-based Ultrabooks and even tablets.

Seagate and Western Digital have reaffirmed their commitment to spinning-rust storage even in this age of tablets, hybrids and Ultrabooks, with the pair launching ultra-slim models for an increasingly svelte market.

Western Digital’s WD10SPCX, also known as the WD Blue 1TB 7mm, is claimed by the company to be the world’s thinnest 2.5″ 1TB drive. Based on a 5,400rpm spindle speed, the drive packs two 500GB platters, 16MB of cache memory and a SATA 6Gb/s interface into a package just 7mm thick, and still include WD’s usual raft of branded technologies including impact-protecting ShockGuard, quiet WhisperDrive motors, performance-boosting StableTrac, reliability-improving SecurePark, and positional accuracy-tweaking Dual Stage Actuators.

‘Users with large portfolios of content no longer need [fear] an Ultrabook or upgrading to a thin and light notebook,‘ claimed WD’s vice president and general manager of client storage products Matt Rutledge of his company’s launch. ‘This most compact 1TB hard drive to date offers manufacturers of systems an upsell path for their customers, who will now be able to choose systems offering both sleek design and high capacity.‘

Western Digital has confirmed that Acer and Asus have chosen the new drive for upcoming Haswell-based ultra-portable products, with Intel praising the company’s foresight. ‘The release of the WD Blue 7mm hard drive offers a new level of storage capacity that further enriches the computing experience for users of Ultrabooks, All-in-Ones and other thin and light PCs,‘ crowed Intel’s capabilities marketing manager Roger Bradford.

While 7mm is thin, Seagate has something thinner to announce – so thin, in fact, that the company is hoping to interest tablet customers as well as the Ultrabook crowd. Dubbed the Laptop Ultrathin HDD, the company’s latest 320GB and 500GB drives measure just 5mm thick in a standard 2.5″ form factor. As with the WD Blue 1TB 7mm, the new 5mm drives – Seagate’s first – feature a full-size SATA 6Gb/s connector, a 5,400rpm spindle speed and 16MB of cache memory. Average latency is given at 5.6ms for both models, while WD’s 1TB manages a marginally nippier 5.5ms.

The new drives will be released by both companies at retail, as well as being made available for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufactures (ODMs) in volume quantities. With parts yet to hit the UK channel official pricing has yet to be confirmed, but US prices have been set at $139 for the WD Blue 1TB 7mm and $89 for the Seagate 500GB Laptop Ultrathin HDD (approximately £91 and £58 respectively, excluding taxes.)

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Editor’s note: Gayle Sulik is a medical sociologist, founder of the Breast Cancer Consortium and author of “Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women’s Health.” Follow her on Twitter: @pinkribbonblues

(CNN) — Angelina Jolie, when writing about her preventive double mastectomy, did not discuss how much her surgeries cost, but she did mention that many women would not be able to afford the $3,000 to $4,000 test that led her to make the decision. What she failed to say was why the test costs so much.

Jolie had the surgery, says she intends to have preventive oophorectomy, which is the surgical removal of ovaries, because she inherited a mutation on one of the so-called breast cancer genes, BRCA1. That mutation, according to the Stanford Cancer Center, increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 65% and ovarian cancer by 39% by the age of 70.

The reason the test is so expensive is this: In 1998 Myriad Genetics patented two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA2. With its exclusive rights, Myriad developed a test for mutations on those genes trademarked “BRACAnalysis.” Because it essentially owns the genes, Myriad is the only company that can conduct the test, so it sets the price.

Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of the Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, is expected to rule on whether it is indeed legal for Myriad Genetics to hold patents on the BRCA genes. The case was filed in 2009 by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation on behalf of genetic researchers, counselors, medical organizations and patients, who argue the genes cannot be patented because they are products of nature.

Much of what we know about genes traces to the Human Genome Project. As a public works venture, it had a fundamental aim to make its data freely available.

Those 3 billion subunits of genetic code were to be used for the public good in the development of approaches to treat, detect and prevent disease. In this spirit, the American College of Medical Genetics explains that gene patents, to the contrary, limit innovation and accessibility, hinder quality, slow improvement and restrict the workforce.

Studies find that researchers avoid, delay or stop work because of patent-related concerns, such as difficulty getting approvals from patent owners, worry that their licenses could be revoked or fear that patent holders could, in effect, claim what they develop as their own.

James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner and co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, stresses that human genes should not be controlled by legal monopolies. He filed a brief in the case against gene patenting, calling it “lunacy.” Yet some 40% of the human genetic code is already patented.

Justices at odds over patents for human genes

Myriad’s test is targeted at people at high risk. But most cases of breast or ovarian cancer are not related to BRCA mutations and less than 1% of American women are likely to have them. The company boasts a preeminent market position focused on three initiatives: to grow existing tests and markets, to expand internationally and to launch new products, including companion diagnostics.

With BRCAnalysis as the major revenue producer — 75% of the portfolio — one of the ways to make good on this promise is to convince consumers they need the test and get doctors to write the scripts.

Myriad went to the direct-to-consumer market in 2002 with television, radio and print and launched a larger campaign in 2007. Women’s voices created the campaign message: “Breast cancer runs in my family. My mother, my grandmother, my dad’s sisters. I wondered if it would be inevitable. I found out it didn’t have to be. I found out my risk through BRACAnalysis … a blood test that has helped thousands of women find out their risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. After BRACAnalysis, I realized I can choose to do something now, to help reduce my cancer risk now, with effective medical options.”

Rather than reaching high-risk families, researchers, writing in the American College of Genetics journal, warned the ads would create “spurious demand for the tests” and waste the time of health professionals who would have to filter the demand and explain genetics to those who were not high risk. Professionals without formal training in genetic testing, however, might themselves overly rely on Myriad’s educational, more accurately called promotional, materials.

Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy

It would be hard for me to imagine that doctors could be susceptible had it not been for a friend who called me in a panic after her gynecologist recommended the test. It was a routine visit. She had no symptoms. After giving her family history, which would not meet high-risk criteria, the doctor said she needed BRCAnalysis.

When my friend asked why she needed it and what she would learn from it, the doctor said, “Well, if it’s positive we’ll check for cancer…If you have cancer, we’ll consider chemotherapy and radiation… If it’s positive and you don’t have cancer, you can have a double mastectomy with reconstruction and an oophorectomy with hormone replacement…. If it’s negative, then you know.”

My friend was stunned. Worried. Skeptical. She had questions. How much would it cost? About $1,000 out-of-pocket … with insurance? She guessed she could use her savings. “I’m only 43,” she said. “You want to cut off my breasts and take my ovaries? I don’t want to have children…I don’t think… but I’m not ready for menopause. You think I could have cancer? Why?”

After a few moments of tense conversation, the doctor ordered the test and my friend left. She sat in her car and cried. After doing research, she concluded that she was not a good candidate. She canceled it and found a new doctor.

Finances and genetic counseling influence the frequency of genetic testing, whether people are high risk or not. They also affect decisions about interventions. The treatment Angelina Jolie had is expensive and complicated. Up to 35% of women who get post-mastectomy reconstructions get infections. Implants need to be replaced and rupture frequently enough that we have ruptured implant specialists.

To find better options means independent research needs to be encouraged. When big biotech companies own genes, that stifles or even prevents innovation. When companies aggressively promote expensive and often unnecessary medical tests, it isn’t always in the service of patients and good health.

The Supreme Court decision could set free the dream of personalized medicine or shut it down.

In the meantime, after Angelina Jolie’s announcement, Myriad Genetics’ stock rose to a three-year high.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gayle Sulik.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/24/opinion/sulik-patented-genes/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/JX9go8dSIaU/genes-ownership

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RipleysStuff/~3/kZJvczyMWjg/genes-ownership

Editor’s note: Gayle Sulik is a medical sociologist, founder of the Breast Cancer Consortium and author of “Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women’s Health.” Follow her on Twitter: @pinkribbonblues

(CNN) — Angelina Jolie, when writing about her preventive double mastectomy, did not discuss how much her surgeries cost, but she did mention that many women would not be able to afford the $3,000 to $4,000 test that led her to make the decision. What she failed to say was why the test costs so much.

Jolie had the surgery, says she intends to have preventive oophorectomy, which is the surgical removal of ovaries, because she inherited a mutation on one of the so-called breast cancer genes, BRCA1. That mutation, according to the Stanford Cancer Center, increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 65% and ovarian cancer by 39% by the age of 70.

The reason the test is so expensive is this: In 1998 Myriad Genetics patented two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA2. With its exclusive rights, Myriad developed a test for mutations on those genes trademarked “BRACAnalysis.” Because it essentially owns the genes, Myriad is the only company that can conduct the test, so it sets the price.

Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of the Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, is expected to rule on whether it is indeed legal for Myriad Genetics to hold patents on the BRCA genes. The case was filed in 2009 by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation on behalf of genetic researchers, counselors, medical organizations and patients, who argue the genes cannot be patented because they are products of nature.

Much of what we know about genes traces to the Human Genome Project. As a public works venture, it had a fundamental aim to make its data freely available.

Those 3 billion subunits of genetic code were to be used for the public good in the development of approaches to treat, detect and prevent disease. In this spirit, the American College of Medical Genetics explains that gene patents, to the contrary, limit innovation and accessibility, hinder quality, slow improvement and restrict the workforce.

Studies find that researchers avoid, delay or stop work because of patent-related concerns, such as difficulty getting approvals from patent owners, worry that their licenses could be revoked or fear that patent holders could, in effect, claim what they develop as their own.

James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner and co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, stresses that human genes should not be controlled by legal monopolies. He filed a brief in the case against gene patenting, calling it “lunacy.” Yet some 40% of the human genetic code is already patented.

Justices at odds over patents for human genes

Myriad’s test is targeted at people at high risk. But most cases of breast or ovarian cancer are not related to BRCA mutations and less than 1% of American women are likely to have them. The company boasts a preeminent market position focused on three initiatives: to grow existing tests and markets, to expand internationally and to launch new products, including companion diagnostics.

With BRCAnalysis as the major revenue producer — 75% of the portfolio — one of the ways to make good on this promise is to convince consumers they need the test and get doctors to write the scripts.

Myriad went to the direct-to-consumer marketin 2002 with television, radio and print and launched a larger campaign in 2007. Women’s voices created the campaign message: “Breast cancer runs in my family. My mother, my grandmother, my dad’s sisters. I wondered if it would be inevitable. I found out it didn’t have to be. I found out my risk through BRACAnalysis … a blood test that has helped thousands of women find out their risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. After BRACAnalysis, I realized I can choose to do something now, to help reduce my cancer risk now, with effective medical options.”

Rather than reaching high-risk families, researchers, writing in the American College of Genetics journal, warned the ads would create “spurious demand for the tests” and waste the time of health professionals who would have to filter the demand and explain genetics to those who were not high risk. Professionals without formal training in genetic testing, however, might themselves overly rely on Myriad’s educational, more accurately called promotional, materials.

Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy

It would be hard for me to imagine that doctors could be susceptible had it not been for a friend who called me in a panic after her gynecologist recommended the test. It was a routine visit. She had no symptoms. After giving her family history, which would not meet high-risk criteria, the doctor said she needed BRCAnalysis.

When my friend asked why she needed it and what she would learn from it, the doctor said, “Well, if it’s positive we’ll check for cancer…If you have cancer, we’ll consider chemotherapy and radiation… If it’s positive and you don’t have cancer, you can have a double mastectomy with reconstruction and an oophorectomy with hormone replacement…. If it’s negative, then you know.”

My friend was stunned. Worried. Skeptical. She had questions. How much would it cost? About $1,000 out-of-pocket … with insurance? She guessed she could use her savings. “I’m only 43,” she said. “You want to cut off my breasts and take my ovaries? I don’t want to have children…I don’t think… but I’m not ready for menopause. You think I could have cancer? Why?”

After a few moments of tense conversation, the doctor ordered the test and my friend left. She sat in her car and cried. After doing research, she concluded that she was not a good candidate. She canceled it and found a new doctor.

Finances and genetic counseling influence the frequency of genetic testing, whether people are high risk or not. They also affect decisions about interventions. The treatment Angelina Jolie had is expensive and complicated. Up to 35% of women who get post-mastectomy reconstructions get infections. Implants need to be replaced and rupture frequently enough that we have ruptured implant specialists.

To find better options means independent research needs to be encouraged. When big biotech companies own genes, that stifles or even prevents innovation. When companies aggressively promote expensive and often unnecessary medical tests, it isn’t always in the service of patients and good health.

The Supreme Court decision could set free the dream of personalized medicine or shut it down.

In the meantime, after Angelina Jolie’s announcement, Myriad Genetics’ stock rose to a three-year high.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gayle Sulik.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/24/opinion/sulik-patented-genes/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/cb3wvq7W0R4/should-human-genes-be-owned

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RipleysStuff/~3/lDEAlCI87I8/should-human-genes-be-owned

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Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga title by a margin of 25 points from second placed Borussia Dortmund, who have been champions in the two previous seasons. Bayern finished an incredible 36 points clear of fourth placed Schalke. Critics argue the dominance of both clubs could be bad for Germany’s top tier, which they say is becoming too predictable.

As well as domestic dominance, both clubs are excelling in European competition. Germany’s top two — Bayern and Dortmund — will contest the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25.

Just days before Dortmund’s Champions League semifinal with Spanish giants Real Madrid it was confirmed one of their star players, Mario Gotze, would be joining Bayern next season for a deal reported to be worth $56 million. Signing one of their nearest rivals’ best players should only strengthen Bayern’s grip on domestic competition.

All-conquering Bayern, who will contest the German Cup final on June 1 as they seek an historic treble, are preparing to welcome Josep Guardiola as their new coach for next season. The former Barcelona manager won 14 trophies in a four-year spell at the Spanish giants, sparking a clamor for his signature after he spent a year out of the game.

German clubs are famed for being well run, creating a good atmosphere at games, with Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion a case in point. Cheap tickets for standing areas play a large part in that, and Dortmund’s players make a point of thanking their supporters after every game.

All but three top-flight clubs — Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim — are owned by supporters under the 50+1 rule, that dictates clubs must be majority owned by fans to prevent them being taken over by private investors. The last vote on changing the “50+1″ rule came back in 2009 and only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it. Here Hamburg fans hold up banners at a recent Bundesliga match against Hannover that reads: “Us for you, you for us.”

There are exceptions lower down the leagues too. In 2009, soft drinks giant Red Bull bought the license of German fifth division club SSV Markranstädt to create Rasen Ballsport Leipzig. The aim was to make the top tier — the Bundesliga — within 10 years. Leipzig will contest a playoff to make the third division in June.

Red Bull was prevented from attaching its brand name to the club so settled for calling it Rasen Ballsport Leipzig, shortened to RB Leipzig so as to carry the energy drink firm’s initials.

The club moved from its old home to the newly-built Red Bull Arena in 2010. It is the fifth soccer team in the company’s portfolio.

Reports estimate that Red Bull is prepared to pump $128 million into the club. A new training center and youth academy, currently being built, will open in 2015 at a cost of $45 million.

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(CNN) — Most fans would agree that a great football league needs some key ingredients: skilful players, excitement and drama on the pitch; and off the field, passionate supporters and owners who love and understand the game.

But these days soccer is also about big business, million-dollar deals and billionaire benefactors lining up to plow money into the game.

Those seeking a balance between these sometimes awkward bedfellows will often point to Germany and the Bundesliga. With two clubs in Saturday’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium, high attendances, keenly-priced season tickets, equitable club ownership and the national team on an upward trajectory, German football appears to be in rude health. But is it?

In the domestic Bundesliga, Bayern finished 25 points clear of Dortmund and 36 points ahead of fourth-placed Schalke 04. If Manchester United’s path to the English Premier League title looked like a cakewalk, the German champions could have taken the entire dessert trolley along with them.

Arguably the competition is beginning to resemble anything but.

Writing in the German tabloid Bild last month, Bayern’s former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn expressed fears that the domination of the Munich club and Dortmund — Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012 — is here to stay, and that the gulf at the top could widen even further in the future.

Even Dortmund’s manager Jürgen Klopp has remarked that the league is in danger of becoming boring.

CNN Football Club: Bayern dominate Barca

Do Bayern Munich need Pep Guardiola?

CNN FC: Do Bayern Munich need Guardiola?

Arguably Dortmund were unable to mount an effective challenge this season as they saved their best performances for the Champions League.

But the brilliance of both Bayern and Dortmund in their respective semifinal wins against Real Madrid and Barcelona suggests the Bundesliga needs to be wary of an emerging duopoly.

Read: Bayern give Heynckes winning Bundesliga farewell

It’s not hard to see why Bayern and Dortmund have become so omnipotent both at home and abroad.

“Two great managers, two teams that almost mirror each other in the way they play, the way they attack, the way they defend without the ball,” former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves told CNN.

“Bayern have only conceded something like 15 goals, which is ridiculous in a full season,” he added.

“At Dortmund, the average age is 23, and I think Jürgen Klopp has done such a remarkable job to take that group of players and virtually dominate some terrific European teams.”

Yet among German fans there are concerns.

“Of course the current situation could become unhealthy,” said Stuart Dykes, a Schalke season ticket-holder since 1988, and the supporter liaison officer project consultant at fan ownership campaigning body, Supporters Direct.

“Even Bayern, while obviously delighted to have won the title so comfortably, have talked about it not being in their interests to do it every year. Ultimately the overall product of German football would suffer.”

Dortmund revival

Not content with running away with the Bundesliga this season, Bayern are already laying plans to dominate next season, notably with the appointment of former Barca coach Pep Guardiola — who guided the Catalonia club to 14 trophies in four years — to take over from Jupp Heynckes.

Dortmund’s hopes of catching Bayern next season have been further jeopardized by the loss of playmaker Mario Gotze, who recently agreed to join the Munich club at the end of this season in a $56 million deal.

Are German teams the best in Europe?

Alex Ferguson’s recipe for success

Friedel: ‘Bale can be world’s best’

Rumors of a Bayern bid for the Bundesliga’s second-highest scorer Robert Lewandowski, whose four goals against Real Madrid in the semis propelled Dortmund to Wembley, suggest a strategy centered on dismantling their only rivals’ chances before next season has even begun.

Read: English Premier League should follow Bundesliga example

The consolation for Dortmund fans is that at least the club has some money to spend to try to keep pace.

Eight years ago it was on the brink of financial ruin, missing rent payments on its stadium and facing crippling losses.

Extraordinarily, a loan from Bayern played a part in Dortmund’s survival — with $2.5 million handed over to help stave off bankruptcy.

Dortmund’s path back to solvency and success has been paved by Klopp’s highly astute signings, such as Poland striker Lewandowski, as well as his trust in talented graduates from the club’s youth academy, like midfielder Nuri Sahin.

But it has been the club’s willingness to part with its top players at the height of their value that has restored Dortmund’s financial health.

Shinji Kagawa, signed for just $300,000 from the Japanese second division, was sold to Manchester United for $17 million, while Sahin joined Real Madrid for $12.8 million.

“Obviously (Dortmund and Bayern) have the power and the money to buy the best players as Bayern has done again; they’ve signed Götze for £37 million, and you know, the rich get richer, and that’s just the way that football works,” said Hargreaves.

“People can argue that’s not fair, but they paid a lot of money to Dortmund — and they can invest that money in younger players.”

Read: Bayern complete rout of Barcelona

In England, the Premier League has taken a laissez-faire approach to regulating clubs’ finances.

Alongside huge television deals — the latest of which could see a record £5.5 billion ($8.3 billion) windfall in broadcasting income — extraordinarily wealthy owners such as Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City have been allowed to spend big for success.

But the model in Germany is very different.

Gullit: Mourinho will return to Chelsea

Marcel Desailly’s Ghana regret

Bayern Munich puts a hurt on Barcelona

Under the league’s “50+1″ rule, Bundesliga clubs must be controlled by their members — with at least 50% of shares, plus one, in their hands.

This means a club cannot be taken over by private investors. At the last vote on changing this rule, back in 2009, only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it.

The German system is geared towards preventing the influence of a rich benefactor from skewing the competition, but some argue that it will only serve to perpetuate the status quo.

Hannover has now won concessions in its attempt to change the “50+1″ rule, and these will allow sponsors with a long-term relationship with a club — more than 20 years — to take a stake in it.

However club fans are already protesting about these changes, perhaps anxious at the advantage such a move might give their rivals.

“The next five years will be interesting,” said Dykes. “The rules have had exceptions to allow for the different ownership structures of teams like Bayer Leverkusen and Vfl Wolfsburg, but Hannover has argued that this leaves them at a disadvantage, and you can see why.”

Read: Football enters space age with ‘Footbonaut’

But how is a booming Bundesliga affecting German football further down the feeding chain?

In the former East Germany, far from the country’s football powerbase, one lowly team’s fortunes are being transformed by Austrian soft drink company Red Bull’s takeover.

In 2009, Rasen Ballsport Leipzig (better known as RB Leipzig) became the fourth club in Red Bull’s football portfolio, alongside Red Bull Salzburg of Austria, Red Bull Brasil, and the New York Red Bulls of the American MLS.

Formerly known as SSV Markranstädt, league regulations prevent the club using the Red Bull brand in its name, so it settled on RB Leipzig instead; but there is no ambiguity over the power driving it forward, with a reported planned $128 million investment to take the club to the Bundesliga by 2017.

After promotion in its first season, followed by two years in German football’s fourth tier, its plans look to be on track as the club prepares to contest the playoffs for another promotion in June.

2012: Football gloom in Munich

Cristiano Ronaldo had a wonderful chance to put Real in front early on but sent his volley straight at Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.

Mesut Ozil reacts after missing a glorious opportunity to give Real the lead after breaking clear of the Dortmund defense only to drill his effort wide of the post.

Substitute Karim Benzema finally made the breakthrough in the 82nd minute when he slotted home Ozil’s pass from close-range to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-4 on aggregate.

Sergio Ramos set up a nervous finale when he rifled home with two minutes of normal time remaining. That strike left Real needing one more to pull off an unlikely comeback.

Real piled forward in search of a dramatic winner but not even the mercurial Ronaldo could find that elusive third goal.

the 2-0 defeat which allowed his side to qualify for the final 4-3 on aggregate. It is the first time since 1997 that Dortmund has reached the final when it defeated Juventus 3-1.” border=”0″ /Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates with his players following the 2-0 defeat which allowed his side to qualify for the final 4-3 on aggregate. It is the first time since 1997 that Dortmund has reached the final when it defeated Juventus 3-1.

Dortmund will face either Barcelona or Bayern Munich at Wembley on May 25. Bayern, which has already won the Bundesliga title, will take a 4-0 lead into the second leg at the Camp No Wednesday.

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Close but not close enough for Real

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the perfect start when he slammed home from close-range after Theo Walcott had got in behind the Bayern defense. Following a 3-1 defeat in the first leg, Arsenal needed a fast start and it got it.

Arjen Robben was a constant danger to the Arsenal defense and kept the visiting players busy as Bayern looked for an equalizer.

Bayern, which is 20 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, had not suffered a defeat since October 28 in any competition. Its frustration was clear to see with striker Mario Mandzukic aggrieved with his side’s showing.

With just four minutes of normal time remaining, Arsenal grabs its second goal to set up a thrilling finale thanks to Laurent Koscielny’s header. The Frenchman headed home to leave Bayern clinging on.

Bayern Munich duo Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller look relieved after the 2-0 home defeat, a result which takes the German side through on away goals following a 3-3 overall draw.

Malaga’s Javier Saviola goes up against Porto’s Alex Sandro with the Spanish club aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg.

Just two minutes before the break, Malaga made the breakthrough when talented midfielder Isco collected Manuel Iturra’s pass and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Substitute Roque Santa Cruz netted a 77th minute winner to make it 2-0 on the night and send Malaga through 2-1 on aggregate.

Malaga’s players celebrate at the final whistle following the 2-0 win over Porto — a result which secured a 2-1 aggregate victory overall and its place in the quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

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Bayern clings on

The club’s stadium, the impressive 45,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, is certainly ready.

“We accept this rule,” said RB Liepzig’s managing director Ulrich Wolter, referring to the “50+1″ rule.

“The intention of the rule is to secure the league’s integrity against short-term investment, I think everyone understands that.”

However, Wolter is frustrated at the resistance to RB Leipzig’s owners.

“Red Bull is not a Russian oligarch, or an Arabian sheikh,” he said. “We’ve shown elsewhere that we’re about a strong, sustainable investment and commitment.

“Why is our way the wrong way? What is the difference between our approach and a club with 50 different sponsors delivering the same thing?”

Even so RB Leipzig’s new investors have encountered resistance.

The pitch at its former stadium was attacked with weed killer not long after the takeover, and fans of other clubs can be less than welcoming.

“It’s getting better,” says Wolter. “We’re proud of our family and spectators. We don’t have ‘ultras’ and we don’t need them. It’s a friendly family atmosphere here, with men, women, children, pensioners, it’s a different way.”

Germany’s often raucous fans are, however, part of the fabric of the Bundesliga experience.

The biggest obstacle to change in Germany may come from those very supporters, many of whom view the English Premier League with disdain, given that they see themselves at the center of a club’s structure.

The Bundesliga boasts some of the world’s finest stadia, and its commitment to safe standing areas has helped enable clubs to keep prices low, as well as creating the boisterously vibrant atmosphere that characterizes top-flight games.

But while the cheapest season tickets represent superb value, if fans turn up on match day looking for tickets then the story is rather different. “People are always talking about cheap tickets, but it can be misleading,” says Dykes.

The “Footbonaut” — is a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control. The machine is being used by German champions Borussia Dortmund.

Once inside the “Footbonaut”, a player is fed balls by eight different machines and then has deliver the ball to one of the 72 panels – – which is indciated by a flashing green light — that make up the space-age contraption before they receive another ball. This picture shows Dortmund’s German star Mario Gotze testing himself against the machine.

German coach Jurgen Klopp has overseen Dortmund’s recent domination of German football. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two seasons, winning plaudits for the adventurous style of play. Klopp’s team also currently sit top of a European Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.

Dortmund’s rise to prominence has forced their attractive young squad into the limelight. None more so than Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year.

One player who did swap Dortmund for Manchester was Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese playmaker had made a promising start to his Old Trafford career before being sidelined with a knee injury last month. Another player developed by Dortmund was Nuri Sahin, the Turkish midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in 2011 before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in August.

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Dortmund’s training pays dividends

The Schalke Fan Feld, whose centerpiece will be a club logo made up of blue and white flowers lying between two goals, looks directly on to the Bundesliga club’s home stadium – the white domed Veltins-Arena, which can be seen in the gap between the trees in this picture.

Schalke fans are known as some of the most passionate in German football.

The cemetery will only have space for 1,904 graves — reflecting the year of Schalke’s foundation — and the club says there will not be another site when the entire allocation is taken up.

Schalke’s on-field fortunes have improved in recent years to the point where they have brought in leading strikers Raul Gonzalez, who left the club earlier this year, and current Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The cemetery will be laid out in the shape of a stadium, with the miniature pitch located at the centre.

The “pitch” will feature the Schalke logo, made up of blue and white flowers, with a goal at each end and benches in the middle of those.

Schalke’s Veltins-Arena was built in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup and can hold over 65,000 fans.

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From the cradle to the grave

“Of course standing tickets are cheap, as you would expect; but once these go, and they’re usually in demand, the ticket prices at the top end are broadly comparable to those in England.”

In fact, at $88 the most expensive match-day ticket for Bayern is the same as that at Manchester City, for example — and $9 more expensive than at Manchester United.

Read: Bayern coach celebrates 1,000 games

This year, partly in response to incidents of crowd trouble at games, there have even been whispers that the prized standing areas could be abolished.

“Standing is vital to low ticket prices, but also the atmosphere and the overall product of German football,” said a skeptical Dykes.

“The league realizes that and I can’t see the standing areas being given up. It would be difficult under German federal law to ‘ban’ them anyway, so I just can’t see it happening.”

The worry for other Bundesliga clubs must be that the success of Dortmund and Bayern could put them out of sight in the financial and playing stakes; last year Chelsea received an estimated $77 million from winning the Champions League, while beaten finalist Bayern pocketed $53.65 million.

Youth and prudence

However, the notion that a couple of teams might dominate their league is not confined to Germany.

“Spain’s that way, the last three or four years the third or fourth place team, they still play Champions League and they’re 30 points behind,” said Hargreaves.

“A lot of people in Germany love Bayern and love Dortmund, in the same way as people (in England) love Manchester United or Chelsea,” he added, “but there are a lot of people who root for the underdog as well. So I think, in a way, it’s a fair balance.”

Read: Why Guardiola will make Bayern better

And Dykes remains unconvinced that a tipping point has been reached.

“It’s too early to be talking about a duopoly,” he said. “Success comes and goes. If we’re still talking about those two in a few years’ time, or Bayern are still miles ahead, then it would be a worry.

“People look at that possibility and of course it could be bad, but why would it happen? Bayern have always spent big; Dortmund is an exceptional team, but where will they be in three years?

“Players lose form, get injured, things can change quite quickly. I’m not worried.”

For Wolter, the key to success lies in a combination of youth and prudence.

“You look at a team like Freiburg, they have a good academy, a good coach; it’s still possible (to be successful). The new television contract has also given clubs more money … and these academies are profit centers,” he says. “But it’s not all about money. It’s also about education, good background work.”

Nevertheless, as Bayern and Dortmund take the field at Wembley, some may be wondering if, as well as a moment of national pride, this game might also mark a less welcome watershed in German football.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/21/sport/football/champions-league-final-dortmund-bayern-bundesliga/index.html?eref=edition

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Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga title by a margin of 25 points from second placed Borussia Dortmund, who have been champions in the two previous seasons. Bayern finished an incredible 36 points clear of fourth placed Schalke. Critics argue the dominance of both clubs could be bad for Germany’s top tier, which they say is becoming too predictable.

As well as domestic dominance, both clubs are excelling in European competition. Germany’s top two — Bayern and Dortmund — will contest the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25.

Just days before Dortmund’s Champions League semifinal with Spanish giants Real Madrid it was confirmed one of their star players, Mario Gotze, would be joining Bayern next season for a deal reported to be worth $56 million. Signing one of their nearest rivals’ best players should only strengthen Bayern’s grip on domestic competition.

All-conquering Bayern, who will contest the German Cup final on June 1 as they seek an historic treble, are preparing to welcome Josep Guardiola as their new coach for next season. The former Barcelona manager won 14 trophies in a four-year spell at the Spanish giants, sparking a clamor for his signature after he spent a year out of the game.

German clubs are famed for being well run, creating a good atmosphere at games, with Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion a case in point. Cheap tickets for standing areas play a large part in that, and Dortmund’s players make a point of thanking their supporters after every game.

All but three top-flight clubs — Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim — are owned by supporters under the 50+1 rule, that dictates clubs must be majority owned by fans to prevent them being taken over by private investors. The last vote on changing the “50+1″ rule came back in 2009 and only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it. Here Hamburg fans hold up banners at a recent Bundesliga match against Hannover that reads: “Us for you, you for us.”

There are exceptions lower down the leagues too. In 2009, soft drinks giant Red Bull bought the license of German fifth division club SSV Markranstädt to create Rasen Ballsport Leipzig. The aim was to make the top tier — the Bundesliga — within 10 years. Leipzig will contest a playoff to make the third division in June.

Red Bull was prevented from attaching its brand name to the club so settled for calling it Rasen Ballsport Leipzig, shortened to RB Leipzig so as to carry the energy drink firm’s initials.

The club moved from its old home to the newly-built Red Bull Arena in 2010. It is the fifth soccer team in the company’s portfolio.

Reports estimate that Red Bull is prepared to pump $128 million into the club. A new training center and youth academy, currently being built, will open in 2015 at a cost of $45 million.

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(CNN) — Most fans would agree that a great football league needs some key ingredients: skilful players, excitement and drama on the pitch; and off the field, passionate supporters and owners who love and understand the game.

But these days soccer is also about big business, million-dollar deals and billionaire benefactors lining up to plow money into the game.

Those seeking a balance between these sometimes awkward bedfellows will often point to Germany and the Bundesliga. With two clubs in Saturday’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium, high attendances, keenly-priced season tickets, equitable club ownership and the national team on an upward trajectory, German football appears to be in rude health. But is it?

In the domestic Bundesliga, Bayern finished 25 points clear of Dortmund and 36 points ahead of fourth-placed Schalke 04. If Manchester United’s path to the English Premier League title looked like a cakewalk, the German champions could have taken the entire dessert trolley along with them.

Arguably the competition is beginning to resemble anything but.

Writing in the German tabloid Bild last month, Bayern’s former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn expressed fears that the domination of the Munich club and Dortmund — Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012 — is here to stay, and that the gulf at the top could widen even further in the future.

Even Dortmund’s manager Jürgen Klopp has remarked that the league is in danger of becoming boring.

CNN Football Club: Bayern dominate Barca

Do Bayern Munich need Pep Guardiola?

CNN FC: Do Bayern Munich need Guardiola?

Arguably Dortmund were unable to mount an effective challenge this season as they saved their best performances for the Champions League.

But the brilliance of both Bayern and Dortmund in their respective semifinal wins against Real Madrid and Barcelona suggests the Bundesliga needs to be wary of an emerging duopoly.

Read: Bayern give Heynckes winning Bundesliga farewell

It’s not hard to see why Bayern and Dortmund have become so omnipotent both at home and abroad.

“Two great managers, two teams that almost mirror each other in the way they play, the way they attack, the way they defend without the ball,” former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves told CNN.

“Bayern have only conceded something like 15 goals, which is ridiculous in a full season,” he added.

“At Dortmund, the average age is 23, and I think Jürgen Klopp has done such a remarkable job to take that group of players and virtually dominate some terrific European teams.”

Yet among German fans there are concerns.

“Of course the current situation could become unhealthy,” said Stuart Dykes, a Schalke season ticket-holder since 1988, and a supporter liaison officer at fan engagement body, Supporters Direct.

“Even Bayern, while obviously delighted to have won the title so comfortably, have talked about it not being in their interests to do it every year. Ultimately the overall product of German football would suffer.”

Dortmund revival

Not content with running away with the Bundesliga this season, Bayern are already laying plans to dominate next season, notably with the appointment of former Barca coach Pep Guardiola — who guided the Catalonia club to 14 trophies in four years — to take over from Jupp Heynckes.

Dortmund’s hopes of catching Bayern next season have been further jeopardized by the loss of playmaker Mario Gotze, who recently agreed to join the Munich club at the end of this season in a $56 million deal.

Are German teams the best in Europe?

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Friedel: ‘Bale can be world’s best’

Rumors of a Bayern bid for the Bundesliga’s second-highest scorer Robert Lewandowski, whose four goals against Real Madrid in the semis propelled Dortmund to Wembley, suggest a strategy centered on dismantling their only rivals’ chances before next season has even begun.

Read: English Premier League should follow Bundesliga example

The consolation for Dortmund fans is that at least the club has some money to spend to try to keep pace.

Eight years ago it was on the brink of financial ruin, missing rent payments on its stadium and facing crippling losses.

Extraordinarily, a loan from Bayern played a part in Dortmund’s survival — with $2.5 million handed over to help stave off bankruptcy.

Dortmund’s path back to solvency and success has been paved by Klopp’s highly astute signings, such as Poland striker Lewandowski, as well as his trust in talented graduates from the club’s youth academy, like midfielder Nuri Sahin.

But it has been the club’s willingness to part with its top players at the height of their value that has restored Dortmund’s financial health.

Shinji Kagawa, signed for just $300,000 from the Japanese second division, was sold to Manchester United for $17 million, while Sahin joined Real Madrid for $12.8 million.

“Obviously (Dortmund and Bayern) have the power and the money to buy the best players as Bayern has done again; they’ve signed Götze for £37 million, and you know, the rich get richer, and that’s just the way that football works,” said Hargreaves.

“People can argue that’s not fair, but they paid a lot of money to Dortmund — and they can invest that money in younger players.”

Read: Bayern complete rout of Barcelona

In England, the Premier League has taken a laissez-faire approach to regulating clubs’ finances.

Alongside huge television deals — the latest of which could see a record £5.5 billion ($8.3 billion) windfall in broadcasting income — extraordinarily wealthy owners such as Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City have been allowed to spend big for success.

But the model in Germany is very different.

Gullit: Mourinho will return to Chelsea

Marcel Desailly’s Ghana regret

Bayern Munich puts a hurt on Barcelona

Under the league’s “50+1″ rule, Bundesliga clubs must be controlled by their members — with at least 50% of shares, plus one, in their hands.

This means a club cannot be taken over by private investors. At the last vote on changing this rule, back in 2009, only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it.

The German system is geared towards preventing the influence of a rich benefactor from skewing the competition, but some argue that it will only serve to perpetuate the status quo.

Hannover has now won concessions in its attempt to change the “50+1″ rule, and these will allow sponsors with a long-term relationship with a club — more than 20 years — to take a stake in it.

However club fans are already protesting about these changes, perhaps anxious at the advantage such a move might give their rivals.

“The next five years will be interesting,” said Dykes. “The rules have had exceptions to allow for the different ownership structures of teams like Bayer Leverkusen and Vfl Wolfsburg, but Hannover has argued that this leaves them at a disadvantage, and you can see why.”

Read: Football enters space age with ‘Footbonaut’

But how is a booming Bundesliga affecting German football further down the feeding chain?

In the former East Germany, far from the country’s football powerbase, one lowly team’s fortunes are being transformed by Austrian soft drink company Red Bull’s takeover.

In 2009, Rasen Ballsport Leipzig (better known as RB Leipzig) became the fourth club in Red Bull’s football portfolio, alongside Red Bull Salzburg of Austria, Red Bull Brasil, and the New York Red Bulls of the American MLS.

Formerly known as SSV Markranstädt, league regulations prevent the club using the Red Bull brand in its name, so it settled on RB Leipzig instead; but there is no ambiguity over the power driving it forward, with a reported planned $128 million investment to take the club to the Bundesliga by 2017.

After promotion in its first season, followed by two years in German football’s fourth tier, its plans look to be on track as the club prepares to contest the playoffs for another promotion in June.

2012: Football gloom in Munich

Cristiano Ronaldo had a wonderful chance to put Real in front early on but sent his volley straight at Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.

Mesut Ozil reacts after missing a glorious opportunity to give Real the lead after breaking clear of the Dortmund defense only to drill his effort wide of the post.

Substitute Karim Benzema finally made the breakthrough in the 82nd minute when he slotted home Ozil’s pass from close-range to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-4 on aggregate.

Sergio Ramos set up a nervous finale when he rifled home with two minutes of normal time remaining. That strike left Real needing one more to pull off an unlikely comeback.

Real piled forward in search of a dramatic winner but not even the mercurial Ronaldo could find that elusive third goal.

which allowed his side to qualify for the final 4-3 on aggregate. It is the first time since 1997 that Dortmund has reached the final when it defeated Juventus 3-1.” border=”0″ /Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates with his players following the 2-0 defeat which allowed his side to qualify for the final 4-3 on aggregate. It is the first time since 1997 that Dortmund has reached the final when it defeated Juventus 3-1.

Dortmund will face either Barcelona or Bayern Munich at Wembley on May 25. Bayern, which has already won the Bundesliga title, will take a 4-0 lead into the second leg at the Camp No Wednesday.

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Close but not close enough for Real

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the perfect start when he slammed home from close-range after Theo Walcott had got in behind the Bayern defense. Following a 3-1 defeat in the first leg, Arsenal needed a fast start and it got it.

Arjen Robben was a constant danger to the Arsenal defense and kept the visiting players busy as Bayern looked for an equalizer.

Bayern, which is 20 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, had not suffered a defeat since October 28 in any competition. Its frustration was clear to see with striker Mario Mandzukic aggrieved with his side’s showing.

With just four minutes of normal time remaining, Arsenal grabs its second goal to set up a thrilling finale thanks to Laurent Koscielny’s header. The Frenchman headed home to leave Bayern clinging on.

Bayern Munich duo Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller look relieved after the 2-0 home defeat, a result which takes the German side through on away goals following a 3-3 overall draw.

Malaga’s Javier Saviola goes up against Porto’s Alex Sandro with the Spanish club aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg.

Just two minutes before the break, Malaga made the breakthrough when talented midfielder Isco collected Manuel Iturra’s pass and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Substitute Roque Santa Cruz netted a 77th minute winner to make it 2-0 on the night and send Malaga through 2-1 on aggregate.

Malaga’s players celebrate at the final whistle following the 2-0 win over Porto — a result which secured a 2-1 aggregate victory overall and its place in the quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

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Bayern clings on

The club’s stadium, the impressive 45,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, is certainly ready.

“We accept this rule,” said RB Liepzig’s managing director Ulrich Wolter, referring to the “50+1″ rule.

“The intention of the rule is to secure the league’s integrity against short-term investment, I think everyone understands that.”

However, Wolter is frustrated at the resistance to RB Leipzig’s owners.

“Red Bull is not a Russian oligarch, or an Arabian sheikh,” he said. “We’ve shown elsewhere that we’re about a strong, sustainable investment and commitment.

“Why is our way the wrong way? What is the difference between our approach and a club with 50 different sponsors delivering the same thing?”

Even so RB Leipzig’s new investors have encountered resistance.

The pitch at its former stadium was attacked with weed killer not long after the takeover, and fans of other clubs can be less than welcoming.

“It’s getting better,” says Wolter. “We’re proud of our family and spectators. We don’t have ‘ultras’ and we don’t need them. It’s a friendly family atmosphere here, with men, women, children, pensioners, it’s a different way.”

Germany’s often raucous fans are, however, part of the fabric of the Bundesliga experience.

The biggest obstacle to change in Germany may come from those very supporters, many of whom view the English Premier League with disdain, given that they see themselves at the center of a club’s structures.

The Bundesliga boasts some of the world’s finest stadia, and its commitment to safe standing areas has helped enable clubs to keep prices low, as well as creating the boisterously vibrant atmosphere that characterizes top-flight games.

But while the cheapest season tickets represent superb value, if fans turn on match day looking for tickets then the story is rather different. “People are always talking about cheap tickets, but it’s misleading,” says Dykes.

The “Footbonaut” — is a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control. The machine is being used by German champions Borussia Dortmund.

Once inside the “Footbonaut”, a player is fed balls by eight different machines and then has deliver the ball to one of the 72 panels – – which is indciated by a flashing green light — that make up the space-age contraption before they receive another ball. This picture shows Dortmund’s German star Mario Gotze testing himself against the machine.

German coach Jurgen Klopp has overseen Dortmund’s recent domination of German football. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two seasons, winning plaudits for the adventurous style of play. Klopp’s team also currently sit top of a European Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.

Dortmund’s rise to prominence has forced their attractive young squad into the limelight. None more so than Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year.

One player who did swap Dortmund for Manchester was Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese playmaker had made a promising start to his Old Trafford career before being sidelined with a knee injury last month. Another player developed by Dortmund was Nuri Sahin, the Turkish midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in 2011 before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in August.

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Dortmund’s training pays dividends

The Schalke Fan Feld, whose centerpiece will be a club logo made up of blue and white flowers lying between two goals, looks directly on to the Bundesliga club’s home stadium – the white domed Veltins-Arena, which can be seen in the gap between the trees in this picture.

Schalke fans are known as some of the most passionate in German football.

The cemetery will only have space for 1,904 graves — reflecting the year of Schalke’s foundation — and the club says there will not be another site when the entire allocation is taken up.

Schalke’s on-field fortunes have improved in recent years to the point where they have brought in leading strikers Raul Gonzalez, who left the club earlier this year, and current Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The cemetery will be laid out in the shape of a stadium, with the miniature pitch located at the centre.

The “pitch” will feature the Schalke logo, made up of blue and white flowers, with a goal at each end and benches in the middle of those.

Schalke’s Veltins-Arena was built in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup and can hold over 65,000 fans.

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From the cradle to the grave

“Of course standing tickets are cheap, as you would expect; but once these go, and they’re usually in demand, the ticket prices are broadly comparable to those in England.”

In fact, at $88 the most expensive match-day ticket for Bayern is the same as that at Manchester City, for example — and $9 more expensive than at Manchester United.

Read: Bayern coach celebrates 1,000 games

This year, partly in response to incidents of crowd trouble at games, there have even been whispers that the prized standing areas could be abolished.

“Standing is vital to low ticket prices, but also the atmosphere and the overall product of German football,” said a skeptical Dykes.

“The league realizes that and I can’t see the standing areas being given up. It would be difficult under German federal law to ‘ban’ them anyway, so I just can’t see it happening.”

The worry for other Bundesliga clubs must be that the success of Dortmund and Bayern could put them out of sight in the financial and playing stakes; last year Chelsea received an estimated $77 million from winning the Champions League, while beaten finalist Bayern pocketed $53.65 million.

Youth and prudence

However, the notion that a couple of teams might dominate their league is not confined to Germany.

“Spain’s that way, the last three or four years the third or fourth place team, they still play Champions League and they’re 30 points behind,” said Hargreaves.

“A lot of people in Germany love Bayern and love Dortmund, in the same way as people (in England) love Manchester United or Chelsea,” he added, “but there are a lot of people who root for the underdog as well. So I think, in a way, it’s a fair balance.”

Read: Why Guardiola will make Bayern better

And Dykes remains unconvinced that a tipping point has been reached.

“It’s too early to be talking about a duopoly,” he said. “Success comes and goes. If we’re still talking about those two in a few years’ time, or Bayern are still miles ahead, then it would be a worry.

“People look at that possibility and of course it could be bad, but why would it happen? Bayern have always spent big; Dortmund is an exceptional team, but where will they be in three years?

“Players lose form, get injured, things can change quite quickly. I’m not worried.”

For Wolter, the key to success lies in a combination of youth and prudence.

“You look at a team like Freiburg, they have a good academy, a good coach; it’s still possible (to be successful). The new television contract has also given clubs more money … and these academies are profit centers,” he says. “But it’s not all about money. It’s also about education, good background work.”

Nevertheless, as Bayern and Dortmund take the field at Wembley, some may be wondering if, as well as a moment of national pride, this game might also mark a less welcome watershed in German football.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/21/sport/football/champions-league-final-dortmund-bayern-bundesliga/index.html?eref=edition

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Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga title by a margin of 25 points from second placed Borussia Dortmund, who have been champions in the two previous seasons. Bayern finished an incredible 36 points clear of fourth placed Schalke. Critics argue the dominance of both clubs could be bad for Germany’s top tier, which they say is becoming too predictable.

As well as domestic dominance, both clubs are excelling in European competition. Germany’s top two — Bayern and Dortmund — will contest the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25.

Just days before Dortmund’s Champions League semifinal with Spanish giants Real Madrid it was confirmed one of their star players, Mario Gotze, would be joining Bayern next season for a deal reported to be worth $56 million. Signing one of their nearest rivals’ best players should only strengthen Bayern’s grip on domestic competition.

All-conquering Bayern, who will contest the German Cup final on June 1 as they seek an historic treble, are preparing to welcome Josep Guardiola as their new coach for next season. The former Barcelona manager won 14 trophies in a four-year spell at the Spanish giants, sparking a clamor for his signature after he spent a year out of the game.

German clubs are famed for being well run, creating a good atmosphere at games, with Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion a case in point. Cheap tickets for standing areas play a large part in that, and Dortmund’s players make a point of thanking their supporters after every game.

All but three top-flight clubs — Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim — are owned by supporters under the 50+1 rule, that dictates clubs must be majority owned by fans to prevent them being taken over by private investors. The last vote on changing the “50+1″ rule came back in 2009 and only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it. Here Hamburg fans hold up banners at a recent Bundesliga match against Hannover that reads: “Us for you, you for us.”

There are exceptions lower down the leagues too. In 2009, soft drinks giant Red Bull bought the license of German fifth division club SSV Markranstädt to create Rasen Ballsport Leipzig. The aim was to make the top tier — the Bundesliga — within 10 years. Leipzig will contest a playoff to make the third division in June.

Red Bull was prevented from attaching its brand name to the club so settled for calling it Rasen Ballsport Leipzig, shortened to RB Leipzig so as to carry the energy drink firm’s initials.

The club moved from its old home to the newly-built Red Bull Arena in 2010. It is the fifth soccer team in the company’s portfolio.

Reports estimate that Red Bull is prepared to pump $128 million into the club. A new training center and youth academy, currently being built, will open in 2015 at a cost of $45 million.

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(CNN) — Most fans would agree that a great football league needs some key ingredients: skilful players, excitement and drama on the pitch; and off the field, passionate supporters and owners who love and understand the game.

But these days soccer is also about big business, million-dollar deals and billionaire benefactors lining up to plow money into the game.

Those seeking a balance between these sometimes awkward bedfellows will often point to Germany and the Bundesliga. With two clubs in Saturday’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium, high attendances, keenly-priced season tickets, equitable club ownership and the national team on an upward trajectory, German football appears to be in rude health. But is it?

In the domestic Bundesliga, Bayern finished 25 points clear of Dortmund and 36 points ahead of fourth-placed Schalke 04. If Manchester United’s path to the English Premier League title looked like a cakewalk, the German champions could have taken the entire dessert trolley along with them.

Arguably the competition is beginning to resemble anything but.

Writing in the German tabloid Bild last month, Bayern’s former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn expressed fears that the domination of the Munich club and Dortmund — Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012 — is here to stay, and that the gulf at the top could widen even further in the future.

Even Dortmund’s manager Jürgen Klopp has remarked that the league is in danger of becoming boring.

CNN Football Club: Bayern dominate Barca

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Arguably Dortmund were unable to mount an effective challenge this season as they saved their best performances for the Champions League.

But the brilliance of both Bayern and Dortmund in their respective semifinal wins against Real Madrid and Barcelona suggests the Bundesliga needs to be wary of an emerging duopoly.

Read: Bayern give Heynckes winning Bundesliga farewell

It’s not hard to see why Bayern and Dortmund have become so omnipotent both at home and abroad.

“Two great managers, two teams that almost mirror each other in the way they play, the way they attack, the way they defend without the ball,” former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves told CNN.

“Bayern have only conceded something like 15 goals, which is ridiculous in a full season,” he added.

“At Dortmund, the average age is 23, and I think Jürgen Klopp has done such a remarkable job to take that group of players and virtually dominate some terrific European teams.”

Yet among German fans there are concerns.

“Of course the current situation could become unhealthy,” said Stuart Dykes, a Schalke season ticket-holder since 1988, and a supporter liaison officer at fan engagement body, Supporters Direct.

“Even Bayern, while obviously delighted to have won the title so comfortably, have talked about it not being in their interests to do it every year. Ultimately the overall product of German football would suffer.”

Dortmund revival

Not content with running away with the Bundesliga this season, Bayern are already laying plans to dominate next season, notably with the appointment of former Barca coach Pep Guardiola — who guided the Catalonia club to 14 trophies in four years — to take over from Jupp Heynckes.

Dortmund’s hopes of catching Bayern next season have been further jeopardized by the loss of playmaker Mario Gotze, who recently agreed to join the Munich club at the end of this season in a $56 million deal.

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Rumors of a Bayern bid for the Bundesliga’s second-highest scorer Robert Lewandowski, whose four goals against Real Madrid in the semis propelled Dortmund to Wembley, suggest a strategy centered on dismantling their only rivals’ chances before next season has even begun.

Read: English Premier League should follow Bundesliga example

The consolation for Dortmund fans is that at least the club has some money to spend to try to keep pace.

Eight years ago it was on the brink of financial ruin, missing rent payments on its stadium and facing crippling losses.

Extraordinarily, a loan from Bayern played a part in Dortmund’s survival — with $2.5 million handed over to help stave off bankruptcy.

Dortmund’s path back to solvency and success has been paved by Klopp’s highly astute signings, such as Poland striker Lewandowski, as well as his trust in talented graduates from the club’s youth academy, like midfielder Nuri Sahin.

But it has been the club’s willingness to part with its top players at the height of their value that has restored Dortmund’s financial health.

Shinji Kagawa, signed for just $300,000 from the Japanese second division, was sold to Manchester United for $17 million, while Sahin joined Real Madrid for $12.8 million.

“Obviously (Dortmund and Bayern) have the power and the money to buy the best players as Bayern has done again; they’ve signed Götze for £37 million, and you know, the rich get richer, and that’s just the way that football works,” said Hargreaves.

“People can argue that’s not fair, but they paid a lot of money to Dortmund — and they can invest that money in younger players.”

Read: Bayern complete rout of Barcelona

In England, the Premier League has taken a laissez-faire approach to regulating clubs’ finances.

Alongside huge television deals — the latest of which could see a record £5.5 billion ($8.3 billion) windfall in broadcasting income — extraordinarily wealthy owners such as Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City have been allowed to spend big for success.

But the model in Germany is very different.

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Marcel Desailly’s Ghana regret

Bayern Munich puts a hurt on Barcelona

Under the league’s “50+1″ rule, Bundesliga clubs must be controlled by their members — with at least 50% of shares, plus one, in their hands.

This means a club cannot be taken over by private investors. At the last vote on changing this rule, back in 2009, only Hannover 96 voted to scrap it.

The German system is geared towards preventing the influence of a rich benefactor from skewing the competition, but some argue that it will only serve to perpetuate the status quo.

Hannover has now won concessions in its attempt to change the “50+1″ rule, and these will allow sponsors with a long-term relationship with a club — more than 20 years — to take a stake in it.

However club fans are already protesting about these changes, perhaps anxious at the advantage such a move might give their rivals.

“The next five years will be interesting,” said Dykes. “The rules have had exceptions to allow for the different ownership structures of teams like Bayer Leverkusen and Vfl Wolfsburg, but Hannover has argued that this leaves them at a disadvantage, and you can see why.”

Read: Football enters space age with ‘Footbonaut’

But how is a booming Bundesliga affecting German football further down the feeding chain?

In the former East Germany, far from the country’s football powerbase, one lowly team’s fortunes are being transformed by Austrian soft drink company Red Bull’s takeover.

In 2009, Rasen Ballsport Leipzig (better known as RB Leipzig) became the fourth club in Red Bull’s football portfolio, alongside Red Bull Salzburg of Austria, Red Bull Brasil, and the New York Red Bulls of the American MLS.

Formerly known as SSV Markranstädt, league regulations prevent the club using the Red Bull brand in its name, so it settled on RB Leipzig instead; but there is no ambiguity over the power driving it forward, with a reported planned $128 million investment to take the club to the Bundesliga by 2017.

After promotion in its first season, followed by two years in German football’s fourth tier, its plans look to be on track as the club prepares to contest the playoffs for another promotion in June.

2012: Football gloom in Munich

Cristiano Ronaldo had a wonderful chance to put Real in front early on but sent his volley straight at Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.

Mesut Ozil reacts after missing a glorious opportunity to give Real the lead after breaking clear of the Dortmund defense only to drill his effort wide of the post.

Substitute Karim Benzema finally made the breakthrough in the 82nd minute when he slotted home Ozil’s pass from close-range to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-4 on aggregate.

Sergio Ramos set up a nervous finale when he rifled home with two minutes of normal time remaining. That strike left Real needing one more to pull off an unlikely comeback.

Real piled forward in search of a dramatic winner but not even the mercurial Ronaldo could find that elusive third goal.

Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates with his players following the 2-0 defeat which allowed his side to qualify for the final 4-3 on aggregate. It is the first time since 1997 that Dortmund has reached the final when it defeated Juventus 3-1.

Dortmund will face either Barcelona or Bayern Munich at Wembley on May 25. Bayern, which has already won the Bundesliga title, will take a 4-0 lead into the second leg at the Camp No Wednesday.

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Close but not close enough for Real

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the perfect start when he slammed home from close-range after Theo Walcott had got in behind the Bayern defense. Following a 3-1 defeat in the first leg, Arsenal needed a fast start and it got it.

Arjen Robben was a constant danger to the Arsenal defense and kept the visiting players busy as Bayern looked for an equalizer.

Bayern, which is 20 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, had not suffered a defeat since October 28 in any competition. Its frustration was clear to see with striker Mario Mandzukic aggrieved with his side’s showing.

With just four minutes of normal time remaining, Arsenal grabs its second goal to set up a thrilling finale thanks to Laurent Koscielny’s header. The Frenchman headed home to leave Bayern clinging on.

Bayern Munich duo Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller look relieved after the 2-0 home defeat, a result which takes the German side through on away goals following a 3-3 overall draw.

Malaga’s Javier Saviola goes up against Porto’s Alex Sandro with the Spanish club aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg.

Just two minutes before the break, Malaga made the breakthrough when talented midfielder Isco collected Manuel Iturra’s pass and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

Substitute Roque Santa Cruz netted a 77th minute winner to make it 2-0 on the night and send Malaga through 2-1 on aggregate.

Malaga’s players celebrate at the final whistle following the 2-0 win over Porto — a result which secured a 2-1 aggregate victory overall and its place in the quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

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Bayern clings on

The club’s stadium, the impressive 45,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, is certainly ready.

“We accept this rule,” said RB Liepzig’s managing director Ulrich Wolter, referring to the “50+1″ rule.

“The intention of the rule is to secure the league’s integrity against short-term investment, I think everyone understands that.”

However, Wolter is frustrated at the resistance to RB Leipzig’s owners.

“Red Bull is not a Russian oligarch, or an Arabian sheikh,” he said. “We’ve shown elsewhere that we’re about a strong, sustainable investment and commitment.

“Why is our way the wrong way? What is the difference between our approach and a club with 50 different sponsors delivering the same thing?”

Even so RB Leipzig’s new investors have encountered resistance.

The pitch at its former stadium was attacked with weed killer not long after the takeover, and fans of other clubs can be less than welcoming.

“It’s getting better,” says Wolter. “We’re proud of our family and spectators. We don’t have ‘ultras’ and we don’t need them. It’s a friendly family atmosphere here, with men, women, children, pensioners, it’s a different way.”

Germany’s often raucous fans are, however, part of the fabric of the Bundesliga experience.

The biggest obstacle to change in Germany may come from those very supporters, many of whom view the English Premier League with disdain, given that they see themselves at the center of a club’s structures.

The Bundesliga boasts some of the world’s finest stadia, and its commitment to safe standing areas has helped enable clubs to keep prices low, as well as creating the boisterously vibrant atmosphere that characterizes top-flight games.

But while the cheapest season tickets represent superb value, if fans turn on match day looking for tickets then the story is rather different. “People are always talking about cheap tickets, but it’s misleading,” says Dykes.

The “Footbonaut” — is a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control. The machine is being used by German champions Borussia Dortmund.

Once inside the “Footbonaut”, a player is fed balls by eight different machines and then has deliver the ball to one of the 72 panels – – which is indciated by a flashing green light — that make up the space-age contraption before they receive another ball. This picture shows Dortmund’s German star Mario Gotze testing himself against the machine.

German coach Jurgen Klopp has overseen Dortmund’s recent domination of German football. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two seasons, winning plaudits for the adventurous style of play. Klopp’s team also currently sit top of a European Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.

Dortmund’s rise to prominence has forced their attractive young squad into the limelight. None more so than Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year.

One player who did swap Dortmund for Manchester was Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese playmaker had made a promising start to his Old Trafford career before being sidelined with a knee injury last month. Another player developed by Dortmund was Nuri Sahin, the Turkish midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in 2011 before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in August.

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Dortmund’s training pays dividends

The Schalke Fan Feld, whose centerpiece will be a club logo made up of blue and white flowers lying between two goals, looks directly on to the Bundesliga club’s home stadium – the white domed Veltins-Arena, which can be seen in the gap between the trees in this picture.

Schalke fans are known as some of the most passionate in German football.

The cemetery will only have space for 1,904 graves — reflecting the year of Schalke’s foundation — and the club says there will not be another site when the entire allocation is taken up.

Schalke’s on-field fortunes have improved in recent years to the point where they have brought in leading strikers Raul Gonzalez, who left the club earlier this year, and current Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The cemetery will be laid out in the shape of a stadium, with the miniature pitch located at the centre.

The “pitch” will feature the Schalke logo, made up of blue and white flowers, with a goal at each end and benches in the middle of those.

Schalke’s Veltins-Arena was built in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup and can hold over 65,000 fans.

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From the cradle to the grave

“Of course standing tickets are cheap, as you would expect; but once these go, and they’re usually in demand, the ticket prices are broadly comparable to those in England.”

In fact, at $88 the most expensive match-day ticket for Bayern is the same as that at Manchester City, for example — and $9 more expensive than at Manchester United.

Read: Bayern coach celebrates 1,000 games

This year, partly in response to incidents of crowd trouble at games, there have even been whispers that the prized standing areas could be abolished.

“Standing is vital to low ticket prices, but also the atmosphere and the overall product of German football,” said a skeptical Dykes.

“The league realizes that and I can’t see the standing areas being given up. It would be difficult under German federal law to ‘ban’ them anyway, so I just can’t see it happening.”

The worry for other Bundesliga clubs must be that the success of Dortmund and Bayern could put them out of sight in the financial and playing stakes; last year Chelsea received an estimated $77 million from winning the Champions League, while beaten finalist Bayern pocketed $53.65 million.

Youth and prudence

However, the notion that a couple of teams might dominate their league is not confined to Germany.

“Spain’s that way, the last three or four years the third or fourth place team, they still play Champions League and they’re 30 points behind,” said Hargreaves.

“A lot of people in Germany love Bayern and love Dortmund, in the same way as people (in England) love Manchester United or Chelsea,” he added, “but there are a lot of people who root for the underdog as well. So I think, in a way, it’s a fair balance.”

Read: Why Guardiola will make Bayern better

And Dykes remains unconvinced that a tipping point has been reached.

“It’s too early to be talking about a duopoly,” he said. “Success comes and goes. If we’re still talking about those two in a few years’ time, or Bayern are still miles ahead, then it would be a worry.

“People look at that possibility and of course it could be bad, but why would it happen? Bayern have always spent big; Dortmund is an exceptional team, but where will they be in three years?

“Players lose form, get injured, things can change quite quickly. I’m not worried.”

For Wolter, the key to success lies in a combination of youth and prudence.

“You look at a team like Freiburg, they have a good academy, a good coach; it’s still possible (to be successful). The new television contract has also given clubs more money … and these academies are profit centers,” he says. “But it’s not all about money. It’s also about education, good background work.”

Nevertheless, as Bayern and Dortmund take the field at Wembley, some may be wondering if, as well as a moment of national pride, this game might also mark a less welcome watershed in German football.

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AMD’s share price has taken a 13 per cent tumble as a result of analyst James Covello downgrading the company to a ‘sell’ rating.

AMD’s stock price took a hammering yesterday, slipping almost 13 per cent following one analyst downgrading his recommendation from ‘hold’ to ‘sell.’

James Covello, analyst at financial giant Goldman Sachs, issued a recommendation last night that saw the chip giant’s status downgraded from ‘hold’ to ‘sell’ – meaning Covello strongly advised those with AMD stock still in their portfolio to get rid of it but-quick, even as the company announces hope for the future on the back of new hardware and next-generation console deals.

Investors took Covello’s analysis to heart: in trading on the US market yesterday, AMD’s stock plunged 12.56 per cent to $3.83 per share for a total market capitalisation of $2.73 billion. In after-hours trading, the company continues to lose out with a further 0.26 per cent being trimmed off its price. The drop came after a month of gains in share price that saw the company’s value peak at $4.40 a share in the days prior to the sell-off.

While AMD’s share price is still comfortably above its April low of $2.31 per share, the latest drop in value is a worrying sign that investors are beginning to lose confidence in the company. By contrast, rival Intel’s share price – based on a significantly larger $118.4 billion market capitalisation – dropped just 1.07 per cent yesterday on news that box-shifter Dell’s profits had dropped a whopping 79 per cent in its last financial quarter as a result of slowing demand for PCs and laptops.

Covello’s recommendation that investors rid themselves of overpriced AMD stock is a volte-face from his position back in 2006: ‘Investors will increasingly question Intel’s franchise value until/unless their pricing strategy begins to slow down AMD’s momentum,‘ the analyst claimed, at a time when Intel was posting multiple consecutive quarterly revenue shortfalls and its plucky rival AMD had the upper hand in desktop processor market share.

A lot has changed since 2006, however. Intel’s decision to ditch the Pentium 4 family and its performance-crippling NetBurst architecture that year and instead go back to the P6 architecture with its Core family would see AMD’s performance lead eroded. AMD’s answer was the Bulldozer architecture, a server-centric design appeared to repeat some of the flaws found in NetBurst – and, so far, has failed to do much for AMD’s market share.

A more promising direction for the company has been its accelerated processing unit (APU) products, born out of what was once known as Fusion. Building system-on-chip-like products that combine relatively high-performance graphics – never Intel’s strong suit – with reasonable x86 cores has allowed the company to gain ground in the budget end of the market, while attracting the attention of Sony who ordered a customised version of the next-generation Jaguar chip for its upcoming PlayStation 4 games console. Microsoft, too, is reportedly impressed with AMD’s efforts, and is thought to have designed its next-generation Xbox around a similar semi-custom APU.

In Covello’s most recent note, the analyst claimed that the biggest problem facing AMD was the global slowdown in the traditional PC market. ‘We expect disappointing results in the PC segment to mitigate the impact of increased revenue from gaming,‘ Covello told investors of the company’s headline-grabbing console deals.

For AMD, the analyst’s vote of no confidence is a bitter blow, and has demolished many of the gains the company has made over the past year. It’s clear that the company still has much to do to win back the trust of Wall Street – hence AMD’s recent announcements of ARM-based Opteron chips, its Fusion-successor hUMA and its official semi-custom processor division, all of which are distinct divergences from the company’s traditional x86 chip business. For a company that has positioned itself as poised for a comeback, the next financial year looks like being make-or-break for the company.

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Electronic Arts is now the proud owner of a near-exclusive licence to create Star Wars games, with Disney withholding only online, social and mobile gaming for itself.

The Walt Disney Company, as part of its acquisition of Star Wars creator Lucasfilm, has signed a near-exclusive deal with publisher Electronic Arts to create future games set in the universe.

The agreement sees EA given exclusive rights to create new titles set in the Star Wars universe for what Disney describes as ‘a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres.‘ Disney, however, retains the rights to new titles in the mobile, social, tablet and online categories itself – with the latter meaning that any future Star Wars massively multiplayer on-line (MMO) title will come direct from Disney, the company having apparently seen the piles of cash raked in by Activision-Blizzard’s World of Warcraft over the years.

‘This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,‘ claimed John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive. ‘Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world.‘

‘Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,‘ added EA Labels president Frank Gibeau. ‘Three of our top studios will fulfil that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.‘

The deal will see EA-owned BioWare allowed to continue producing role-playing games set in the Star Wars universe, as follow-ups to its existing Knights of the Old Republic titles. Where the exclusion of ‘online-category’ games leaves BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, however, is unknown – it’s perfectly possible that the title will be allowed to wind down in favour of a reborn MMO under Disney’s direction. The deal will also allow EA to produce new first-person shooters, spiritual succesors to the Dark Forces series previously created by Lucasfilm’s gaming subsidiary LucasArts.

The mention of ‘the most popular game genres‘ could, potentially, give EA carte blanche to produce Star Wars-themed versions of its existing simulation titles, too: it would be unsurprising to see a Star Wars version of The Sims or a SimCity title set within the confines of the Star Wars universe. Add in a few third-person cover shooters for the console gamers, some kid-friendly racing titles and flight simulators to bring the classic X-Wing series back up to date and you can see that EA has scored itself a potentially lucrative deal – especially as it has the rights to both existing Star Wars films and the new films to be produced on an annual basis by Disney.

Disney itself, meanwhile, is banking on the explosive growth of tablet and mobile gaming. While Facebook games may have waned in popularity, a Star Wars franchise could help revive efforts under Disney’s control, and there’s little denying that Android and iOS gamers will likely lap up Star Wars mobile games if the company does a decent job of development.

Neither company has disclosed financial terms of the deal, but EA is believed to have parted with some serious cash to get its hands on the semi-exclusive contract.

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Maria Sharapova has capitalized on her on-court success by becoming one of tennis’ most successful brands.

Her partnership with longtime agent Max Eisenbud has made her the highest-paid female athlete on the planet. They met 15 years ago when Sharapova was training at the IMG Academy in Florida. “There was so much going on and so many kids, so many parents to take care of, so it was actually fun to see him juggle all those different things and maintain a very clear vision of what he wanted to do,” Sharapova recalls.

Pictured here during a shoot for CNN’s tennis show Open Court, they are already plotting her future after tennis — but she plans to play for several more years yet.

Sharapova with two of the most important men in her life — hugging her father Yuri after winning her first grand slam title at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004, while Eisenbud looks on.

That success allowed Eisenbud to court major sponsors, and helped Sharapova launch her own perfume among other non-tennis sidelines.

Sharapova has long been associated with Nike, and signed a reported eight-year deal with the sportswear giant in 2010 that could be worth up to $70 million.

Part of that sum includes royalties from her fashion collection with Nike subsidiary Cole Haan. Sharapova is pictured here at a promotional event in Tokyo in 2009.

Sharapova’s “Sugarpova” candy collection is her first independent venture. “Everyone loves a treat and everyone loves candy. When I was young and I would finish a practice, what would I ask for? I would ask for little lollipops,” she told Open Court.

Her portfolio of endorsements keeps growing — in April 2013 she was named as a brand ambassador for German car manufacturer Porsche. She has now won the tournament it sponsors two years in a row.

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Open Court is CNN’s monthly tennis show. Click here for program times, news, videos and features.

(CNN) — She towers above him, but she can’t do without him — so much so they even email each other up to 75 times a day.

From the time they met 15 years ago, Maria Sharapova has been able to count on a man who has masterminded her rise to becoming the world’s highest-paid female athlete.

“He knows everything that’s going on. He knows where I’m going to be tomorrow, he knows where I am now,” she told CNN’s Open Court show.

“He” is Max Eisenbud, who first met the Russian when she was a 12-year-old tennis hopeful working with renowned coach Nick Bollettieri in Florida.

The story behind Sharapova’s success

Then Eisenbud had a low-paying job liaising with young players’ parents at the Bradenton academy that IMG bought off Bollettieri, but now he’s Vice President of Tennis at the world’s leading sports agency — having made a fortune not only for Sharapova but also China’s most bankable tennis star, Li Na, the No. 2 earner on Forbes’ 2012 female athlete list.

Maria Sharapova strikes the perfect pose as she puts away a forehand during this year’s Australian Open.

Her dress for the tennis season’s opening grand slam was designed to embrace fashion and high performance.

Sharapova’s collection is being sported by a number of players including Indy De Vroome of the Netherlands.

Sharapova’s tennis shoes are color co-ordinated with the dress range and are among the lightest and most flexible in the market.

America’s 13-time grand slam champion Serena Williams also unveiled a collection of dresses for the 2012 Australian Open.

In 2006, Sharapova made heads turn with her “Little Black Dress” — an outfit encrusted with beaded crystals which she wore as she claimed the U.S. Open crown.

Sharapova’s intensity and desire to win have kept her at the top of the women’s game since her first grand slam title in 2004.

Sharapova at the launch of a Cole Haan collection of clothing and accessories bearing her name.

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Sharapova’s winning design

Maria Sharapova has come a long way since turning professional on her 14th birthday in April 2001, having played the game since she was four years old.

Sharapova’s fame has brought endrosements that saw Forbes magazine rate her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over $18 million. She has her own clothing line and is also working on a candy line called Sugarpova.

The one thing separating Sharapova from a career grand slam is the French Open title. She has twice made the semifinals, most recently in 2011, when she was beaten by eventual winner Li Na of China.

Despite never having won at Roland Garros, Sharapova is in good form in 2012, losing just once on clay this season. Most recently, she successfully defended her Italian Open title to offer hope she can finally win the French Open and complete a career slam.

Sharapova was spotted at an early age by former great Martina Navratilova and after moving to the United States she was enrolled into the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida at the age of nine.

The Russian became the third youngest female to win Wimbledon in 2004 aged just 17. She beat Serena Williams in the final to spark huge interest the papers labelled “Maria Mania.”

Sharapova’s second major success came at the U.S. Open in 2006 when she beat Justine Henin at Flushing Meadows. By this stage she had already become the first Russian woman ever to hold the world No. 1 ranking.

The 25-year-old made it a hat-trick of grand slam victories at the 2008 Australian Open and in some style. She didn’t drop a set in the entire tournament on her way to defeating Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic in the final.

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Maria Sharapova’s French Open dream

“As an agent you just get lucky sometimes, and I’m just a really lucky guy,” said the 41-year-old agent.

“I just really try not to mess it up!”

Deal maker

His lucky day came on July 3, 2004 when the 17-year-old Sharapova stunned Serena Williams — and the tennis world — in the Wimbledon final to win her first grand slam title.

With her model looks and youthful charm, blue-chip sponsors fell over themselves to get a piece of the action. Forbes magazine reported that Sharapova earned almost $28 million in the year up until June 2012 — $22 million of that was from endorsements.

Read: How women cracked tennis’ glass ceiling

They might make something of an odd duo, with the glamorous Sharapova standing at 6 foot 2 inches and Eisenbud, a short, balding man from New Jersey, but as a business partnership they have the perfect synergy.

“We’ve just been very open and honest and real, and he’s someone who says it like it is,” said Sharapova, who like Eisenbud was born in April — but 15 years apart.

“I think that’s one of the greatest things that I appreciate in people, and he’s done that from the very beginning. He understood the dynamic of me being the athlete, of working for me.

“Agents have much bigger jobs than just everyday life — booking planes, looking into your agenda — of course he’s trying to make you money and make you big deals, but at the end of the day, he does everything for me.

“He has this old-fashioned calendar and just looks at every date. He knows my schedule, exactly when I’m flying to this tournament, when I’ll be back, when we can fit this in.

Tennis star launches candy line

Maria Sharapova, who won the Indian Wells title in 2006, took the first set 6-2 as she took control of the final in some style.

Caroline Wozniacki, currently ranked No.10 in the world, failed to cope with the pace and power of her opponent in the opening stages.

The Dane made a poor start to the second set, losing her opening service game with a double fault but she continues to fight and sees off two more break points in the fifth game to trail 2-3.

The World No.3 held a 4-2 record against Wozniacki and never looked like losing as she reeled off three straight games to take the second set 6-2.

Sharapova celebrates after winning the title in just 81 minutes — it was her first triumph since the 2012 French Open.

Sharapova has now won at least one title in each of the past 11 years. “This is what I do all the work for is these moments,” she told reporters. “You feel like everything has paid off.”

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How do you solve a problem like Maria?

* After Brisbane International, January 2013

Venus Williams

Kim Clijsters

Maria Sharapova alternate

Lindsay Davenport Tennis

Steffi Graf Tennis

Martina Navratilova Tennis

Justine Henin Tennis

Martina Hingis Tennis

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario Tennis

Victoria Azarenka

Caroline Wozniacki

Ana Ivanovic

Li Na

Petra Kvitova

Chris Evert Tennis

Billie Jean King Tennis

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The WTA’s top prize money earners

“He knows my training hours so there are some things that I prioritize over others, and there are certainly some shoots creatively that I would like to do and he’s like, ‘We just don’t have time for it’, so I have to ax that out, but we usually agree on many things.”

Read: Sharapova’s sweet plan for success

While Sharapova is comfortable on the red carpet and at celebrity parties, her manager is happier making deals.

“He’s constantly looking at his BlackBerry … if you need to get his attention, you should probably send him an email. That’s the way I see our relationship,” she said.

“He’s very good at some things; others he’s just absolutely hopeless at, like if you go to an event and you’re on the red carpet, he has no idea what’s going on.

“He’s like ‘Hey’ and he’s talking to all these people and you’re like, ‘OK, where am I going? Am I doing interviews? Or a step and repeat? What’s going on?’

“That’s not his forte. His thing is getting on the phone, getting deals done, getting the schedule together. All those business decisions, so there are things that I know I need to bring in other people for.”

Super agent

Eisenbud sees his role as a juggler of commitments.

“I think I’m more of a facilitator, an organizer. I know when to bring things to her because she’s in the middle of a tournament, and when she needs to stay focused some more, so it’s not distracting her tennis,” he says.

“I think that’s kind of my skill. We do probably anywhere between 30 and 75 emails a day between us, so sometimes we don’t even need to talk on the phone. She just sets the vision and I’m just able to try to do my best to try and follow her vision.”

Read: Sharapova’s grand slam designs

From clothing and cosmetics to her latest foray — a self-funded candy line — Sharapova has a strong business strategy.

“If I didn’t want to play tennis again, I’d have enough money to live for the rest of my life but I do respect the money that I’ve made because I didn’t grow up having a lot of money,” said Sharapova, whose parents fled their native Belarus soon after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, just before she was born.

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Her father accompanied her to the United States in 1994, taking low-paying jobs before she enrolled at the $35,000-a-year IMG academy on a scholarship, aged nine.

“My family never had it, so I’m always very respectful for every single dollar that I make to this day. I really came from nothing,” she said.

“I was living a normal, average, everyday life back in Russia and we had a dream and I had a talent and we moved to the U.S.

“Of course I’m so lucky and fortunate to have and earn great money but at the end of the day, we did earn it with my parents and their hard work and their sacrifices and all the hours on the court.”

Read: How fashion brands serve up success for tennis stars

Eisenbud may work with other players — he has a group of young hopefuls as well as Li — but he says Sharapova will always be his focus.

He’s been there from her early highs, to the lowest of the lows when it seemed a shoulder injury would end her career back in 2008.

“I’ve been with her so long, to see her smiling on the court, there’s nothing better,” he said, with Sharapova this year winning the Indian Wells title in March and last Sunday beating Li in the Stuttgart final to retain her title.

“It’s pretty hard for me. I know too much information that other people don’t. I know what’s on the line, where we are with different things and what wins would mean, so I get a little nervous.”

With Li also earning big deals, Eisenbud is akin to football’s “super agents” such as Jorge Mendes, who works with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.

“Rather than competing against one another, Sharapova and Na actually provide Eisenbud’s business with much greater global coverage,” British sports business expert Simon Chadwick told CNN.

“There is a degree of overlap in that they are both global tennis stars, whom the general public are aware of. This poses issues of clarity, focus and targeting for Eisenbud.

Read: Sharapova successfully defends Stuttgart title

Sharapova: It’s a special victory

Sharapova ready for tough clay challenge

“However, as brands, they are significantly different propositions, which means that they are likely to appeal to different groups of people in different countries around the world.”

Life after tennis

It was last year’s French Open success that really crowned Sharapova’s comeback, having been written off after a long struggle to rebuild her career following that shoulder operation.

“That was emotional, I definitely had a lot of tears,” Eisenbud recalled.

“I was with her when she had the shoulder surgery, I was there when she woke up, I saw her first rehabs, I saw all the tough times, I heard all the journalists writing her off, Pam Shriver saying she’ll never win a grand slam again, all the people just ‘never never never.’

“If I’m seeing it I’m sure she’s seeing it, so when she was able to win that — get on her knees and win that French Open — that was just a lot of, ‘I told you so’ and ‘don’t count me out.’

“Here’s a great champion that had all the money in the world, all the glory, all the titles, but she wanted to come back and win, and it just says a lot about her.”

But the injury did turn Sharapova’s thoughts to life after tennis, and the resulting launch last year of her “Sugarpova” candy was her first independent business project.

“There’s a lot of downtime on the tour and she uses it a lot,” Eisenbud said. “She’s involved in everything she does, she’s not a silent owner — she runs and drives everything that she’s doing and I just try to implement it while she’s on the court.

“Everything we’ve been doing now for the last couple of years has been thinking about life after tennis. We didn’t want her career to end and then all of a sudden start thinking about it.

“I think Sugarpova will be a huge business for her after tennis. She’ll be getting into a lot of different things — cosmetics, fragrance, clothing — so I think it’s just the beginning right now for her.”

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/sport/tennis/maria-sharapova-eisenbud-tennis/index.html?eref=edition

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EA has let up to 900 staff members go in a swingeing belt-tightening exercise, and the losses may yet mount.

Beleaguered games publishing giant Electronic Arts has laid off as much as 10 per cent of its staff – up to 900 individuals – in a round of swingeing cuts to improve its bottom line.

The company’s job losses come as it attempts to reduce its overheads and better concentrate on mobile gaming and next-generation consoles – meaning it needs fewer staff in its current-generation and PC studios.

‘In recent weeks, EA has aligned all elements of its organisational structure behind priorities in new technologies and mobile. This has led to some difficult decisions to reduce the workforce in some locations,‘ a company spokesperson claimed in an official statement on the cuts, which did not include formal figures as to the number of jobs lost. ‘We are extremely grateful for the contributions made by each of our employees – those that are leaving EA will be missed by their colleagues and friends.

‘These are hard but essential changes as we focus on delivering great games and showing players around the world why to spend their time with us.’

The job losses come a month after chief executive John Riccitiello resigned from the company, and are thought to include the closure of the EA Partners programme, which was responsible for hiring outside studios to produce EA-branded titles, and the closure of the company’s Montreal studio.

Interim chief executive Larry Probst addressed the cuts in a memo to remaining staff, in which it is hinted that more cuts may be in the pipeline. ‘The workforce reductions which we communicated in the last two weeks represent the majority of our planned personnel actions,‘ wrote Probst. ‘We are extremely grateful for the contributions made by each of these individuals – they will be missed by their colleagues and friends at EA.‘

The memo also details further ‘streamlining’ actions due to be taken by the company, including a reduction in marketing staff by merging its various departments into a single group under chief operating officer Peter Moore and Origin moving under Frank Gibeau’s Labels division with Andrew Wilson taking over leadership of the digital distribution platform.

‘Change is sometimes difficult, but essential. The adjustments we are making will put us in the best position to build great games and services, deliver them more efficiently to consumers, and demonstrate to players around the world why they should spend their time with us,‘ Probst claimed in conclusion. ‘EA is a great company, with talented and hard-working teams, a strong portfolio of products and an extremely bright future. Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to our long term success!‘

With EA still suffering backlash from its botched SimCity reboot, the 2.0 patch for which has brought its own raft of problems, and security problems with its Origin platform, the company’s problems may not end with this belt-tightening exercise.

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