Kalou Faces Huge Fine for Vandalising Berlin Wall

​In a piece of bizarre yet in some ways unsurprising news that broke this morning, former Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou is reportedly facing a huge fine after being snapped appearing to vandalise the Berlin wall with a hammer and chisel, ​media reporting.

The 29-year-old is currently plying his trade in the city after signing for Hertha Berlin on a season-long loan deal from french side Lille, and the attacker has enjoyed a prolific spell in Germany - scoring 6 times in 12 starts.

However, the Ivory Coast international made the headlines for the wrong reasons on Monday morning after being caught breaking off a piece of the historic monument for himself.

​​The Wall is a protected monument in Germany, having initially been constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in order to divide East and West Berlin, and it did so for 28 years from 1961-1989.

It was granted its protected status upon the fall of the GDR in 1991, and vandalism of the monument carries a heavy fine of up to 10,000 Euros.

Upon seeing the image of Kalou, a deeply offended Kani Alavi - chairman of the artists initiative the East Side Gallery (who reportedly own the copyright to the graffiti on the wall while ever the Wall belongs to the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough of Berlin) - immediately made an official complaint to the police regarding what he branded disrespectful behaviour:

"When I saw the pictures, I almost fell off the couch," Alavi told German Press.

"We have a well-paid celebrity increasing his market value at the expense of a monument. Without respect. And the public television mixes with it. I am deeply disappointed."

"Just because there are no security guards, that does not mean that you can do what you want there. If he had been doing that at the Brandenburg Gate, the player would have been arrested."

Despite demonstrating he's a dab hand with hammer and chisel, Kalou was unable to carve a way through Premier League defences quite so effectively, having averaged under a goal every 3.5 games for in 6 years at Stamford Bridge.

Holger Badstuber Jokes He Didn't Know How to Celebrate After First Ever Champions League Goal

​Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber has revealed he didn't quite know how to react when he headed in his team's fifth goal in the 7-0 demolition of Shakhtar Donetsk this week - his first in the Champions League and only his second ever for the first-team.

"It was a fantastic feeling. I don't score very often. I really didn't know how I should celebrate," the 26-year-old joked to Bayern's website afterwards.

"But the goal was just the icing on the cake, it was much more important that we made the next round," he continued. "If you've come away from the first leg with a dangerous result but go on to complete the job at home, it's obviously a great weight off your shoulders."

Badstuber is one of a number of home-grown players in the Bayern squad, rising through the ranks with Thomas Müller. But where Müller has become one of the biggest names in Europe, Badstuber has seen his career ravaged by injury.

He missed the entirety of the 2013/14 campaign and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reserved special praise for the way his player has come back to action.

"He's my personal hero. If you've had the year and a half he's had but keep coming back. He deserves all the support he's getting from the south terrace," Rummenigge said.

Ilkay Gundogan Delaying Decision Over New Borussia Dortmund Contract

​Ilkay Gundogan is reportedly stalling on signing a new contract at Borussia Dortmund, with suggestions that he finds the prospect of a potential move to the Premier League an attractive one.

The 24-year-old only signed an extension in April, but that deal expires in 2016 and according to BILD he isn't ready to commit his long term future to Dortmund just yet.

The German publication also cites interest from Manchester United as a likely reason behind his decision to delay. Any refusal to sign a new deal would leave Dortmund little choice but to sell this summer, with a fee of £16m having previously been suggested.

Gundogan has been linked with a move to Old Trafford ever since helping Dortmund reach the Champions League final in 2013, while Arsenal are another English club rumoured to be have been interested in the past.

He spent the majority of the 2013/14 campaign sidelined with a back injury. However, since a making a return to full fitness this season, the German international has been a regular in the side once more.

DFB Pokal quarter-final round

FC Bayern reached the next stage by overcoming Braunschweig at the Allianz Arena and are now facing tough opponents in the quarter-final.

Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, 1899 Hoffenheim, SC Freiburg, VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach are the six teams from the Bundesliga that have made it to the next round. The seventh team comes from the third division. Arminia Bielefeld qualified for the quarter-final by defeating Werder Bremen 3:1.

The DFB Cup quarter-final pairings will be drawn on Sunday at 6:00 pm CET by former German women’s football player and 2003 World Cup winner Nia Künzer. ARD-Sportschau will be broadcasting the draw. The matches will be played on 7th and 8th April.

Pep Guardiola Rules Out Manchester City Move

​Pep Guardiola has ruled out a move to Manchester City and hopes to stay at Bayern Munich for many years to come.

The Spaniard had been touted as a potential replacement for City's under-fire manager Manuel Pellegrini, with the Blues on the verge of a Champions League exit and unlikely to retain their Premier League crown.

City chiefs Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain worked closely with Guardiola during a fruitful spell at Barcelona, fuelling talk of a reunion.

But the 44-year-old, whose contract at the Allianz Arena expires in 2016, has dismissed the speculation.

"Manchester City? I hope to stay at Bayern Munich for a long time," he said, per ​Manchester Evening News.

"I have a contract with this wonderful club and aim to fulfil that. I have not received any offers.

"We will see what happens after next year. I am very happy at Bayern."

Guardiola is on course to lift his second Bundesliga title in as many seasons in Bavaria, and his side are a win away from progression to the Champions League's quarter final stage.

Jurgen Klopp: I Thought Reus Had a Broken Leg

Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp admits he thought Marco Reus had broken his leg in Tuesday night's win over Dynamo Dresden in the DFB-Pokal.

Reus was left in a heap following a tackle from Dennis Erdmann, which the referee deemed not to be a foul, as Ciro Immobile struck twice to send last season's runners-up through to the quarter finals by a 2-0 margin.

Further examination revealed the talisman had suffered only bruising to his knee, but it didn't stop Klopp from venting his frustrations at the officials, Erdmann, and even his own medical team.

"If it is really just a bruise with Marco, this has been a good night," he told ​Media.

"I looked so angry because everybody looked at me like he had a broken leg. I am a simple person and if everybody looks at me like his leg is broken, I believe that.

"I hope next time they will inform me sooner when it's just a bruise."

On the tackle itself, Klopp added: "I already said this before - you do not do things like that. Look, the ball is far away, Marco wants to pass Erdmann and he hits his knee into his thigh. Totally unnecessary.

"There was a similar situation with Hefele, where he elbowed Ciro Immobile and that led to a cut. That wasn't penalised either. But if Marco just has a bruise, we can be happy in the end.

"Ultimately we have won and we are in the next round."

Dynamo Dresden 0-2 Borussia Dortmund: Ciro Immobile double fires Jurgen Klopp's men into German Cup quarter-finals

Borussia Dortmund's Ciro Immobile struck twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory at third tier Dynamo Dresden and a place in the German Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The Italian, criticised for a lack of Bundesliga goals this season, pounced on a cross-field pass from Dynamo's Michael Hefele to snatch the lead five minutes after the break on a bumpy pitch that resembled a ploughed field in parts.

Dortmund struggled to play the flowing football that has seen them win their last four league matches and Mats Hummels almost gifted Dynamo an equaliser when his back pass bounced awkwardly and was intercepted before Mitch Langerak saved.

Dynamo Dresden goalkeeper dives to stop Borussia Dortmund's Vasquez Ramos from advancing
Dortmund's substitute striker Adrian Ramos almost got a second but his shot squeezed past a defender and hit the near post before rolling along the line and being cleared.

However, Immobile scored again when he slotted in from a Jakub Blaszczykowski cutback in the box at the final whistle.

The only negative for Dortmund was the loss of winger Marco Reus, who missed much of 2014 with a string of ankle injuries, midway through the first half when he limped off.

Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen's Hakan Calhanoglu rescued his side from embarrassment with a sensational free kick to steer them to a 2-0 extra-time win over second tier Kaiserslautern.

The Turkey international fired a shot around the wall from 25 metres past keeper Marius Mueller towards the end of the first half of extra-time to break the visitors' resistance.

Stefan Kiessling added a second goal 10 minutes later after Leverkusen struggled for most of the game.

Fellow Bundesliga club Hoffenheim had a much easier task against second division Aalen with Eugen Polanski and Germany international Kevin Volland on the scoresheet, while Freiburg beat visiting Cologne 2-1 to also reach the last eight.

Holders Bayern Munich are in action on Wednesday against Eintracht Braunschweig.