Voronin hat-trick shoots Berlin four points clear

Andrei Voronin’s hat-trick for Hertha Berlin in a 3-1 victory at Energie Cottbus shot them four points clear in the German League while Bayern Munich cruised up to joint second following a five-goal spree.

Bayern Munich’s 5-1 home thrashing of Hanover propelled them three places up the table to tuck in behind Berlin though they have the same number of points as Hoffenheim, VfL Wolfsburg and Hamburg in a tight pack of clubs at the top.

Ukrainian striker Voronin was in scintillating form in the eastern derby to give him 10 league goals for the season and boost Berlin’s title chances.

Turk Cagtas Atan gave Cottbus an early lead before goals in the 34th, 45th and 88th minutes from Voronin sealed the win in front of a record 20,000-strong crowd.

Under-pressure Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann had just the shot in the arm he needed as his side tested the strength of Hanover’s goal netting, blasting five into it.

Bayern, playing without star midfielder Franck Ribery, finally got the victory that staved off a continued crisis of form.

Bayern’s start to 2009 so far has been poor. Since coming back from the winter break at the end of January, they had racked up just one win combined with three defeats and a draw before their Hanover victory.

It was Hanover who went ahead, however. Jiri Stajner shot the visitors into the lead though Bayern were soon back on level terms when Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten headed home six minutes later.

By the break, Munich had scored another two goals through Miroslav Klose and Hatim Altintop before Lukas Podolski hit his fourth goal of the season on 73 minutes before Martin Demichelis finished off the scoring with a minute to go.

Hamburg meanwhile suffered their second successive defeat, losing 4-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach who moved off the bottom of the table with the win.

Mourinho dismisses exit talk

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has rubbished rumours that he could leave the San Siro at the end of the season, according to Sky Sports.

Reports in Italy suggest that the Portuguese manager could face the axe should he fail to secure the UEFA Champions League, after many believe previous manager Roberto Mancini suffered a similiar fate from owner Massimo Moratti despite winning three Scudetti titles in a row.

On top of this the outspoken former Chelsea manager has come under fire from the Italian press this week for verbal attacks on referees and rivals, but Mourinho insists he has no plans to leave in the summer.

Mourinho said :

“In football you never know. You could stay two, three, four, five years, it depends on everything,”

“At the end of the season I will leave Italy to go on holiday in Africa where I will do charity work with children. But I’m certainly not working so that another coach can come in.”

“Am I fed up with Italian football? No, the only adjective I would use to explain how I feel right now is not angry but proud, proud of myself,” he said.

“I’m neither angry nor tense, that’s your feeling. I like to change, sometimes I change my hairstyle. Once I cut it all off, now I’m letting it grow out. Once I turned up with a long beard. But right now I’m absolutely perfect. I like to change but I’m not angry.”

Fergie fears retirement

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted to French magazine L’Equipe that he ‘fears’ the idea of retirement.

Fergie has been a hit at Old Trafford in more than 22 years in charge.

“When I reached 60, I asked myself the question,” Ferguson told L’Equipe Magazine. “I almost left.

“But I quickly realised, with my family, that it was a mistake. Today, I fear the idea of retiring.

“I have been on the train for so long that when I get off I fear my system will collapse.

“I have decided not to ask myself the question any more.

“Three things can make me stop. 1. My health. 2. If I don’t take pleasure any more. 3. If I don’t have the strength for new challenges any more.

“Each summer, I have a look at those three things. I go to my doctor first. I had a pacemaker set up four or five years ago.

“Today, I am playing the penalty shoot-out of my managerial career. I know that. The rest is decided between me and me.

“I see my doctor every summer. He says ‘boss, you are 67. You will have more and more back pains. Getting up in the morning sometimes won’t be easy’.

Real Madrid eye Atletico in Spanish League clash

Barcelona held a substantial 12-point gap over Real back on February 15 but that lead has shrunk to just four points in the space of three games with Barcelona drawing against Real Betis before defeats to Espanyol and Atletico Madrid.

Real have rattled out ten straight wins to play their part and hope to continue their pursuit of Barcelona on Saturday with a derby win over Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“We are four points behind the leaders now and people seem to think our work is over, but this has only just begun,” said Real coach Juande Ramos. “Those people who think we’ll easily catch up with Barcelona are wrong. This is going to be very long.”

Barcelona?s dip in form has been attributed to playing too many games as they fight on three fronts and they were in action in midweek reaching the Spanish Cup final with a 3-1 aggregate win over Real Mallorca.

Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao in the final and ironically the two finalists meet at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Atletico came from 2-0 down to beat Barca 4-3 last weekend and hope to follow that up with victory over Real to enhance their Champions League hopes with fourth-placed Villarreal three points ahead.

Atletico have not beaten neighbours Real since 1999 and new coach Abel Resino will hope he is the man to break that jinx.

Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas has watched his side close the gap on Barca but said he would rather be in their shoes at the top of the table.

“It was to be expected that Barca wouldn?t win a few matches and something like that could happen to us too,” explained Casillas. “I would swap places with them as they are still in three competitions and four points ahead in the league.”

Real have a tough week with Atletico and then Tuesday?s Champions League match at Liverpool trailing 1-0 from the first leg.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is under the microscope after his team?s loss of form but remains convinced Barcelona will be crowned champions come May.

“I sense we?ll be champions,” said Guardiola. “I always say what I feel and right now I feel like we will start winning again and gain more of an advantage. We just need to get back the shape and aggression we were showing at the start of the season.”

Bilbao thrashed Sevilla 3-0 to reach the Spanish Cup final after a 24-year wait so will go to Barcelona on a high.

Sevilla entertain Almeria on Sunday aiming to bounce back from their cup setback and continue their strong league form that has left them third.

Last season?s cup winners Valencia are in freefall and need to get back on the winning trail after collecting just six points from their last eight games.

Valencia, three points off the Champions League spots, travel to bottom side Numancia on Sunday.

Winger Joaquin insists there is no reason to press the panic button and emphasised that the players were still focused on the job in hand despite the club not paying their wages on time due to financial problems.

Zanetti ready for United clash

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti is confident ahead of their Champions League clash with Manchester United at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza tonight.

“I think we are up against a big team which is doing very well in the Premier League and in the Champions League, but I am confident that we can do it,” said Zanetti.

“We are a very competitive team and this is a clash between two big teams who want to continue in the Champions League.

“We are up against one of the strongest teams in Europe. We respect Manchester a lot, but we are in condition to be able to do very well.”