Bayern Munich have announced the signing of Milan full back Massimo Oddo on a one-year loan deal, with the option of making the move permanent next summer.

Right back Oddo has been heavily linked with an exit from Milan in the past week or so as he is currently well down the Rossonero pecking order, behind both Daniele Bonera and new signing Gianluca Zambrotta.

Yesterday morning, reports started to emerge that Oddo had signed for French club Lyon after he was supposedly spotted in the city. A few hours later it was then reported that Bayern Munich were trying to hijack Lyon’s move for the 32-year-old, and the German champions have now officially confirmed that they have signed the player.

Oddo arrives on a one-year loan deal, and Bayern will have the option next summer to make the move permanent for a set fee. In essence he replaces left back Marcel Jansen, who yesterday left the club to join Hamburg.

"Massimo Oddo is a player who covers the whole right-hand side,” said the Bavarian’s manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

“For us he's a huge quality boost because of his experience, and his tactical and technical skills. He's a great enhancement to the squad."

General manager Uli Hoeneß explained the reason why Oddo will only initially arrive on loan.

"This way there's no risk," he said.

"Next summer we'll see."

Another high profile figure who is delighted by Oddo’s capture is the legendary Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who said: "We're happy to have Massimo Oddo, who is an experienced and successful defender.

“Another World Cup and Champions League winner in Bayern's ranks will help us to succeed."

Oddo will team up with 2006 World Cup winner Luca Toni, who had an outstanding first season at the Alianz Arena last term.

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Mathew Burt runs the rule over the best in Germany from the weekend’s fixtures in Round 2 of an exciting Bundesliga.

Bayern Munich were once again held to a draw, this time by Borussia Dortmund. Werder and Schalke also finished all-square, but Hamburg won thanks to a last-minute winner.

Leverkusen beat Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, but Hoffenheim remain top of the table after a 1-0 win over Mönchengladbach.

Schober

Compper Naldo Subotic Jaissle

Ebert Blaszczykowski Borowski Özil

Wichniarek Helmes

Goalkeeper:

(1) Mathias Schober (Schalke)

If Schalke fans were worrying about the effect of the absence of Manuel Neuer, they needn’t bother as in Mathias Schober they have a more than decent back-up. He pulled off a number of top saves to deny Werder Bremen on Saturday and went a long way to helping the Königsblauen secure a point. He denied debutant Claudio Pizarro twice and pulled off a great save to deny Mesut Özil too.

Defenders:

(2) Marvin Compper (Hoffenheim)

Compper came back to haunt his former club on Saturday with a fine defensive performance to help Hoffenheim clinch their second win in a row, and secure their second clean sheet in succession. Gladbach forwards Colautti and Matmour were shut out and Marko Marin hardly given a sniff- he won 69% of all his tackles.

(3) Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The Brazilian has been called upon to take on even more defensive responsibility with the injury to Per Mertesacker and he certainly stepped up to the mark against Schalke with a solid display to thwart Kuranyi and Co. The visitors started to boss the game midway through the first half, but Naldo always seemed to get in where it mattered to deny them.

(4) Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

19 year old Neven Subotic, playing in only his second Bundesliga match, came up against the mighty Luca Toni and the youngster did remarkably well. He wasn’t overawed and kept last season’s top-scorer largely under wraps throughout the game. He was very fortunate not to concede a penalty in the second half, when the referee wrongly judged that Toni had dived in the area. Combined well with Mats Hummels and the Dortmund defence this season already looks a lot better than last year.

(5) Matthias Jaissle (Hoffenheim)

Two games, two wins, and two clean sheets is the perfect start for Hoffenheim. While Ibisevic is grabbing the headlines with his goals, the defence also deserves some credit. Against Mönchengladbach, 21 year old left back Matthias Jaissle was particularly impressive both in a defensive role and going forward down the flank. He was only in the team due to other injuries, but took his chance well and must surely be in line for more outings this season.

Midfielders:

(6) Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)

‘Kuba’ makes his second consecutive appearance in the Team of the Week this season after a great display against Bayern Munich. The Pole had a storming first half and opened the scoring after just 8 minutes with a superbly executed shot. He was a constant threat down the right hand side and caused Bayern all sorts of problems. He was quieter in the second period as Bayern came back, but nonetheless another top performance.

(7) Patrick Ebert (Hertha Berlin)

Ebert was impressive last week against Eintracht Frankfurt and his early season form continued on Saturday against Bielefeld as Hertha were held to a draw. He constant raiding down the right flank caused the Arminia defence a whole host of problems. He set up Marko Pantelic for the opening goal and was involved in 15 of Hertha’s 29 attempts on goal

(8) Tim Borowski (Bayern Munich)

Bayern’s second half performance with ten men against Dortmund was superb and they fully deserved their point. It was no coincidence that their fight back occurred after the introduction of midfielder Tim Borowski. The former Werder man scored the equaliser, but was also involved in 6 of Bayern’s 11 second half efforts on goal. He may well just have played himself into the starting XI for the next game.

(9) Mesut Özil (Werder Bremen)

The scene was set for Mesut Özil to take centre stage against his old club and take revenge and he certainly showed what they could be missing out on. With Diego still absent on Olympic duty, Özil was tasked with filling in and he did so admirably. The youngster set up the opener for Torsten Frings and was unlucky not to get himself on the score sheet.

Forwards:

(10) Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)

If Bielefeld are going to stay up this season, then the goals of Artur Wichniarek are going to be vital in their cause. Two goals against Werder last week were a good start and he was once again the man for the ‘Arminen’ against Hertha as he hit the equaliser shortly after Pantelic had given the home side the lead. He showed a cool head to round Drobny before scoring against his former club.

(11) Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

Helmes was disappointed not to get on the field for Germany’s midweek win over Belgium, but he made up for it by scoring in his second successive Bundesliga match. If this keeps up his chance for the national team will surely be just a matter of time. He set Bayer on the road to victory over Stuttgart with a well taken goal in the first half.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI. Goalkeeping trio Robert Enke (Hannover), Christofer Heimeroth (Mönchengladbach) and Benedikt Fernandez (Leverkusen) all had fine games and produced some fine saves.

Hoffenheim sit top of the table and got two players into this week’s Team of the Week, but honourable mentions must also go to midfielders Tobias Weis, Carlos Eduardo and striker Vedad Ibisevic, who grabbed his third goal of the season.

Joris Mathijsen was the match winner for Hamburg against Karlsruhe, while Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto was again impressive for Bayer Leverkusen. Right back Gonzalo Castro also deserves a mention for his all-round display.

Torsten Frings was at his imperious best in the big match against Schalke and relished the midfield battle. Marko Pantelic also got his scoring account opened against Bielefeld with a well taken goal.

Mathew Burt

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Goal.com's Mathew Burt runs the rule over the best in Germany from the weekend’s round Bundesliga action.

Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw by Martin Jol’s Hamburg while Schalke opened with a 3-0 win over Hannover. New boys Hoffenheim made the dream start with a 3-0 win over Energie Cottbus, but fellow newcomers Köln and Mönchengladbach both lost.

Dortmund beat Leverkusen 3-2 but suffered some costly injuries, whereas Werder Bremen had to be content with a point against Bielefeld.

Lehmann

Riether Costa Bordon Eichner

Blaszczykowski da Silva Trochowski

Wichniarek Kuranyi Ibisevic

Goalkeeper:

(1) Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart)

If people doubted whether Jens Lehmann was still up to the task of performing at the top level for Stuttgart. His performance against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday would have given them reason to change their opinion. The veteran keeper was on top form at the Borussia Park, pulling off two particularly fine saves in the first half from Matmour and Friend to keep Gladbach at bay. His signing could prove an astute move from the Swabians after the inconsistency in goal last year when Raphael Schäfer was between the sticks.

Defenders:

(2) Sascha Riether (Wolfsburg)

Finding his team 1-0 down at half-time, trainer Felix Magath reacted by replacing full back Christian Zaccardo with Sascha Riether and the move paid off as the Wölfe came back to win 2-1. Riether got himself involved immediately and provided the assist which allowed Christian Gentner to score. Mondragon in the Köln goal was unable to deal with Riether’s shot and the rebound was tucked away nicely by Gentner. His general all-round play both defensively and offensively was admirable.

(3) Ricardo Costa (Wolfsburg)

The commanding Portuguese centre back played well against Köln on Saturday keeping things tight at the back following the opening goal from Novakovic. He was a commanding presence and provided a good wall in front of keeper Diego Benaglio throughout the game.

(4) Marcelo Bordon (Schalke)

Schalke captain Bordon, who was in the Goal.com Team of the Season last term, began the new campaign well leading by example and saw his Königsblauen side to an opening day 3-0 win over Hannover. Always a danger at set-pieces, Bordon grabbed Schalke’s opening goal after just two minutes to provide a dream start to the 2008/09 season. He also kept things tight at the back to deny Mike Hanke and Jan Schlaudraff at bay.

(5) Christian Eichner (Karlsruhe)

Full back Eichner made three appearances in the Goal.com ‘Team of the Week’ last season and has made an instant return after an impressive start to the new Bundesliga campaign against Bochum. His run from left-back proved fruitful after half an hour as he unleashed a shot in the corner of the Bochum net, leaving Fernandes little chance from 25 yards. He was up and down the flank all afternoon - solid in defence and dangerous in attack.

Midfielders:

(6) Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)

Pole ‘Kuba’ Blaszczykowski began the season well and showed why he had been linked with a move to Liverpool. Dortmund started in a lightning quick manner against Leverkusen and the Pole was instrumental in their play early on. His cross from the right set up Valdez for the opener and he was a constant threat from wide areas running at the Bayer defence. New Leverkusen full back Djakpa certainly had to be on his toes.

(7) Antonio da Silva (Karlsruhe)

The loss of Tamas Hajnal was a severe blow to Karlsruhe this summer, but in former Stuttgart midfielder Antonio da Silva they may have found an adequate replacement. He was the creative force in their midfield and set up left back Eichner for the only goal of the game.

(8) Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

The loss of Rafael van der Vaart was hardly noticeable against Bayern on Friday as HSV held the reigning league champions to a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena. German international Trochowski, who was reportedly drawing the attention of Arsenal earlier in the summer, is one of the players that Martin Jol will be looking to to compensate for the loss of van der Vaart. Against Bayern, his cross picked out Guerrero for the first goal before he coolly scored from the penalty spot to give HSV a deserved share of the spoils.

Forwards:

(9) Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)

‘King Artur’ is still the top-dog at the Schüco Arena for Bielefeld and his goals are going to be vital if the Arminen are to stay up this season. Bremen took the lead twice on Saturday, but were twice pegged back by the Polish striker. His first on 74 minutes saw him beat Tim Wiese in a one-on-one situation, while the second rescued a point just a minute after Werder had taken the lead once more.

(10) Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke)

Following their midweek Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, Schalke produced another impressive performance to open their Bundesliga season beating Hannover 3-0 at the Veltins Arena. In the absence of Jefferson Farfan through injury, the emphasis was on Kevin Kuranyi to provide the fire-power and he didn’t disappoint. A goal in each half saw him open his account at the start of a season during which the Königsblauen will want to push Bayern Munich all the way in the title race.

(11) Vedad Ibisevic (1899 Hoffenheim)

Hoffenheim enjoyed a dream start to life in the Bundesliga with a superb 3-0 opening day away win over Energie Cottbus. Two-goal hero Vedad Ibisevic earned special praise from trainer Ralf Rangnick after the game. The Bosnian opened the scoring after 16 minutes before setting up strike partner Demba Ba for the second. He put the icing on a very good Hoffenheim display by heading in the third goal of the game.

Honourable mentions:

As always, there are a number of players who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

New Hamburg captain David Jarolim played well in midfield as did team mate Nigel de Jong against Bayern Munich. Markus Rosenberg’s two goals against Bielefeld very nearly earned Werder a win, but he was ultimately denied.

Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller performed well against Leverkusen and pulled of two great saves from Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kiessling before having to go off injured at the end of the first half. Brazilian Renato Augusto also impressed in the same game for Leverkusen, as did BVB’s Nelson Valdez.

Jan Simak put in an impressive performance for Stuttgart on Sunday against Mönchengladbach being involved in two of VfB’s three goals. In the other Sunday game, Raffael earned plaudits for his display, which included scoring the opener.

Newcomers Demba Ba (Hoffenheim) and Milivoje Novakovic (Köln) grabbed opening day goals to open their accounts.

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Mathew Burt

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Borussia Dortmund winger Jakub Blaszczykowski is interesting Liverpool.

Reds boss Rafa Benitez is willing to cough up £8 million for the Poland international.

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