BERLIN, Germany — German-born Turkish international Nuri Sahin, who is leaving Borussia Dortmund for Real Madrid, has been voted Bundesliga player of the 2010-11 season by his peers, Kicker magazine said Monday. The 22-year-old midfielder was voted best outfield player with 46.1 percent of the vote, the magazine's survey of 298 players showed, followed in [.

DOHA, Qatar Qatar has welcomed an investigation into alleged corruption in its victorious 2022 World Cup bid. The 2022 host nation said the evidence put forward so far was false, unsubstantiated and coming from a whisteblower who is probably a former employee "with a significant axe to grind." Qatar has been on the defensive [.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands Ajax have completed their swoop for FC Twente ace Theo Janssen in a reported €3million (£2.6m) deal. The 29-year-old, a key performer for Twente this term, has joined the Eredivisie champions on a two-year contract, with the option for a third year. Janssen, voted player of the season by Dutch newspaper De [.

LONDON, England Harry Redknapp has already pulled off the transfer coup of the summer, sources have told ESPNsoccernet, by snatching Barcelona youngster Cristian Ceballos from under the noses of Chelsea. Ceballos, 16, was hailed as Barcelona's new superstar four years ago when he became an internet sensation, featuring in a video juggling a ball [.

LONDON, England A British politician defied a court order on Monday by identifying Manchester United's Ryan Giggs as the soccer star fighting a legal battle to prevent newspapers from publishing allegations of an affair. The release of Giggs' name will be seen as a victory for the media over celebrities and their lawyers after [.

LONDON, England Roberto Mancini saw Manchester City clinch automatic qualification to the group stages of the Champions League and immediately demanded a fresh injection of cash. Arsene Wenger saw his side's season end on a low-key note with a draw against Fulham and promptly heaped more frustration on Arsenal fans by admitting the club [.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Diego Maradona has told an Argentine newspaper he will take legal action against Argentine football federation president Julio Grondona over perceived criticism of the World Cup-winner's drug problems. Maradona reacted angrily to comments the 80-year-old Grondona made to local media this week that have been interpreted as a veiled reference to [.

COMMERCE CITY, Colorado Toronto FC gutted out a valuable scoreless draw on the road Sunday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park as the Colorado Rapids failed to take advantage of their first home game in three weeks. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens was a bright spot for the Rapids, who earned a draw for the third straight [.

ROME — Brazil forward Alexandre Pato will miss the Copa America after injuring his right shoulder in AC Milan's final match of the Serie A season. Pato was carried off on a stretcher in the 71st minute of Sunday's 0-0 draw with Udinese. Milan physician Maurizio Gevi told Italy's Sky TV that Pato will be [.

WASHINGTON, DC – Vurnon Anita's 87th minute goal earned Dutch champions Ajax a late 2-1 win over D.C. United in a friendly match at RFK Stadium on Sunday evening. Anita's goal broke a 1-1 tie after Miralem Sulejmani and D.C. forward Blake Brettschneider traded goals in the first friendly pitting an MLS club against an [.

MANCHESTER, England Manchester City have swooped to snatch Celta Vigo starlet Denis Suarez from under the noses of Barcelona. Celta's chairman Carlos Mourino has confirmed that the Spanish Under-17 midfielder will move to Eastlands for an initial fee of €1 million which could rise to €3m depending on appearance- and performance-related clauses in the [.

ROME, Italy — Udinese qualified for the Champions League for only the second time in their history after a 0-0 draw at home to AC Milan ensured they took fourth place in Serie A. Lazio missed out on Europe's premier club competition on goal difference despite their 4-2 win at Lecce. And Roma qualified for [.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's unwillingness to commit his future to the club has angered fans for a while now and during the celebration in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday after Saturday's DFB Pokal win, one supporter made his slappy feelings very clear to Neuer's face. The Bayern Munich and Manchester United target rode in [.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands ADO Den Haag and Groningen will meet in a two-legged playoff for a Europa League place after coming through Dutch championship playoff semi-finals on Sunday. Den Haag came from behind to beat Roda JC Kerkrade 2-1 to complete a 6-4 aggregate success, while Groningen beat Heracles Almelo 2-1 to advance on away [.

ISTANBUL, Turkey Fenerbahce clinched their 18th Turkish league title with a 4-3 win over Sivasspor on Sunday, moving ahead of the 17 won by arch-rivals Galatasaray. Trabzonspor, the Istanbul club's only challengers, won 4-0 away to Karabukspor to also finish on 82 points but Fenerbahce became champions due to a superior record in matches [.