File photo shows HannoverÕs Iranian striker Vahid Hashemian vies against WolfsburgÕs Dutch defender Kevin Hofland, during their Bundesliga football match at the AWD-Arena.

Schalke fell behind in the race to secure second spot in the Bundesliga after being held to a 1-1 draw with Hannover, which was assisted by Iranian player Vahid Hashemian, in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday.
The hosts were pegged back as early as the eighth minute after Arnold Bruggink gave Hannover the lead, ISP reported.
However, Schalke went into the break on level terms thanks to a strike from Halil Altintop five minutes before half-time.
With second-placed Werder Bremen winning a draw was not an ideal result for Schalke as they look to secure automatic qualification to the Champions League group stage for next season.
Schalke failed to test Robert Enke in Hannover goal before they leveled with their first meaningful attack of the game after 40 minutes.
Altintop found space on the edge of the box and beat his marker before floating a superb lob over Enke, who had drifted off his line.
The goal gave way to a more open second half with chances for both sides.
Altintop had another chance after 56 minutes when he fired just wide with Enke beaten, but Hannover responded immediately as Bruggink rattled a shot onto the post.
In another game of the week, Hamburg kept up their charge for a European place next season with a timely win at Hansa Rostock 3-1.
Ivica Olic put the visitors in front in the first half and then scored his second after the break.
The goals came either side of a Rafael van der Vaart strike. An own goal from Joris Mathijsen provided scant consolation for Rostock.
Amir Shapoorzadeh, an Irano-German footballer played 15 minutes against Hamburg.
Also in Bundesliga, Stuttgart kept pace with the three teams chasing an automatic European spot with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The reigning champions were 3-0 up in 20 minutes, with a Yildiray Basturk brace sandwiched either side of a Mario Gomez strike. Cacau added a fourth soon after the break, with Ioannis Amanatidis netting a consolation for Frankfurt.
Three points for Stuttgart puts them fifth behind Hamburg, who won 3-1 at Hansa Rostock, on goal difference. They will be hoping that Bayer Leverkusen lose at bottom club Duisburg on Sunday so they can keep fifth place.
With 18 minutes on the clock, Basturk scored his second. He again put power on a shot that Proll nearly got to, but was unable to keep out.
A shell-shocked Frankfurt managed to keep Stuttgart at bay for the rest of the first half, then came out for the second half and conceded again two minutes after the restart.
It was Brazilian striker Cacau who got the goal, scampering into the box and drilling a right shot that beat Proll and went into the left of the goal.

Rio Ferdinand

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand admitted Saturday he would like the England captaincy on a regular basis. But the 29-year-old said he would not ’shrivel up and go into a shell’ if he is overlooked by Fabio Capello.
Ferdinand captained England for the friendly with France in March and also took the Manchester United armband during Gary Neville’s long-term absence through injury.
Capello appointed Steven Gerrard as captain in his first match in charge of England and John Terry, the skipper under Steve McClaren, is also a candidate.
Ferdinand told ’The Sun’, “Being the captain of England can never be a hassle. It’s an honor and privilege. It’s not the be-all and end-all for me. If I’m not the captain I won’t shrivel up and go into a shell. It won’t affect the way I play or my relationship with the other players.
“If something needs to be said in the dressing room, I’ll say it. I’ll still play with 100 percent commitment. But I’d be lying if I said I would not like the captaincy on a regular basis. Of course I want it. Any player would.“
Ferdinand recalled his shock at being handed the captaincy by Capello, saying, “We were having lunch when the manager stood up and everyone went quiet. He just said Captain for the game is Ferdinand’ and sat down again.

Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal cruised past Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 Saturday to reach his fourth straight Barcelona Open final.
Nadal will play second-seeded David Ferrer, who defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (8), 6-3.
Nadal defeated Ferrer in the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo last week en route to a fourth straight trophy, AP reported.
Nadal won his 20th straight match on the clay courts in Barcelona. The Spaniard is 19-1 in clay-court finals, including 3-0 at Barcelona.
“I can’t remember,“ Nadal said about other 6-0 games to reach a final. “I played nearly perfectly.“
Nadal, looked in control from the start, converting his first break point with a stinging forehand down the line for a 3-1 lead.
He won his serve at love for the second time in the next game before breaking Gremelmayr again with a backhand down the line.
Nadal, who had 15 winners, clinched the first set in 26 minutes when the 85th-ranked Gremelmayr, playing in his third clay semifinal this year, returned long.
Gremelmayr was broken three times in the second set, twice at love.
Ferrer won a tight first set, rallying from 5-2 in the tiebreaker.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 39th and 40th goals of the season helped Manchester United to a 4-1 win over West Ham that leaves Alex Ferguson’s side on the brink of retaining the Premier League title.
The win at Old Trafford on Saturday means that United will be sure of becoming English champions for the 17th time if closest rivals Chelsea lose at Newcastle on Monday, AFP said.
Failing that, a win at Wigan on May 11, the final day of the season, will secure the tenth title of Ferguson’s reign at Old Trafford.
Some woeful defending by West Ham allowed Ronaldo to score in the 3rd and 24th minutes, taking his tally of league goals this season to 30Ñone short of Alan Shearer’s Premier League record.
Carlos Tevez then beat his former team-mate Robert Green from nearly 30 yards to end the lunchtime encounter as a contest.
Dean Ashton pulled a goal back for the visitors with a superbly executed overhead kick two minutes later and United were given temporary cause for concern when, eight minutes before half-time, Nani was sent off for head-butting Lucas Neill.
But even with ten men, United had too much quality for a lackluster West Ham side with nothing left to play for and a deflected shot from Michael Carrick, just before the hour mark, completed a convincing win.