Stuttgart ties Schalke in Bundesliga opener

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Substitute Ivan Rakitic scored in the 76th minute as Schalke tied Stuttgart, 2-2, in the Bundesliga season opener Friday.
Schalke took the early lead on a goal from Levan Kobiashvili midway through the opening half, but the defending Bundesliga champions stormed back in the second half.
Sami Khedira scored in the 63rd minute for Stuttgart, and Pavel Pardo scored on a penalty kick less than five minutes later.
Rakitic, who signed with Schalke on the offseason, entered the game just six minutes before he delivered the equalizer. He made a nice run from well out of the box, side-stepped a defender and placed a low shot to the left corner.
Schalke goalie Manuel Neuer made five saves. Stuttgart goalie Raphael Schafer had three stops.
Stuttgart captured its first Bundesliga title since 1991-92 last season with a 2-1 comeback win over Energie on the final day of the season. Stuttgart ended the season with a two-point edge over Schalke.
The rest of the league starts the 2007-08 campaign this weekend.
On Saturday, Bayern Munich hosts Rostock, Eintracht hosts Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg hosts Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen hosts Energie, Bochum hosts Werder Bremen and Hannover hosts Hamburg.
On Sunday, Borussia Dortmund hosts Duisburg and Nurnberg hosts Karlsruher.

Duisburg adds former top scorer in Bundesliga

Duisburg, Germany (Sports Network) - Newly promoted Duisburg has signed former Bundesliga leading scorer Ailton to a one-year contract.
Ailton, 33, was named Germany's Player of the Year in 2004 when he led the league with 28 goals and led Werder Bremen to the title. He scored 105 goals in 221 Bundesliga matches, playing with Werder Bremen and Schalke 04.
Duisburg acquired the Brazilian striker on a transfer from Red Star Belgrade. He scored eight goals in 13 matches last season on loan to Grasshopper Zurich.

Nurnberg inks Greek striker Charisteas

Nuremberg, Germany (Sports Network) - Nurnberg announced on Friday that the club has signed Greek striker Angelos Charisteas to a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee from Feyenoord.
Charisteas, a Greek international, is best known for scoring the lone goal in his country's improbable EURO 2004 title-clinching win over Portugal. He joins Nurnberg after spending just one season with Feyenoord, where he scored nine goals 28 league contests.
The 27-year-old striker has also enjoyed a three-year stay at Ajax, and has experience playing in Germany's top-flight league as well. Charisteas tallied 18 goals in 66 Bundesliga contests for Werder Bremen from 2002-2005 and joins a Nurnberg team that finished sixth in the Bundesliga and will take part in the UEFA Cup next season.
Charisteas has also had success on the international level as well, notching 16 goals in 59 appearances for Greece.