Outside the Box: Berbatov refused to play against Chelsea, says Levy

In a week when Sir Alex Ferguson raved about Dimitar Berbatov's contribution to Manchester United, consider-ably harsher words were being said about him at his former club Tottenham. The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, has revealed the moody Bulgarian refused to play in games against Sunderland and Chelsea, in which the team dropped five points during their worst-ever start to a season, culminating in Juande Ramos being sacked last weekend. Talking about Berbatov agitating for a move to United over the course of more than a year, Levy said: "We had a player that had refused to play two Premier League games for us, was having a detrimental impact on the dressing room and we'd known for a year that this player wanted out of this club." Levy added: "I don't think he treated the club with the respect we deserved. We put him on the map. He signed a long-term contract with this club and I think he should have stayed." Indeed, he would have done had Ramos insisted, but the manager, having used him only briefly as a substitute at Middlesbrough on the first day of the season, decided to cut his losses. It should all add further spice to United's visit to White Hart Lane on 13 December.

Hopp helps the Hoff go top

Anyone not used to seeing a league table from the Bundesliga might be taken aback to find a team called Hoffenheim sitting on top of it. Who? Not Hockenheim (that's a motor racing circuit) and not Hasselhoff (he's the 'Knight Rider' and 'Baywatch' icon). But confusion is understandable. As the full name implies, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have been around for more than a century, originally as a gymnastics club, but less than 20 years ago they were playing at the eighth level of German football – equivalent to Whitstable or Walton Casuals in the Ryman League Division One South. Enter a former youth-team player called Dietmar Hopp, who had made a fortune from his software firm and decided to plough some of it into the club. Results were spectacular, with a steady stream of promotions, andlast weekend they climbed to the very top by demolishing Martin Jol's then leaders Hamburg, scoring three goals by half-time in front of a capacity crowd of 26,000. Whatever next? Well, Herr Hopp has paid for a new stadium, ready next season, where Hoffenheim versus Hull City in the Champions' League would have a certain ring to it.

Cup runneth over for AFC

Still on the subject of racing through the divisions, AFC Wimbledon are about to experience the most dazzling day of their six-year history, when their FA Cup first-round match at home to Wycombe is shown live on television. Since breaking away at the time of Wimbledon's move to Milton Keynes they have achieved three promotions, reached the Conference South, bought a ground that they share with Kingstonian, and successfully campaigned for 500 pieces of memorabilia associated with the original Wimbledon club – including a replica FA Cup – to be returned to the London borough of Merton. At one time it seemed possible that AFC (sometimes taken to stand for "A Fans' Club") would soon catch up with MK Dons, who were sinking fast until revived by Martin Allen and then Paul Ince. Now the FA Cup offers the best hope of a longed-for head-to-head.