Claudio Pizarro has returned to Werder Bremen after a seven-year absence looking to kick-start a career which stalled at Chelsea.

Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni has spoken of his desire to end his playing career in his native Italy, despite describing like in Munich as 'perfect'.

Chelsea could be set to focus all their attentions on trying to land AC Milan star Kaka after Real Madrid empathically slammed the door on the Stamford Bridge club's attempts to secure the services of Robinho.

West Brom manager Tony Mowbray will not compromise his beliefs about playing free-flowing football to survive in the Premier League as he closes in on the signature of Real Mallorca midfielder Borja Valero.

Petr Cech is expecting a tough return to international football on Wednesday night against England following his costly blunder for the Czech Republic at Euro 2008.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has admitted he feels sympathy for World Cup opponents Georgia after they were forced to give up their home advantage.

England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce felt his side's 2-1 international friendly victory over Slovenia was useful preparation for more demanding challenges ahead.

John Carew is backing Aston Villa team-mates Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young to become big England stars despite being snubbed by Fabio Capello for Wednesday evening's friendly with the Czech Republic at Wembley.

Robinho no longer has any chance of joining Chelsea due to Real Madrid's refusal to even discuss a possible deal, according to the Brazilian's advisor.

Fabio Capello has insisted the choice of John Terry as England captain was his alone.

South Africa midfielder Teko Modise struck a magnificent equaliser to ensure Tuesday night's friendly at Loftus Road ended in stalemate.

Micah Richards produced a dominant performance to help England Under-21s to a 2-1 victory over Slovenia and give senior coach Fabio Capello a reminder of his undoubted ability.

Winger Ashley Young has intimated he would like to follow Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew in signing a new contract with Aston Villa.

Real Mallorca midfielder Borja Valero is set to join West Brom Albion within the next 24 hours for a club record £4.75 million.

European champions Spain begin a new era on Wednesday night when coach Vicente del Bosque assumes control for the first time in the friendly against Denmark.

Fiorentina's Romania striker Adrian Mutu has dislocated his elbow training with the national squad and will miss Wednesday's friendly with Latvia.

Striker Thierry Henry has been made France captain for Wednesday's friendly against Sweden in a bid to lift the team after their flop at Euro 2008.

Sergio Aguero scored two second-half goals in seven minutes on Tuesday and later set up another to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over rival Brazil and into its second straight Olympic final.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane is having to remain patient as he attempts to step up his interest in West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand.

Tomas Rosicky has been forced to come out and deny he criticised team-mates including William Gallas and Gael Clichy in a newspaper article.

Nigeria thumped surprise package Belgium 4-1 on Tuesday to reach the Olympic soccer final for the first time since winning the tournament 12 years ago.

Fabio Capello has retained John Terry as England captain.

Goalkeeper Quim has vowed to repay the faith of new Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz if selected to play in Wednesday's friendly against the Faroe Islands in Aveiro.

Georgia's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland is to be switched to a neutral venue owing to security concerns in the wake of recent events in Georgia, FIFA have confirmed.

Fernando Hidalgo is hoping a good performance for Ecuador in Wednesday's international friendly against Colombia will help him secure a place in the squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers.