Sporting briefs...

Romario: The saga involving Romario 1,000th goal took a new twist on Friday as Mexico's Necaxa were reported to be interested in signing the veteran and the coach of his current team Vasco da Gama was fired. Renato, who has been in charge of Vasco for nearly two years, gave a tearful news conference, where he confirmed that he would be leaving the club. "I hope the next coach has better luck than I had," he said. "I feel very proud to have worked here. This was the best club of my life, as a coach or as a player. It's very unusual for a coach to stay at a club for two years in Brazil."

Ronaldinho: Barcelona's Brazilian forward Ronaldinho will miss today's visit of Real Mallorca and this week's King's Cup semi-final first leg against Getafe after a throat infection forced him to miss training during last week, the Primera Liga leaders said on their web site. Lilian Thuram, Deco and Samuel Eto'o have all returned from their respective injuries and are available for coach Frank Rijkaard.

Kanoute: Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute will miss today's league game away to Valencia, having stayed in London after the UEFA Cup quarter-final elimination of Tottenham Hotspur to have treatment on a groin injury. Fullback Daniel Alves suffered bruising to both ankles, midfielder Antonio Puerta a bruised thigh and ankle, and striker Luis Fabiano a muscle strain. The three are doubts for today along with goalkeeper Andres Palop who has a calf injury that kept him out of Thursday's second leg.

Bayern Munich: Bayern Munich are likely to be without Bastian Schweinsteiger against Bayer Leverkusen today. Schweinsteiger missed Bayern's 2-0 defeat by Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday with a swollen knee and the club have yet to work out the exact cause. Bayern may also be forced to play with Mark van Bommel and Hasan Salihamidzic, who were unable to take part in training. Van Bommel was suffering from an acute hay fever attack and Salihamidzic had muscle problems.

In France: Ligue 1 - Troyes vs Nancy 0-0; Lorient vs Monaco 0-0; Nantes vs Lens 0-0; Bordeaux vs PSG 0-0; Le Mans vs Rennes 0-0; Lille vs Sochaux 2-0; Toulouse vs Auxerre 2-0; Valenciennes vs Marseille 0-0.

Primera Liga: Racing Santander vs Real Madrid 2-1; Real Betis vs Real Sociedad 0-1.