Football news

France midfielder Franck Ribery is back in training at Bayern Munich after recovering from the sprain to his left ankle he sustained at Euro 2008 in June. Juergen Klinsmann said he expected Ribery to be ready to return to the team by the end of the month.

"He is improving all the time and is feeling more and more stable," the coach said.

Ribery underwent surgery after he tore ankle ligaments during an unhappy Euro 2008 campaign for Raymond Domenech's side as they crashed out of the tournament at the group stage. He was back in action with his club colleagues on Thursday under the watchful eye of Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann and over a thousand fans.

Bilic not leaving Croatia

Slaven Bilic has ruled himself out of the running for the West Ham manager's job as he is committed to Croatia until 2010.

Bilic, a former West Ham defender, has left his mark as coach of his national team and was in a list of candidates to succeed Alan Curbishley.

Bilic said: "I've said it before and I'll say it again: I won't go.

"It's not a problem for the players because I've told them I'm not going. I haven't changed my mind about this. I want to stay with Croatia."

Gerard Houllier, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Donadoni and Roberto Mancini have also been linked with the West Ham job.

Recoba moves

Alvaro Recoba has decided to play in the Greece Division One league next season with Panionios.

The Uruguay forward Recoba spent almost 10 years at the San Siro with Inter, during which time he also had loan stints with Venezia and Torino.

This summer, the 32-year-old was not offered a new deal by Inter after his contract expired.

Yesterday, Recoba agreed to play for Panionios - the side Napoli beat in the Intertoto Cup last month - for the next two years.

Having been one of Italy's most richly rewarded players, Recoba has taken a significant pay cut and will receive a 'modest' £800,000 per year.

Reid eyes World Cup spot

Thailand's new coach Peter Reid said yesterday he hoped to instil a winning mentality in his players that would steer them to their first World Cup finals. The former Manchester City, Sunderland and Leeds manager pledged to boost the players' fitness and improve their standing on the international scene.

"I want to get the right mentality here and get Thailand up the world rankings," Reid told a packed news conference.

The 52-year-old has promised to immerse himself in the local culture but admitted communicating with his players could be a problem.

"I'm from Liverpool, I can't even speak English very well," he joked. "I don't know if I can handle Thai."

Buffon denies Man. City link

Gianluigi Buffon has laughed off reports linking him with a move to Manchester City worth around 70 million euros.

United Group for Development and Investment, Man. City's Abu Dhabi-based owners, broke the British transfer record to sign Robinho this week and the chances are more big names will follow in January.

But the Juve keeper told reporters he will not be one of them.

"It's a journalist's fantasy," Buffon said. "If an offer like that one arrived, I believe Juve would look at the numbers. But I doubt it would ever arrive."

Juve paid Parma £31 million for Buffon in 2001.

Crespo unhappy

Hernan Crespo, the unsettled Inter forward, could be heading elsewhere next January.

Crespo is out of Jose Mourinho's plans and the Argentine has also been omitted from the club's squad list for the Champions League. The 33-year-old was linked with moves to Sampdoria and Palermo, but any deal failed to materialise before the transfer window deadline.

Crespo's agent, Fernando Hidalgo, said: "Hernan has always liked Roma and he was very close to moving there when he was at Chelsea.

"The player isn't happy but these things happen and now he must try and find space in Serie A and the Coppa Italia to show his value."

Moyes in Magpies' list

Everton's David Moyes is included in a short list of names as Newcastle start their search for a sixth manager in four years following the resignation of Kevin Keegan.

Moyes, and also former Juventus coach Didier Deschamps, are among those being considered. Moyes was previously mentioned as a possible successor to Sam Allardyce when he left Newcastle in January.

Deschamps, a former Chelsea team-mate of Newcastle executive director Dennis Wise, is available at present.