Football news

Real Madrid's former striker Alfredo di Stefano was on Friday named as a 'sporting ambassador' of Argentina at a ceremony in the Spanish capital to honour his career.

"You're a great among greats, the history of football cannot be told without you," Argentine ambassador Carlos Bettini told the 83-year-old, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Bettini officially named him as a sporting ambassador for Argentina and handed him a plaque in honour of his life and career.

"I have always been a team player," Di Stefano, Real's honorary president, told the ceremony at the Argentine embassy.

A two-time European Player of the Year, the Argentina-born forward nicknamed the 'Blond Arrow' played for Real from 1953 to 1963, scoring 418 goals in 510 games.

Conceicao hangs up his boots

Former Portuguese international Sergio Conceicao announced yesterday that he is retiring as a player.

"I want to announce today the end of my footballing career. When I look back I'm proud of what I achieved," Conceicao told the Portuguese press.

The midfielder, who turns 35 today, will become sporting director of Greek club PAOK Salonica where he has played for the past two seasons.

During his career he played for major European clubs including Porto, Lazio, Parma, Inter and Standard Liege.

He also notched up 56 caps and scored 13 goals for Portugal between 1996 and 2004. The highlight of his career was the clash against Germany in Euro 2000 when he scored a hat-trick during their 3-0 victory.

Klose released from swine flu quarantine

Germany striker Miroslav Klose was yesterday released from a four-day quarantine for swine flu after showing no signs of the virus and is available to play against the Ivory Coast next week.

Both the Bayern Munich star and his wife Sylvia were put under observation last Wednesday after their four-year-old twin sons Noah and Luan were discovered to both be suffering from the H1N1 virus.

Neither Klose, the top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, nor his wife showed signs of the virus and have been allowed to leave quarantine.

Klose, 31, is now free to join the Germany squad to prepare for Wednesday's friendly against the Ivory Coast.

Kaka has no City regrets

Kaka has "no regrets" about his decision to reject a move to Manch-ester City in favour of Real Madrid despite the £200 million outlay on players by Mark Hughes' side.

City's executive chairman Garry Cook accused Milan of "bottling" the deal which would have made Kaka the highest paid player in the world had it gone through in January.

Instead, Kaka opted to move to the Bernabeu in a reported £56 million transfer last summer.

Kaka said: "Do I regret not moving to Manchester City? No. I am happy with what I have chosen in my life. I've spoken a lot to Robinho and he is very happy there and Manchester City have bought a lot of quality players.

"But now I am with Real Madrid and very happy with the choice I made. I have no regrets with the decision I made."

O'Neill sets scoring challenge

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has challenged his midfield players to start delivering goal-power on a more consistent basis.

O'Neill believes the likes of Steve Sidwell, Stiliyan Petrov and Nigel Reo-Coker have to contribute in that department if Villa are to challenge for honours, particularly if they play only one out and out striker.

O'Neill said: "I think if you are going to be successful, you have to have a goal-scoring midfield. We should be sharing goals around more.

"If you are playing with three in the middle of the pitch with a lone centre-forward then I think the onus is on the midfield to get into the box, past the centre forward and score."

Berretta turns down Siena offer

Italian coach Mario Berretta will not be taking over Siena this season despite reports that he was going to sign with the Tuscany club.

On Friday evening Berretta told La Gazzetta dello Sport about his fond memories of the club and how much he was looking forward to a third bite of the apple. However, yesterday he announced that the talks had broken down.

"I am very disappointed to announce that the negotiations for my return to Siena have definitively collapsed," he said in a statement.

"I believe we do not have the right circumstances for me to do my work and achieve the objective of safety this season."

Vidic happy at United

Nemanja Vidic has rejected rumours linking him with a move away from Manchester United.

The Serbian's long-term future has been the subject of speculation in recent months, with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan all credited with an interest in his services.

However, Vidic insists he is happy at Old Trafford and is focused on winning more silverware with United.

"I am happy at Manchester United and I am looking forward to winning more trophies and I don't think about leaving," Vidic told Sky Sports News.