Sporting briefs

Simao: Atletico Madrid winger Simao yesterday announced his retirement from international football with Portugal, in a letter made public by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). “After a long period of reflection, I believe the time has come to bring an end to my international career and create room for new players,” said the 30-year-old, who won 85 caps for Portugal and scored 22 international goals.

Pelizzoli: Cagliari said they had signed former Italy goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli from Lokomotiv Moscow, without giving further details. Pelizzoli, 29, is a forgotten man in Italian football but he made two appearances for Italy in 2003-2004 when he was first-choice stopper for Roma.

Middlesbrough: Hamburg’s Senegal midfielder Mickael Tavares was yesterday loaned to English second tier side Middlesbrough, the Bundesliga club announced. The 27-year-old has trained with Hamburg’s reserves this season since the arrival of new coach Armin Veh and will join the English side until the end of the season.

Fulham: Premier League club Fulham signed Mexico defender Carlos Salcido from PSV Eindhoven for an undisclosed fee yesterday. Salcido agreed a three-year contract with the Cottagers after impressing boss Mark Hughes with his performances for Mexico at the World Cup.

Blackpool: Blackpool signed striker Luke Varney on a season-long loan from Derby yesterday. Varney could make his debut against Fulham today in Blackpool’s first Premier League match at their Bloomfield Road stadium. Blackpool have the option of signing the 27-year-old former Charlton player on a permanent basis if he impresses.

N’Zogbia: Charles N’Zogbia looks set to join Birmingham after Wigan accepted an offer from Alex McLeish’s team for the unsettled France winger. N’Zogbia has been keen to leave Wigan for several months since Birmingham first had a bid rejected for the former Newcastle player

Results: League One – Colchester vs Carlisle 1-1; League Two – Bradford vs Southend 0-2.

Boxing: Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito’s application for a boxing licence in Texas was approved yesterday, paving the way for clash with Manny Pacquaio at Cowboys Stadium. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation received an application from Margarito on Monday and decided to grant his request. Margarito had been denied a licence to fight in California. He is expected to face Filipino pound-for-pound king Pacquiao for a junior middleweight title on November 13.

Athletics: Olympic 110 metre hurdles champion Dayron Robles has pulled out of forthcoming events in Rieti, Italy and Zagreb due to injury, a source close to the athlete revealed yesterday. Former American athlete Tony Campbell, a close friend of Robles, said the Cuban had failed to recover from an adductor muscle injury sustained earlier in the summer. The Rieti meet takes place tomorrow, with the Zagreb event following next Wednesday.

Motorcycling: American rider Ben Spies will take over from Valentino Rossi in the Yamaha factory team in next season’s world MotoGP championship, the Japanese manufacturer announced. The 26-year-old, who won the World Superbike Championship with Yamaha in 2009, is enjoying an impressive first season in MotoGP, riding with the Yamaha Tech 3 team. He is currently the leading rookie and is seventh in the championship.

Cycling: Beijing Olympic and three-time world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara will spearhead the Swiss team at next month’s UCI Road World Championships in Australia, organisers said yesterday. Cancellara, who could become the first man to win four world time-trial championships, has his sights set on the elusive road race rainbow jersey. “My ambitions are always high and I tried to get the double in Switzerland when Cadel Evans won and I was close but now I have to look forward to Geelong,” Cancellara said.