Sporting briefs

Atletico Madrid: Atletico Madrid have moved quickly to replace sacked coach Gregorio Manzano by announcing the appointment of Diego Simeone as his replacement on an 18-month contract. The Argentinian, who played for Atletico in two spells between 1994 and 2005, will take up the role on Monday .

Pay back: Algeria have received $500,000 in compensation after the Samuel Eto’o-led Cameroon players’ strike which forced the cancellation of a friendly between the two countries. The payment by the Cameroon Football Federation comes in the same week that Eto’o was handed a 15-match ban for his role as ringleader in the action.

Alonso: Bolton’s Marcos Alonso has been ruled out for four to six weeks and will undergo surgery to replace a pin in his foot. The Spanish full-back limped off in the second half of Wanderers’ game at Blackburn on Tuesday.

Iniesta: Andres Iniesta has been sidelined for two weeks after picking up an injury in Barcelona’s 9-0 massacre of third-tier minnows Hospitalet. The 27-year-old Spain midfielder tore a muscle in his left thigh when he collided with the Hospitalet keeper, Carlos Craviotto, in the 27th minute.

Townsend: Tottenham winger Andros Townsend has signed a contract that will keep him at White Hart lane until the summer of 2016. The 20-year-old scored on his first-team debut against Charlton last season and has since gone on to make seven appearances for Harry Redknapp’s side, mostly in the club’s Europa League campaign.

Jiracek: Czech midfielder Petr Jiracek signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Wolfsburg, his current team Viktoria Plzen said. Jiracek, whose physical style has earned him comparisons to former Czech star Pavel Nedved, won the Czech title with Plzen last season.