Radamel Falcao has been re-called to the Colombia squad after missing the World Cup, as speculation over his club future continues.
Falcao missed this summer’s tournament in Brazil as he continued his recovery from a serious knee injury suffered while playing for Monaco in January, but has returned to action at the start of this season to earn a call-up from Jose Pekerman ahead of the friendly against Brazil in Miami on September 5.
The friendly will be a rematch of the World Cup quarter-final won 2-1 by Brazil.
Falcao’s call-up comes amid fresh reports linking the Monaco forward with a move to Real Madrid, who have already signed his international and former club team-mate James Rodriguez this summer.
Hockaday shown door by Leeds
Leeds’ experiment with David Hockaday ended after just six games as owner Massimo Cellino has sacked his head coach.
Hockaday, 56, was a shock appointment by the Italian on June 19 and now, 10 weeks later, he has lost his job.
Hockaday – who listed Forest Green as his only managerial experience prior to taking the Leeds job – has lost four of his six games in charge.
His end comes after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Bradford in the League Cup and only a few days after Cellino backed out of a decision to sack him in the wake of a 4-1 humbling at Watford.
Udinese sign Lucas
Udinese have signed Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas Evangelista for €4 million.
The 19-year-old played 33 times and scored two goals for Sao Paulo but has been sidelined in recent months due to a contractual dispute between the player and Desportivo Brasil, the club that owns part of his economic rights.
Sao Paulo own 60 per cent of Lucas’s economic rights. They sold full-back Douglas to Bar-celona this week for a fee that could rise to €5.5 million.
Bresciano gets Asian Cup shot
Australia coach Ange Posteco-glou offered Mark Bresciano a chance to extend his 77-cap international career through the Asian Cup with a call-up to the Socceroos squad in place of the injured Terry Antonis.
The 34-year-old former Parma, Palermo and Lazio midfielder was left out of the original squad for friendlies against Belgium and Saudi Arabia in Europe next month.
A hamstring strain to Antonis, who won his three caps in 2012, has opened the way for the versatile Bresciano to stake his claim for a place in the squad when Australia host the Asian Cup next January.
Veteran Cambiasso joins Leicester City
Former Argentina and Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso has joined Leicester City on a one-year deal, the English Premier League club said.
Cambiasso, 34, was a free agent after being released in the close-season by Inter, where he spent 10 years and won five Serie A titles and the Champions League.
He made more than 50 appearances for Argentina in an 11-year international career, and scored one of the goals of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, finishing off a 26-pass move in an 6-0 rout of Serbia.
Cambiasso began his playing career at Independiente, before having spells at River Plate and Real Madrid.
He could make his debut for promoted Leicester in tomorrow’s home game against Arsenal.
Boca lose patience with Bianchi
Argentine giants Boca Juniors sacked their record title-winning coach Carlos Bianchi after a disappointing third spell in charge.
Bianchi, who took over by popular demand 18 months ago, pre-sided over 26 wins and 26 losses in 74 matches.
“He’ll never lose everything he gave us Boca supporters but the members voted for me to take decisions and although they are hard we have decided, painfully, to rescind Carlos’s contract,” club president Daniel Angelici said.
The 65-year-old Bianchi, a former Velez Sarsfield, Stade Reims, Paris St Germain and Argentina striker, had a contract until December 2015.
“I told him it was a cycle that had finished,” Angelici said.
Del Piero signs for Delhi franchise
Alessandro Del Piero will play for the Delhi franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL) and will also be the competition’s brand am-bassador, the ex-Juventus player has said.
Del Piero left Australian club Sydney FC earlier this year after a two-year stint that helped lift the A-League’s profile and he will be expected to play a similar role with the eight-team Indian league that runs from October 12 to December 20.
“I’ve always looked for something different, I see myself as a ‘traveller on the roads of football’, for me, the pitch isn’t the only thing that counts, that what surrounds the game counts just as much,” said the Italian who turns 40 in November.