Former Brazil and Barcelona midfielder Rivaldo, 40, scored on his debut for Sao Caetano in a 2-2 draw with Corinthians in the Paulista championship.
Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni, another 40-year-old, was also on target in his team’s 2-1 win over Guarani, scoring the winner with one of his characteristic free-kicks.
Rivaldo, who in the last few years has played for clubs in Greece, Uzbekistan and Angola, opened his account for his latest employers with a header early in the second half.
Rogerio’s goal for Sao Paulo, his second of the season, was the 109th of his career, a total widely recognised as a world record for a goalkeeper.
Motta, Silva out
Paris St Germain will be without injured centre-back Thiago Silva and midfielder Thiago Motta for their Champions League last-16 first leg at Valencia tomorrow, the French club said yesterday.
Thiago Silva has not recovered fully from a left-thigh problem he picked up during a Ligue 1 match against Ajaccio last month.
Motta, who has also had a thigh injury, returned to full training on Saturday but coach Carlo Ancelotti did not name the Brazilian-born player in the squad.
David Beckham will travel to Spain but has not made the squad.
Santos on brink of Gremio move
Andre Santos’s move from Arsenal to Gremio gathered pace yesterday as the defender was photographed arriving in Brazil ahead of a proposed move back to South America.
Santos, 29, was signed from Fenerbahce for £6.8million in August 2011 but he has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski put a post on his official Twitter account which read: “@Andre_santos27 We will miss you man, I wish u all the very best #Gunner God bless you”.
Hodgson focused on top spot
Roy Hodgson insists he has no intention of accepting second best in England’s World Cup quest.
After their 2-1 friendly win over Brazil on Wednesday, Hodgson’s team now have a six-week break before they travel to San Marino which is very much the hors d’oeuvre for an encounter with Montenegro that is likely to shape England’s qualification prospects.
It had been suggested in some quarters that Hodgson would not regard the play-offs as the end of the world but now he has cleared up the confusion.
“I have never said I would settle for that,” he said. “We are trying to win the group.
“What I might have said is if we don’t win the group, we will try and win the play-offs.”
Corrigan critical of Hart attire
Joe Hart remains one of the best goalkeepers around, but does himself no favours by rolling his sleeves up, according to former Manchester City number one Joe Corrigan.
Hart made a major blunder in City’s 3-1 defeat at Southampton when he let a shot from Jason Puncheon squirm out of his grasp before Steven Davis stabbed the loose ball home.
“Joe is a brilliant keeper, but what I cannot understand, and nobody has ever explained to me, is why with the ball being as shiny and moving so much, do goalkeepers wear short-sleeve shirts?” Corrigan said.
“They have these new rubber latex gloves at one end of their arm and then they have skin between there and the shirt, which creates another slippery surface.”
Juve ready for Celtic – Nedved
Juventus director Pavel Nedved believes Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Fiorentina was the perfect way to prepare for the “lion’s den” that awaits the Bianconeri in Glasgow.
Juve warmed up for a last-16 Champions League tie at Celtic by brushing Fiorentina aside with goals from Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri, a result that sent the Italian champions five points clear at the top of Serie A.
Nedved told juventus.com: “I’m aware of the atmosphere that awaits us in Glasgow because I’ve been there and experienced it first hand.
“We’ll be stepping into a lion’s den and I don’t think the team will need geeing up. We’ll have to tough it out, but we have shown that we’re ready.”
Bale buoyant
Gareth Bale is confident that Tottenham’s push for Champions League will not fade like it did last season.
Tottenham now sit four points ahead of Arsenal following their Bale-inspired 2-1 win over Newcastle. Spurs were in a much healthier position at this time last year, going 10 points clear of the Gunners before their season began to unravel.
“In recent years we have kind of gone off the boil a little at this time of the season but I think the lads have got a lot more confidence,” Bale said.
“We have learned from our mistakes and now we can be a lot stronger going into the finishing end of the season so I hope we can do it.”