Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo was voted England's Footballer of the Year yesterday, only the second player to win the award in successive seasons since its introduction 60 years ago.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James finished second and third respectively in the poll organised by the Football Writers Association (FWA) since 1948.
The 23-year-old Portuguese was the overwhelming winner, a week after being named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.
Ronaldo, who has scored 38 goals this season, follows former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry as the only other man to win the award in successive seasons. Henry won the award in 2003 and 2004 and again in 2006.
Stanley Matthews won the first Footballer of the Year award in 1948.
Real not giving up on star signing
Spanish sports daily AS says Real Madrid have not given up hope of signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United after the player's recent comment that he would decide his future after the Champions League final.
"Nowadays it is the players that decide when they leave a team," an unnamed high-ranking director at Real was quoted as saying by AS yesterday.
"He knows that Madrid would be delighted to sign him, but we can't do anything until he thumps his fist on the table. His comments have given us hope."
Search on for ice cube thrower
Boca Juniors have called on their supporters to help find the spectator who threw a lump of ice which struck a linesman during a Libertadores Cup game with Cruzeiro, ending the match a minute early.
Club president Pedro Pompilio said he was stunned that the ice cube, which left the linesman with a cut on his forehead, had been hurled from the most expensive seating in their stadium in Wednesday's game.
Titleholders Boca were leading the Brazilian side 2-1 when the incident happened in the second minute of injury-time in front of the VIP boxes.
Keepers are no fun any more - Higuita
Former Colombia goalkeeper Rene Higuita, famous for his scorpion kick and dribbling around opposing forwards in his own penalty area, complains that his modern counterparts are no fun.
"Football has become more of a business," he told Reuters.
"The directors want results so the goalkeepers just try to do the simple things, such as a quick kick upfield, to avoid complicating the situation.
"The type of goalkeeper I like is the one who plays for a result and takes his position seriously, but at the same time entertains the people who pay for the tickets."
Asked which current goalkeepers were capable of matching his antics, Higuita replied: "There aren't any."
Higuita, 41, still plays for Deportivo Rionegro in the Colombian second division and has recently been appointed as goalkeeper coach for Colombia's U-20 and U-17 teams.
He started playing again last year with Venezuelan first division side Guaros de Lara, having been sacked by previous club Aucas in Ecuador in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine.
Contracts not at risk after sex scandal
Brazilian striker Ronaldo's sponsorship contracts will not be affected by the alleged incident involving the Milan player and three transvestites, his spokesman said.
"The recent events which involved Ronaldo are personal and do not put at risk any of the forward's publicity contracts with his sponsors, nor give them grounds to cancel the contracts," said a statement on the player's website (www.ronaldo.com).
Ronaldo's agent Fabiano Farah was quoted as saying: "For a contract to be cancelled, Ronaldo has to be publicly condemned. But he hasn't committed any crime, nor broken any law. On the contrary. He is the only victim in the case."
Nobody has been charged but police detective Carlos Augusto Nogueira said one of the transvestites, known as Andreia, may be charged with trying to extort money from Ronaldo and stealing his driving licence.
Stadium may be dropped from list
South Africa's 2010 World Cup organisers are to decide next week whether construction delays will prevent them from using a new stadium for next year's Confederation Cup test event.
FIFA raised concerns last November over the pace of building the $597,000 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth and put the venue on notice in January.
The World Cup Organising Committee will meet in Johannesburg on Monday and Tuesday to decide whether to cut it from the list of five venues for June's eight-team Confederation Cup tournament held 12 months before the World Cup.
League no easy task, says Cannavaro
Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro said his side have not had it easy this season.
"Now everyone is saying that it is easy to win the league, but it hasn't been," the Italian said.
"We were very strong in the first half of the season, getting a record number of points and winning at difficult grounds like the Nou Camp, Vicente Calderon and Mestalla. We were a little bit worried when Barcelona and Villarreal were close to us. So it hasn't been an easy league."
Real, 10 points clear with four games to go, can wrap up the league title if Villarreal fail to beat Getafe or if they win at Osasuna tomorrow.