Pizarro: Peru striker Claudio Pizarro has rejoined Werder Bremen on a season-long loan from Chelsea. The 29-year-old was previously with Werder between 1999 and 2001 before moving on to Bayern Munich. Pizarro left Bayern for Chelsea in June 2007 but struggled to make an impact last season, starting in only 10 matches.

Spartac coach: Spartak Moscow have sacked coach Stanislav Cherchesov following a 4-1 home drubbing by Dynamo Kiev in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier. Cherchesov had been criticised by the fans after he dropped captain and most popular player Yegor Titov following a 5-1 thrashing by city rivals CSKA last month.

Lualua: Striker Lomana LuaLua has been recalled to the Democratic Republic of Congo squad after an appendix operation in June sidelined him for three World Cup qualifiers. The former Newcastle and Portsmouth forward, now playing in Qatar, has been named in a 33-man squad for Wednesday's friendly against Togo in Dreux, France.

Carew: Aston Villa's Norwegian striker John Carew has signed a 12-month extension to his contract, the Premier League club said. Carew, who has scored 17 goals in 46 appearances since joining from Lyon in January 2007, is now contracted to the club until June 2011.

Russia: Russia coach Guus Hiddink named uncapped Spartak Moscow striker Nikita Bazhenov in an 18-man squad yesterday for next week's friendly against the Netherlands in Moscow. Wednesday's game will be the second meeting of the teams in less than two months after Russia scored a surprise 3-1 extra-time win over the Dutch in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals.

Boca win: Boca Juniors won 3-1 at fellow Argentine side Arsenal in the first leg of the South American Super Cup between the 2007 winners of the Libertadores Cup and Copa Sudamericana. Striker Martin Palermo opened the scoring with his 194th goal for Boca.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Hamburg 2-2.