Signori signs for Hungary's Sopron
 
BUDAPEST, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Former Lazio striker and Italian international Giuseppe Signori has joined Hungarian Cup winners Sopron.

Sopron said on its website that although Signori, 37, was not in top physical condition, his knowledge of the game had not faded.

Signori, who had an earlier trial with Hungarian league champions Debrecen, has been signed to turn around the dismal fortunes of the club this season.

Sopron are 14th in the 16-team Hungarian first division and have scored just six goals in eight matches.
 
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German star Ziege retires
 
October 20, 2005
MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AFP) - Germany's Euro 96 hero Christian Ziege is calling time on his career after failing to shake off an ankle injury.

"There's no longer any sense in continuing," said 33-year-old Ziege, who has not played for Borussia Monchengladbach since May.

"I'm finally happy that the wavering between hope and disappointment, injury and convalescence is at an end.
 
 
"I was a league champion in Germany and Italy, I won the UEFA Cup, the Euro, I played in a World Cup final. I don't think you can win many more titles and do more in football," said Ziege.

Ziege, capped 72 times by Germany, came to the fore with Bayern Munich but spent a large proportion of his career in England during spells at Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
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Raja Casablanca fire coach after Champions League defeat
 
CASABLANCA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Morocco's Raja Casablanca have fired Romanian coach Alexandre Moldovan after last weekend's defeat in the African Champions League semi-finals.

Raja lost 1-0 at Tunisia's Etoile Sahel on Saturday to go out of the competition 2-0 on aggregate.

Moldovan had only been in the job since July, when he took over from the French coach Henri Stambouli.
 
It was his third spell at the club and in his first match in charge, Raja won Morocco's Thorne Cup.

Raja had surprisingly sacked Moldovan in 2002 when they were seven points clear in the standings but officials felt the team were not playing attractive soccer.

During his first stint, Moldovan led Raja to the Moroccan league title in 1997.

Moldovan has also worked with Moroccan club's Wydad Casablanca, Union Sidi Kacem and Maghreb Fes as well as Olympique Beja in Tunisia, who sacked him in February.
 
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Sverrisson named as new Iceland coach
Sverrisson named as new Iceland coach
 
STOCKHOLM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Iceland have selected Eyjolfur Sverrisson as their new national soccer team coach after a disappointing World Cup qualification campaign, officials said on Thursday.

Sverrisson, 37, will replace the current coaches Asgeir Sigurvinsson and Logi Olafsson from Nov. 1.

"We only got four points out of the group in the World Cup," said an official at the Icelandic soccer federation.

Sverrisson was a professional soccer player with Hertha Berlin in the 1990s. He retired in 2003 and took over the Icelandic under-21 side.

Iceland finished second from bottom in European qualifying Group 8, just above Malta, with three points.
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Norway's Solbakken to coach FC Copenhagen - report
 
COPENHAGEN, June 24 (Reuters) - Norwegian Stale Solbakken will take over as head coach of FC Copenhagen when he leaves his present job with Norway's Hamarkameratene during the winter recess, Berlingske Tidende reported on Friday.

Copenhagen, who have won three Danish Superleague titles in five years, finished second this season, 12 points behind champions Brondby, but were crowned Scandinavian champions last month when they clinched the inaugural Royal League.

Their current coach Hans Backe's contract expires next year.

Solbakken was a midfielder for the Copenhagen side as recently as 2001, but was forced to end his playing career after heart failure during practice.

 
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Santos coach Gallo fired, Nelsinho takes over
 
By Brian Homewood

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Brazilian champions Santos fired coach Gallo on Tuesday and named Nelsinho as his replacement.

Nelsinho told reporters about the change at Sao Paulo airport earlier in the day after arriving from Japan where he had spent the last two-and-a-half years as coach of Nagoya Grampus.
 
The new coach said he agreed terms during a stop in Los Angeles the night before.

"I settled everything in Los Angeles, directly with Marcelo Teixeira, the president of Santos," Nelsinho said.