LONDON (AFP) - West Ham said Wednesday they have completed the signing of Switzerland international Valon Behrami from Italian Serie A outfit Lazio for five million pounds (seven million euros).
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) - Real Madrid's German coach Bern Schuster wants to sign Cameroonian international striker Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona, sports daily Mundo Deportivo reported Wednesday.
GUANGZHOU, China (AFP) - Michael Essien insisted Chelsea were the Premiership favourites after Manchester United's Alex Ferguson kicked off the pre-season mind games by casting doubt on their ageing squad.
DURBAN (AFP) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has challenged his young stars to build on their impressive displays during the club's tour of South Africa when they return to England.
MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - Bayern Munich's French star Franck Ribery has targeted a September return date for the German giants' Champions League campaign as he continues his rehabilitation from ankle surgery.
LONDON (AFP) - The future of Andrew Johnson at Everton appeared in doubt Wednesday after he missed a pre-season friendly at Preston amid reports the 26-year-old forward is poised to join Fulham.
GUANGZHOU, China (AFP) - Frank Lampard underlined his value to Chelsea with a spectacular long-range lob as the Luiz Felipe Scolari era got under way with a 4-0 romp against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Wednesday.
ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkey midfielder Emre Belozoglu finally inked a four-year deal with Fenerbahce, the Anatolia news agency on Wednesday quoted the Turkish club as saying, two months after English Premiership side Newcastle said he could leave.
MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi, who has been called on to represent his native Argentina at the Olympics, remained at a Barcelona pre-season training camp in Scotland on Tuesday with the approval of Argentina's Football Federation, a Barcelona spokesman said.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazil coach Dunga on Tuesday called up midfielder Ramires in place of injured striker Robinho for the Olympics.
WASHINGTON - D.C. United has announced that Tuesday's MLS match with the Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium has been postponed because of a power outage.
MILAN (Reuters) - Brazil forward Ronaldinho said he was mostly looking forward to teaming up again with compatriot Kaka as he was unveiled as an AC Milan player on Thursday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Columbus Crew officials are playing down a weekend incident that included punches and police, describing it as a brief "altercation."
VIENNA, Austria - Spain, European champion.
LONDON (Reuters) - You're a billionaire with a fortune built on soaring commodity prices and can buy anything your heart desires. So what's it to be?
VIENNA, Austria - A championship 44 years in the waiting is worth a special celebration. Spain made sure it didn't disappoint any of its fans Sunday night, both during its 1-0 victory over Germany to win the European Championship, and after it.
LISBON, Portugal - American soccer star Freddy Adu will move from Portugal's Benfica to play with Monaco next season in the French league.
VIENNA, Austria - Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday to beat Russia 3-0 and reach the European Championship final, giving the team a chance to shed its status as one of soccer's biggest underachievers.
SAN DIEGO - Leading scorer Abby Wambach was carted off the field on a stretcher with an apparent left leg injury in the first half of the U.S. women's match against Brazil on Wednesday night.
BASEL, Switzerland - Philipp Lahm ended Turkey's storybook run in the European Championship on Wednesday with a late goal in a 3-2 semifinal victory that kept Germany on target for a record fourth title.
NEWARK, N.J. - Former U.S. national team captain Claudio Reyna retired Wednesday, less than two seasons after returning from Europe to join Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.
MILAN, Italy - Ronaldinho transferred to AC Milan late Tuesday, leaving FC Barcelona after the club's new coach declared the team would plan for next season without the Brazilian playmaker.
BOSTON - When he was playing professional soccer in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck would seek comfort in the churches to satisfy his spiritual needs and remind him of childhood Sundays spent at Holy Trinity in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.
TORONTO - Los Angeles Galaxy stars David Beckham and Landon Donovan headlined the roster for the MLS All-Star Game, which will be played July 24 in Toronto against the English Premier League club West Ham United.
PARIS - Interpol says police across Asia arrested 1,300 people and seized more than $16 million in an operation to break up illegal football gambling networks.
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Luiz Felipe Scolari that he faces a battle to inspire his ageing Chelsea squad to repeat the feats they enjoyed under previous Stamford Bridge manager, Jose Mourinho.
DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Ben Foster will be rewarded with the England goalkeeper's jersey if he waits patiently for his chance at Manchester United.
VIENNA, Austria - Germany captain Michael Ballack passed a late fitness test Sunday and was in the starting lineup for the European Championship final against Spain.
VIENNA, Austria - Germany captain Michael Ballack missed his team's last practice Saturday because of a calf injury, putting him in doubt for Sunday's European Championship final against Spain.
GUANGZHOU, China (AFP) - Chelsea announced a fresh five-year deal for midfielder Michael Essien on Tuesday as the club's new era began to take shape.