To bolster their midfield, weakened by the flight of Ivory Coast's Pierre Douhou to Pune FC, Mumbai glamour outfit Mahindra United signed up Serbian Svetozar Mijin from Romania's top division Club FC Politehnica Iasi for the upcoming football season.
Elano's nagging ankle injury has ruled him out of Brazil's quarter-final with Netherlands, prompting him to criticise World Cup referees for not clamping down on violent play.
Brazil and Portugal fought themselves into a stalemate on Friday but the 0-0 draw was enough for both teams to go through comfortably into the second round of the World Cup.
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz questioned FIFA's decision to let Didier Drogba play for Ivory Coast on Tuesday wearing a cast on his broken arm while others are kept off the pitch for wearing string bracelets.
Striker Didier Drogba has apologised for his behaviour following Chelsea's dramatic Champions League exit against Barcelona on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday, beating Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Ghana's Michael Essien for the 2009 award.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been banned for three matches for throwing a coin towards Burnley supporters during his club's shock League Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge last week. The 30-year-old Ivory Coast international will serve the ban with immediate effect, ruling him out of the Premier League matches against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers.
An injury time goal from Lukas Podolski rescued a 2-2 friendly draw for Germany against Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the home team's first game since last week's suicide of keeper Robert Enke.
Didier Drogba scored twice on his return from a three-match European suspension as Chelsea drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid to seal their place in the knockout round of the Champions League on Tuesday. They were joined in the last 16 by Manchester United, Porto and Girondins Bordeaux, although four-time European champions Bayern Munich are on the brink of elimination after losing at home to the French champions.
With the Premier League season kicking off on Saturday we look at the prospects of the 20 top-flight clubs.
Manchester City returned to English Premier League rivals Arsenal on Wednesday to sign Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure for an undisclosed sum. Toure, 28, whose team mate Emmanuel Adebayor joined City earlier this month, has signed a four-year deal with Mark Hughes' side, the club said on their website.
Images of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto'o are still festooned on posters all over South Africa -- but sadly for them that's their only involvement as the World Cup reaches its final stages.
Frank Lampard struck four goals as Chelsea rebounded from their FA Cup reverse at Barnsley at the weekend to defeat Derby 6-1 in EPL.
Just as he seemed to be returning to something near his peak, Kaka will have to endure the frustration of missing Brazil's final group game against Portugal as he serves a one-match suspension for his sending-off against Ivory Coast.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally ended his dry spell for Portugal with a quasi-comical goal, but the real drivers behind Portugal's sumptuous 7-0 rout of North Korea on Monday were midfielders Raul Meireles and Tiago.
Luis Fabiano's second goal against Ivory Coast at the World Cup was not with the Hand of God as the Brazilian claimed, Diego Maradona said on Monday.
Brazil coach Dunga faces his former mentor Sven-Goran Eriksson on the touchline when the five-times world champions meet Ivory Coast in a mouthwatering World Cup Group G clash at Soccer City on Sunday.
Portugal midfielder Deco has apologised for questioning coach Carlos Queiroz's tactics in their opening draw with the Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will decide if he has recovered sufficiently from a fractured elbow to play against Portugal in their World Cup Group G opener on Tuesday, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Egypt ended Ivorian dreams with a 4-1 win in Kumasi while hosts Ghana suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to Cameroon.
Mali striker Frederic Kanoute won the 2007 African Footballer of the Year award on Friday.
Didier Drogba struck late to clinch a 2-1 victory for Chelsea over Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday. The Ivory Coast striker pounced on Frank Lampard's lofted pass with six minutes remaining to give Chelsea their first FA Cup success over Arsenal since 1947.
At least 19 people were killed in a stadium crush during a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi in Abidjan on Sunday. A rush by spectators led to the collapse of a wall, medical officials said. Police then fired tear gas to clear the crowd, causing a stampede which also left many people seriously injured.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been handed a two-match European ban after being sent off in the Champions League defeat by Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been handed a two-match European ban after being sent off in the Champions League defeat by Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday. Drogba was shown a red card after clashing with midfielder Thiago Motta in the last-16 second-leg game on March 16, which Inter won 1-0 to go through 3-1 on aggregate.
Salomon Kalou's second-half double against Middlesbrough moved Chelsea up to second in the English Premier League on Wednesday after Liverpool stuttered again by conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at Wigan Athletic. Liverpool wasted the chance to go level on points with leaders Manchester United after on-loan Egyptian striker Mido converted an 83rd-minute penalty on his debut to earn Wigan a point at the JJB Stadium.
First-half goals from Didier Drogba earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, securing them a return to the top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester United.
An Indian sailor, who was taken hostage by pirates nearly a month-and-a-half ago, has been "rescued", External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.
Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder was granted dual nationality by Spain.
Barcelona's Brazil forward Ronaldinho was granted dual nationality by Spain on Monday, the Primera Liga club said.
Depleted Ghana beat Burkina Faso 1-0 on Tuesday to advance to the African Nations Cup quarter-finals.
World Cup-bound teams continued their miserable start to the African Nations Cup on Wednesday with Cameroon suffering an embarrassing 1-0 defeat by neighbours Gabon in their Group D opener.
Olympique Lyon failed to capitalise on a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and missed a chance to narrow the gap with Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux when they slumped to a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Lille on Sunday.
The 2010 football World Cup draw pits Brazil with Portugal, Ivory Coast and N Korea in the same group.
France leapfrogging Brazil and Argentina to take second spot, while world champions Italy held onto first.
Spain have a very good chance of winning their first World Cup in South Africa next year but it might just be England's turn and Ivory Coast are potential dark horses, midfielder Xavi said.
Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Olympique Lyon stayed on course for a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title by winning 2-1 at mid-table Valenciennes on Sunday.
Manchester City is ready to make a 15 million pound swoop for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. City boss Mark Hughes made a firm inquiry about the Ivory Coast striker in January and, although he was knocked back, the Londoners admitted a summer move is a possibility.