UEFA Champions League - News

Jürgen Baumgartner in Munich
FC Bayern München have two fresh injury concerns as the new season approaches. David Alaba and Rafinha both picked up knocks during Bayern's 3-2 friendly loss to SSC Napoli on Friday night. Alaba, who injured his left foot, could be out for up to two months and may be forced to undergo surgery. Rafinha, meanwhile, tore a ligament in his right ankle and is expected to be out of action for four to five weeks.

Vassiliki Papantonopoulou in Athens
Kostas Katsouranis will remain at Panathinaikos FC for the new season after agreeing a new contract.

Greek champions Olympiacos FC, meanwhile, travel to Portugal on Monday for the second stage of their pre-season preparations without three first-team players. Ariel Ibagaza is nursing an injury to his right hamstring, Kevin Mirallas, who became a father for the first time on Friday, has a bruised left knee, while David Fuster is recovering from a pulled muscle in his left calf.

Berend Scholten in Diest
Feyenoord have confirmed the signing of Omar Elabdellaoui.  The 20-year-old, who can play as a central attacking midfielder or up front wide on the left and right, arrives in Rotterdam on a one-year loan deal from Manchester City FC. "We can make good use of Omar," said Feyenoord technical director Martin van Geel. "He is a very talented player who can play in various positions." Feyenoord face FC Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Elvir Islamović in Zagreb
Having drawn 1-1 in their second qualifying round opener against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad last week, GNK Dinamo Zagreb posted the same result in their first match of the new Croatian league season on Saturday. The domestic title holders, who will host their Bulgarian rivals on Wednesday, failed to see off NK Inter Zaprešić and thus missed out on a win in their opening fixture for the first time in ten years – HNK Cibalia having also held them to a 1-1 in July 2002.

Stefán Stefánsson in Reykjavik
Icelandic champions KR Reykjavík have brought English forward Gary Martin on board from domestic rivals ÍA Akranes, picking the 21-year-old up on a three-and-a-half-year deal. The Darlington-born striker notched 32 goals in 45 league appearances for ÍA and opened his account in his debut for KR on Saturday, scoring in a 1-1 draw with Stjarnan that kept his new side three points clear of their opponents at the top of the table. Martin is expected to start for KR in their second qualifying round return meeting with HJK Helsinki on Tuesday, when they will attempt to restore pride after a 7-0 first-leg defeat.  

In addition, KR captain Bjarni Gudjónsson has prolonged his stay with the club until the end of the 2014 season. The 33-year-old former ÍA midfielder joined the side in 2008 after stints abroad with the likes of Newcastle United FC, KRC Genk, Stoke City FC and Coventry City FC.  So far, he has contested 80 league matches for KR, hitting six goals.

Meanwhile, Emil Atlason is celebrating a landmark after the midfielder's appearance against HJK last week made him the fourth member of his family to contest a UEFA club competition game. His father Atli Edvaldsson faced Torino FC and MTK Budapest two decades ago, his brother Egill Atlason came up against Maltese side Birkirkara FC for KR in 2000/01, and his Icelandic international sister Sif Atladóttir has taken on a handful of European outfits.

Evgeni Polyakov in Riga
FC Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Szabolcs Huszti has agreed to return to his previous club, Hannover 96, in August. The Hungarian international will officially join the Bundesliga side on the first day of the new month. The Ferencvárosi TC academy graduate played for Hannover from 2006-09, and scored seven goals in 58 league games in three campaigns at Zenit, registering four times in 26 appearances as he claimed his second Russian title last season. Zenit will enter the UEFA Champions League in the group stage. Hannover will face NK Široki Brijeg or Saint Patrick's Athletic FC in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

Bogdan Buga in Kyiv
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy will join FC Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer in January after agreeing terms on a five-year deal. The former Ukrainian Under-21 international was second choice behind Jan Laštůvka at Dnipro last term and made just 16 appearances for the club in four years.

UEFA.com London newsdesk
Barcelona centre-back Marc Muniesa, who had been expected to step up from their youth ranks to the first team this season, will be out of action for up to six months after damaging knee ligaments. The 20-year-old sustained the injury during his side's's 2-1 pre-season friendly win at Hamburger SV on Tuesday, when highly rated youngster Gerard Deulofeu and Daniel Alves scored the goals. New Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova got off to a winning start in his first game in charge, despite missing many of his first-choice players, including Lionel Messi.

Paul-Daniel Zaharia in Bucharest
Ahead of their entry into the third qualifying round next week, SC Vaslui have confirmed the departure of top scorer and captain, Wesley. The 31-year-old Brazilian forward has been signed for Al-Hilal FC for €2m and is the fourth regular to leave the Romanian side this summer after defenders Paul Papp and Pavol Farkaš – both of whom have jonied AC Chievo Verona – and Adaílton, who has retired. Wesley scored 61 goals in 113 league matches for Vaslui, the most by a foreign player in Romania and was the league's top scorer last season.

Alex O'Henley in Glasgow
Celtic FC duo Kris Commons and Anthony Stokes are injury doubts ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League third round qualifying opener against HJK Helsinki. Midfielder Commons hobbled off with a twisted ankle close to the end of Saturday's 1-1 friendly draw with FC Internazionale Milano after opening the scoring, while striker Stokes left on a stretcher with the same complaint after blocking a clearance by Esteban Cambiasso.

"The next 24 hours will be important to see how they react," said Celtic manager Neil Lennon. "I think Kris would be a bigger doubt than Anthony at the minute. We will give them as long as possible to see if they can recover in time for Wednesday."

Christian Châtelet in Paris
Olympique Lyonnais have won the Trophée des Champions, the French Super Cup, for the seventh time in their history after defeating Montpellier Hérault SC 4-2 on penalties at the end of a 2-2 draw in New York. John Utaka broke the deadlock for Montpellier after 27 minutes before Bafétimbi Gomis equalised on the cusp of half-time, and although new signing Emanuel Herrera put the Ligue 1 champions ahead again shortly after the restart, Jimmy Briand's volley levelled matters again for Lyon on 77 minutes. The French Cup winners then applied plenty of late pressure, with Montpellier losing Marco Estrada to a red card with 11 minutes to go, before goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saved two spot kicks in the shoot-out and Briand buried the decisive strike. Montpellier will begin their debut UEFA Champions League bid in the group phase, while Lyon will enter the UEFA Europa League at the same stage.

John Leonidou from Nicosia
AEL Limassol FC coach Pambos Christodoulou faces arguably the toughest challenge in his career as he aims to guide the Cypriot club past FK Partizan in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. The 44-year-old suprised many by leading AEL to their first league title since 1968 last season but he expects a stern test against the Serbian champions.

"We have two games against Partizan which will be very tough, but what I can promise everybody is that we will give everything to try and qualify," he said. "Our aim this season is to go as far as we can both in the league and in Europe." APOEL FC made history last season by becoming the first Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals but the question remains as to whether Christodoulou's charges can repeat that feat.

John Leonidou from Nicosia
UEFA Champions League contenders AEL Limassol FC have signed Portuguese international striker Orlando Sá. The former SC Braga, FC Porto and Fulham FC man will link up with five other Portuguese players at the Limassol club.

An announcement by AEL on Monday afternoon confirmed that "24-year-old forward Orlando Sá has signed a three-year deal with our club." Sá is the Cypriot side's seventh summer signing following the acquisitions of Maykon, Paulo Sérgio, Christis Theophilou, Rui Miguel, Ebo Andoh and Michalis Konstantinou. Charalampos Christodoulou's team take on FK Partizan in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, with the first leg in Cyprus on Wednesday.
 

Berend Scholten in Diest
Group stage contenders AFC Ajax have strengthened with the signing of Tobias Sana from IFK Göteborg.

Sana, 23, arrives from the Swedish First Division for an undisclosed fee and signs a three-year contract with the Eredivisie title holders. The attacking winger, born to a Swedish mother, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of some of Ajax's most illustrious former players.

"[Patrick] Kluivert was a really exceptionally good player," he said. "I especially remember how he did everything with one touch. Since [Zlatan] Ibrahimović has played at Ajax every child in Sweden wants to play at there. So, when Ajax contacted me, I did not need to think too long. Just like Kluivert, Ibrahimović matured at Ajax and grew into a world star."

UEFA.com Italian newsdesk
AC Milan have announced that Dídac Vilà's proposed loan move to Valencia CF has been cancelled after the left-back failed a medical. "Due to a slight inflamation causing him groin pains, former Spanish Under-21 international Dídac Vilà will return to Milan," read a statement on the Italian club's website.

Steffen Potter in Frankfurt
FC Schalke 04 have been handed a boost ahead of their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with the news that goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall has signed a two-year contract extension until summer 2015. The 22-year-old made 21 Bundesliga appearances last term and played in five UEFA Europa League games.

UEFA.com Spanish newsdesk
FC Barcelona defender Éric Abidal is hoping to be back in action by the end of the end of 2012 having undergone a liver transplant in April. "I started working in the gym and I feel fine," said the French international. "I'm better than three months ago. I'm following the routine that the doctors have given me and I am well. I can travel and enjoy football."

Felix Röber in Munich
FC Bayern München have been dealt another injury blow with the news that Mario Gomez requires ankle surgery. Gomez picked up the problem during a friendly against SV Werder Bremen on Saturday and now joins David Alaba, Rafinha, Diego Contento and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the Bayern treatment room.

Paul-Daniel Zaharia from Bucharest
CFR 1907 Cluj have been dealt a blow after their Romanian international Ciprian Deac was ruled out for up to three months. Deac came on as a second-half substitute of the third qualifying round first leg against FC Slovan Liberec on Wednesday. However, the forward went down in the closing minutes of the contest and it has been confirmed he has ruptured the interior ligaments of his left knee. It would mean that CFR, who lead their Czech rivals 1-0 ahead of this week’s decider, would be without Deac for the majority of any potential group stage campaign.

Mikael Erävuori in Helsinki
HJK Helsinki have signed midfielder Sakari Mattila on loan from AC Bellinzona. Mattila, 23, made 42 appearances for the Swiss outfit following spells with Udinese Calcio and Ascoli Calcio 1898, but began his career at HJK, breaking into the first team in 2008. Mattila is ineligible for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg against Celtic FC.

FC Spartak Moskva midfielder Dmitri Kombarov had his say on being drawn against Fenerbahçe SK:
"Fenerbahçe are tough opponents, they are one of the leading clubs in Turkey and regulars in European competition. I expect interesting matches both in Moscow and in Istanbul. I don't want to make a prediction as we will see who is the better side but I hope Spartak win."

GNK Dinamo Zagreb coach Ante Čačić on being drawn against NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League play-offs. "We will play against a quality opponent that we know very well and we will have two interesting games. Their results, winning the double in Slovenia and getting to within a step of the group stage, are worth respecting."

Dinamo captain Milan Badelj added: "Maribor are a good team. They have raised their game of late and they have had some excellent results recently. But we have excellent players and a quality team and we want to play another season in the Champions League group stage. We will do our best to achieve that."

Málaga CF midfielder Duda gave his reaction after the competition debutants were handed a tricky tie with Panathinaikos FC. "I had no preferences as to who we played before the draw. In the Champions League there are no easy matches," he said. "Perhaps this is the most difficult draw for us because of the great atmosphere they create in Greece. We are feeling good, however, and are stronger and more united than ever.

"We know their coach [Jesualdo Ferreira] well. We will be focusing on the two games and nothing outside that. We're not that happy to play the first leg at home but that's the way it is and we must look to win that first leg, looking to settle the tie in front of our own fans. Winning 2-0 or 3-0 at home would mean we'd go there for the return leg feeling calm.

"Having said that, it's not going to be easy at all as we are facing a side with Champions League experience. Panathinaikos are a team everyone knows and are one of the strongest sides in Greece. It's going to be a great tie and one which we will hopefully win in order to get through."

LOSC Lille Métropole coach Rudi Garcia spoke with cautious optimism ahead of his side's play-off encounter with FC København. "In terms of travel, flight duration and weather conditions, it suits us," he said. "We know they are a quality side and they are used to playing in the Champions League. Their 1-1 with Barcelona in 2010 highlights the magnitude of the task."

Lille captain Rio Mavuba added: "We know what we have to achieve this season. We would have preferred to host the second leg but we will do our best to make the difference in the first."

The UEFA Champions League play-offs evoke humbling memories for Udinese Calcio after they were pipped to the post by Arsenal FC last year. The burden of regret only serves to motivate coach Francesco Guidolin, who is expecting an even sterner test against SC Braga this time round.

"Each of the five seeded teams were more or less equal in terms of strength. The play-offs are always difficult, and in my opinion, they will be even harder this time," said Guidolin. "Last year, we played against a big club in Arsenal. They were not at their best and I'm convinced we wasted a huge opportunity against them. This time, we need to be at our best to overcome Braga."

Forward Diego Fabbrini added: "It will be difficult but we are aware of that. We must learn from the mistakes we made last year because our fate is decided in just two games. We have ten days before we play Braga and we need to study them in order to be well prepared for the game."

FC Zenit St Petersburg defender Tomáš Hubočan has agreed a new contract that ties him to the Russian champions until 2016. Hubočan, who made the switch from MŠK Žilina in 2008, has featured 107 times for Luciano Spalletti's side, scoring once. Zenit will enter this season's UEFA Champions League at the group stage.

German champions Borussia Dortmund have been dealt a blow with the news that Sven Bender requires a hernia operation and is likely to be on the sidelines for up to four weeks. The 23-year-old midfielder faces a race against time to be fit for their UEFA Champions League group stage opener on 18/19 September.

FC Basel 1893 coach Heiko Vogel has issued a warning to his players and challenged them to raise their game against play-off opponents CFR Cluj. The side's shared a win apiece in the 2010 UEFA Champions League, yet Basel's favourable record against Romanian opponents gives Vogel grounds for optimism. 

"In Cluj, we meet an old acquaintance," he said. "They still have some of the players from our last encounter but they have been joined by a lot of new names. Given the quality they have, we should not underestimate our opponents. Over the past three years we have had a slight edge in our duels with Romanian teams. We expect Cluj to be stronger than Molde, which is why we need to raise our level of performance."

CFR 1907 Cluj coach Ioan Andone expects his side's play-off tie with FC Basel 1893 to be decided by the finest of margins although the Romanian champions can prosper from hosting the return leg. "There was nothing to choose between Basel and the other four possible opponents," he said. "Who we played was not important. Our performance counts first. I don't think there is much  between the sides. To play the second leg at home is a big advantage for us."

Celtic FC manager Neil Lennon declared himself "pleased" after drawing Helsingborgs IF in the play-off round, while Johan Mjällby’s in-house knowledge could prove an invaluable asset. "It didn't matter who we got, it was going to be a tough draw," he said. "But in terms of Helsingborgs we are pleased as we will have a good idea about them through people we know."

"Obviously Johan has a great background in Swedish football and the majority of the players will know about the way they play – their philosophy, their ideas. In terms of travel, it's not too bad. I would imagine it will be pretty similar climate-wise as it was in Helsinki. So if you throw all those ingredients in, it's a good draw.

"But no matter who we got it would have been very tough. What we have to do is temper our expectations and not get carried away with what we've achieved so far. The remit was to get past Helsinki. Now we have given ourselves a chance and the tie for me is 50/50."

RSC Anderlecht coach John van den Brom admitted he will be scrolling the internet in an attempt to get to grips with play-off opponents AEL Limassol FC. Far from complacent, Van den Brom was quick to point out Cyprus' meteoric rise on the European stage. "This is not a club from a small footballing country anymore," he said. "You just have to look at APOEL, who reached the quarter-finals last season. These days you can find anything on the internet so we have everything we need on our opponents."

UEFA.com Russian newsdesk
FC Spartak Moskva have suffered a blow with the news that left-back Soslan Gatagov will be sidelined for at least six months.  A scan on Sunday confirmed that the 20-year-old ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Saturday's 5-0 league defeat by FC Zenit St Petersburg, his first appearance of the season. The former FC Lokomotiv Moskva trainee will undergo surgery in the coming days. Spartak host Fenerbahçe SK in the first leg of their play-off tie on 21 August, with the return taking place in Istanbul eight days later.

UEFA.com Russian newsdesk
FC BATE Borisov have bolstered their squad ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off tie against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona FC with the loan signing of Mikhail Sivakov from Belgian side SV Zulte Waregem.

The 24-year-old midfielder, who captained Belarus to the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals, scored four goals in 36 top-flight appearances during his first spell at BATE from 2005 to 2008. "I'm happy to return to my native club who gave me a career in football and helped me move to Italy," said former Cagliari Calcio man. "During my years abroad I followed BATE's performances closely and kept in touch with players and coaches."

UEFA.com French newsdesk
LOSC Lille Métropole coach Rudi Garcia was delighted after his team's first training session at Le Grand Stade, the 50,000-seat arena which hosts its first game this weekend as AS Nancy-Lorraine visit. After eight seasons at Stadium Lille-Métropole, there will be a full house at the €300m venue. "It's a great stadium," Garcia said. "We can't wait to see it red with our fans.

"The pitch is new, but I wasn't worried as it was prepared by the people who take care of Luchin [Lille's training facility]. Strangely, we already feel at home although it feels more like we're preparing for a European away game. We have been here several times, though, to soak up the place a bit." Lille take on will host FC København in the play-offs with the first leg in Denmark on Tuesday.

UEFA.com German newsdesk
Full-back Atsuto Uchida has extended his contract at FC Schalke 04 for two years, until summer 2015. The 24-year-old arrived from J-League outfit Kashima Antlers in summer 2010 and has played 44 Bundesliga games since, as well as 19 matches in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

"Atsuto Uchida is sparkling with the joy of playing on the pitch," said the Royal Blues' general manager Horst Heldt. "We are very happy about this extension, because he is a very reliable player who identifies completely with FC Schalke 04." Having finished third last season, Schalke start their UEFA Champions League campaign in the group stage.

Vassiliki Papantonopoulou in Athens
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos will miss the first leg of Panathinaikos FC's play-off tie against Málaga CF on Wednesday. The attacking midfielder sprained his right ankle during training on Friday morning and is expected to be sidelined for six days, thus ruling him out of the game at La Rosaleda. Christodoulopoulos, 25, scored free-kicks in both third qualifying round matches against Motherwell FC.

UEFA.com London newsdesk
Rio Ferdinand is likely to miss the first three to four weeks of Manchester United FC's season after suffering a leg injury in training at the weekend. With Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans already on the sidelines, Sir Alex Ferguson may have to partner Nemanja Vidić with Michael Carrick at centre-back away to Everton FC this evening. United kick off their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign on 18/19 September.

Sujay Dutt in Stockholm
Preparing for their UEFA Champions League play-off first leg against Celtic FC on Tuesday, Helsingborgs IF have announced the signing of Nikola Djurdić from Norway's FK Haugesund. The forward, 26, joined Haugesund in 2009 from FK Voždovac and has scored 12 goals in 18 Eliteserien appearances this season. "We think Nikola can come in and deliver straight away," said Helsingborg sports director Jesper Jansson.

AS Roma have announced the signing of Brazilian defender Marquinhos on a season-long loan from SC Corinthians Paulista for a fee of around €1.5m. The 18-year-old, capped 15 times at Under-17 level, will make his transfer permanent by playing at least 45 minutes of eight competitive games. The capital club will then be obliged to pay a further €3m to complete the deal.

Manchester United FC have continued their busy summer by handing England striker Danny Welbeck a new four-year contract running until June 2016. The 21-year-old made a breakthrough for club and country last season and started ahead of new signing Robin van Persie in Sunday's opening 1-0 Premier League loss to Everton FC.

Welbeck told United's official website: “Playing for United is all I’ve ever wanted to do – it's the club I've supported all my life. I can't wait for the challenge of the new season to play my part in helping the team compete for trophies. I'm learning all the time from the best manager in the game and I'm keen for that to continue alongside the world class players in the squad."

Paolo Menicucci in Milan
AC Milan have suffered a blow with the news that forward Alexandre Pato has sustained a thigh injury in training today. "In the next few days he will undergo further tests to determine the extent of his injury", read a club statement. A long series of muscular problems limited the 22-year-old to just eleven appearances in Serie A last term. The Brazilian international now faces a race against time to be fit for Milan's season opener against UC Sampdoria on Sunday. 

SL Benfica forward Rodrigo has put pen to paper on a new four-year contract, tying him to the Portuguese side until June 2019. "There are many quality players in the squad and I hope and believe this season will be a great one for us," said the 21-year-old Brazilian-born forward. Benfica, who opened their league campaign with a 2-2 draw against SC Baga on Saturday, enter the UEFA Champions League at the group stage. 

Celtic FC will be without key midfielders Beram Kayal and Joe Ledley for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League play-off second leg against Helsingborgs IF.

Israel international Kayal has an ankle injury and is likely to be out for up to a month while Ledley has a groin injury that will keep him on the sidelines for up to a fortnight. Celtic manager Neil Lennon said: "Joe has been one of the best signings since I came to the club and so consistent – he is a big loss to us. Beram is a little bit of a worry because it is his other ankle which is giving him bother."

Celtic, who today sold midfielder Ki Sung-Yong to Swansea City AFC, lead Helsingborg 2-0 from Tuesday's first leg in Sweden as they bid to return to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years.

UEFA.com newsdesk
Sir Alex Ferguson expects to bew without Wayne Rooney for the start of the UEFA Champions League group stage after the Manchester United FC striker suffered a gash to his thigh in their 3-2 win against Fulham FC on Saturday. "Wayne Rooney's been whisked off to hospital immediately and it looks a bad one," the manager said after the game. "I think he could be out for four weeks with a bad gash."

FC Basel 1893 will be without attacker Mohamed Salah for the away leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off against CFR 1907 Cluj on Wednesday. The Egyptian international, who has scored once in three league appearances this term, pulled a thigh muscle during Saturday's 2-1 Swiss Super League defeat at FC St Gallen.

There is better news for Basel, however, in that Marco Streller, Philipp Degen and Gaston Sauro – all sidelined of late – will be back in the squad for the match in Romania where Basel must overhaul a 2-1 first-leg defeat.

NK Maribor have received a boost ahead of their UEFA Champions League play-off second leg against GNK Dinamo Zagreb with the news that striker Tavares has committed his future to the club. The 28-year-old Brazilian, who has scored 58 goals in 149 league games since joining the Slovenian side in 2008, has signed a new five-year-contract. Maribor will have home advantage when they seek to overcome a 2-1 deficit on Tuesday evening.

Paul-Daniel Zaharia in Bucharest
CFR 1907 Cluj have suffered a double injury blow ahead of their UEFA Champions League play-off second leg against FC Basel 1893 on Wednesday. Forward Ronny has ruptured knee ligaments and will be sidelined for eight months, while midfielder Adam Vass has fractured a metatarsal and faces a two-month lay-off. Both injuries occurred during Cluj's 3-2 Romanian First Division defeat at FC Rapid Bucureşti on Saturday. Brazilian Ronny had come on as a second-half substitute as Cluj earned a 2-1 first-leg win over Basel in Switzerland last week; Hungarian international Vass stayed on the bench.

John Leonidou in Nicosia
Hundreds of AEL Limasssol FC fans flooded the Grand-Place with blue and yellow on Monday night ahead of their decider against RSC Anderlecht. AEL fans are renowed in Cyprus for their love of local beer KEO, and they were happy to sample some of the Belgian brews in the famous square in Brussels. Club officials say an estimated 1,000 away supporters will be at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium for tonight's second leg.

UEFA.com Italian newsdesk
AC Milan have bolstered their options up front after signing 17-year-old M'Baye Niang from Ligue 2 side SM Caen. The France Under-21 striker arrived in Milan on Sunday night and penned a three-year deal with the Rossoneri today. No other details of the transfer have been revealed, though it is thought to involve a fee in the region of €2.5m. Massimiliano Allegri's team started their Serie A campaign with a home loss against UC Sampdoria on Sunday.

John Leonidou in Nicosia
Nicky Papavasiliou, goalscorer in the last Cypriot side to visit RSC Anderlecht's Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, says all of Cyprus will be behind AEL Limassol FC's bid to reach the group stages of the competition.

Papavasiliou's late diving header was only consolation as Anorthosis Famagusta FC lost 4-2 to the Belgians in the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, but the former Newcastle United FC and OFI Crete FC midfielder, who now coaches Enosis Neon Paralimni FC, thinks AEL stand more of a chance.

"AEL showed in the first game that they can get something out of this tie," he told a local radio station. "They need to avoid conceding an early goal but that won't be easy at Anderlecht's ground and against such a massive club. All of Cyprus will be by AEL’s side tonight!"

UEFA.com Italian newsdesk
Italian champions Juventus have secured the services of 30-year-old goalkeeper Rubinho, who was a free agent after leaving US Città di Palermo. The former Genoa CFC, AS Livorno Calcio and Torino FC man has signed a one-year contract with La Vecchia Signora and will act as a back-up for Gianluigi Buffon and Marco Storari.

Elvir Islamović in Zagreb
Chile midfielder Bryan Carrasco has joined GNK Dinamo Zagreb on loan from Audax Italiano, with the 21-year-old winger, who can also play as a right-back, to stay in Croatia until the end of the season, with Dinamo having the option of signing him in the summer. "I am very happy to be coming here here,” said the three-times capped Carrasco. "I don't know much about Croatia, but I have heard about Dinamo. The club have been playing in the Champions League for two years in a row now, so it's obvious that I have come to a big club."

"Carrasco is the player that we were looking for," said Dinamo sporting director Zoran Mamić. "He is a fast, strong winger and will be an important name in our team."

Dinamo have also signed young midfielder Marcel Brozović from city rivals NK Lokomotiva on a seven-year deal. The 19-year-old will replace captain Milan Badelj, who has left for for Hamburger SV. "This is a big club," the teenager said. "It will not be easy to win a place in the first XI but I will give my best at every training session, and hope I will get a chance."

Berend Scholten in Diest
UEFA Champions League hopefuls RSC Anderlecht have signed defenders Bram Nuytinck and Chancel Mbemba.

Nuytinck, 22, arrives from NEC Nijmegen for an undisclosed fee and has penned a four-year deal with the Belgian champions. "I am very happy with the move to tradition club RSC Anderlecht," said the Dutch Under-21 captain. "It is a new step in my career that I need. I feel a lot of faith in me and besides that I will be able to play Champions League Football."
 
Congolese international Mbemba, 18, has signed a three-year contract after impressing during pre-season. "Chancel is a young defender with a lot of potential," Anderlecht general manager Herman Van Holsbeeck. "He deserved a contract because of his performance during the season preparation. Chancel is a guy for the future."

UEFA.com Spanish Newsdesk
Málaga CF have paraded forward Roque Santa Cruz as their latest signing, the Paraguayan joining on a one-year loan from Manchester City FC. A former UEFA Champions League winner and five-time Bundesliga winner with FC Bayern München, the 31-year-old moved to England and Blackburn Rovers FC in 2007, joining City two years later. He spent last season on loan at another Spanish club, Real Betis Balompié, scoring seven goals in 33 Liga appearances.

A scorer of 25 goals in 90 internationals with Paraguay, Santa Cruz joins fellow recent signings Javier Saviola and Manuel Iturra at Los Boquerones and will provide an important striking outlet to Manuel Pellegrini's side after the departures of strikers José Rondón and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Alex O'Henley in Glasgow
Celtic FC have added to their squad ahead of their UEFA Champions League campaign by signing Nigeria defender Efe Ambrose. The 23-year-old, capped 14 times for his country, has signed a three-year deal with the Glasgow club subject to international clearance after joining from Israeli side FC Ashod.

"It has been a long day but it has been worth it," said Ambrose. "Today is one of the happiest days of my life, signing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, a club I have known about since I was young. I have come here to find we are in the same group as Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow. It’s a lovely group, you might call it the group of death and it will be hard, but hard work always pays. I am just looking forward to meeting my team-mates now, there is no better place for me than Scotland."

UEFA.com Russian Newsdesk
José Manuel Jurado has agreed to join FC Spartak Moskva from FC Schalke 04, subject to a medical, after the two clubs agreed a loan until the end of the season. The 26-year-old Spaniard, who can operate across midfield in an attacking role, was a key part of the Schalke side that reached the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, his first in Germany after spells with Real Madrid CF, Club Atlético de Madrid and RCD Mallorca in his homeland. A German Cup winner with Schalke in the same 2010/11 campaign, Jurado made only ten Bundesliga starts last season.

UEFA.com French Newsdesk
LOSC Lille have signed striker Ryan Mendes on a four-year contract from Le Havre AC, paying the Ligue 2 side a reported €3.5m fee. The 22-year-old Cape Verde forward scored 13 goals in the French second division last season.

Alex O'Henley, Glasgow
Celtic FC have made their second and third signings of the evening, securing the services of Getafe CF forward Nicolás Fedor, also known as Miku, on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy. The 27-year-old Venezuelan international made 87 league appearances for Getafe, whom he joined from Valencia CF in January 2010, scoring 24 goals.

The Scottish champions have also signed goalkeeper Luboš Kaminár from FC Nantes, again on a season-long loan with the option to buy.

SL Benfica beat the transfer deadline with the addition of Brazilian forward Lima from fellow UEFA Champions League contenders SC Braga. The 29-year-old has moved for an undisclosed fee. Lima’s switch on a four-year contract was only confirmed this Saturday by both Benfica and the Portuguese Professional League.

UEFA.com German newsdesk
FC Schalke 04 defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos has agreed to sign a one-year contract extension which will keep him at the Bundesliga outfit until June 2016. "I am happy to continue playing for Schalke," said the 20-year-old. "I have made the right decision." The Greece international will put pen to paper after his country's FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lativa and Lithuania.

UEFA.com London newsdesk
Manchester United FC have confirmed the signing of Ángelo Henríquez from Club Universidad de Chile for an undisclosed fee. The 18-year-old forward is relishing the prospect of playing at Old Trafford under manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "I am thrilled to be joining the biggest club in the world," he said. "Manchester United is a great team and has a great manager. To be able to be part of that is a huge honour and I can't wait to get started. I hope I can be part of many successful years with United."

Sir Alex added: "Angelo has made a tremendous impact on the game in his short career so far. His pace is a great asset and he reads the game really well for someone of such a young age. We have a proud record of developing young talent and Ángelo fits the profile of a United player – skilful, attacking and someone who plays the game with real flair."

Alex O'Henley in Glasgow
New Celtic FC signing Efe Ambrose is looking forward to renewing acquaintances with FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi in UEFA Champions League Group G. The Nigeria defender joined Celtic from Israeli club FC Ashdod on transfer deadline day, and has already played against the Argentinian maestro on two occasions.

"Lionel Messi is not a stranger to me because I was in Nigeria's Under-23 team that played in the final against Argentina in the 2008 Olympics," said Ambrose. "I also played against him in our friendly match in Bangladesh last year, so he won't pose many problems to me because I will do my best to mark him out. I want to prove to Celtic that they can rely on me and the only way I can do so is to play well for the team and help them achieve both league and European competition success."

Alex O'Henley in Glasgow
Celtic FC striker Tony Watt has been named the Scottish Premier League's young player of the month for August. The 18-year-old scored twice on his first start for the club as Celtic won 4-2 at Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC on 25 August. Watt also came off the bench in both legs of the UEFA Champions League play-off victory against Helsingborgs IF and scored two goals for Scotland Under-21s against Luxembourg and Austria.

"You want to play at the highest level you can and I'm doing that as much as possible right now," said Watt. "Obviously I've been handed a few chances by the manager. It's been good to get minutes on the pitch, especially at first team level and getting the opportunity to play for the Under-21s. I'm 18 and playing for the Under-21 team, I could not ask for a better start to the season."

Vassiliki Papantonopoulou in Athens
Olympiacos FC announced on Thursday that David Fuster and Djamel Abdoun have both signed contract extensions, binding them to the club until summer 2015. Spanish attacking midfielder Fuster came to Piraeus from Villarreal CF two years ago and has scored 16 goals in 53 league games so far. As for Algerian winger Abdoun, signed in August 2011, he has scored twice in 22 Greek league matches.

On the injury front, Giannis Maniatis is expected to recover in time for Tuesday's group stage opener against FC Schalke 04. The 25-year old defensive midfielder picked up a right calf injury during Greece's 2-0 victory over Lithuania on Tuesday and has been undergoing intensive treatment ever since.

Peter Bruun in Denmark
FC Nordsjælland have extended the contract of Ghanaian midfielder Enock  Adu by another three years. "I am happy to play for Nordsjælland," Adu said. "We have a lot of exciting games ahead of us, and I look forward to being a part of it all." The 22-year-old joined Nordsjælland from OGC Nice in summer 2010.

Paul-Daniel Zaharia in Bucharest
The start of the UEFA Champions League group stage is looming, but CFR 1907 Cluj coach Ioan Andone has told his players that they can ill afford to ignore their domestic commitments, as they meet FC Dinamo Bucureşti in the league tonight. "A defeat would be a disaster," he said. "Our main target is to become champions again. And I am making it clear to all players: whoever does not play well today will not play in the Champions League."

During the international break, CFR kept themselves busy with two friendly games against lower league sides: they beat second-tier ACS Poli Timișoara 4-0 (Nicoară 20, Nuno Diogo 51, Hora 55, Kapetanos 77) and won 3-2 against third-division FC Hunedoara (Hora 59, Godemeche 70 90p), after the visitors had led 2-0 at half-time.

UEFA.com Portuguese newsdesk
Paraguayan Lorenzo Melgarejo has extended his contract with SL Benfica for one more year, until 30 June 2018. Originally a winger but deployed as left-back in Jorge Jesus's team, the 22-year-old has started in all three of Benfica's Liga matches this season, scoring an own goal on the opening day of the campaign in a 2-2 draw at home against SC Braga. He has now a €30m release clause in his contract.

Dmitri Rogovitsky in Moscow
FC Spartak Moskva have been hit by injuries to José Manuel Jurado and Romulo in Sunday's 3-1 Russian Premier League win against FC Rostov. Spanish midfielder Jurado was substituted in the 40th minute, while his Brazilian team-mate had to leave the pitch towards the end. "We need to wait on the medical test results, but our doctors have already said that Romulo has a problem with his knee and this injury is not good," commented Spartak coach Unai Emery. "Jurado has a muscle injury and he is sidelined for three weeks." Both players will miss Spartak's matchday two meeting with Celtic FC on 2 October.

Dmitri Rogovitsky in Moscow
FC Spartak Moskva have confirmed that Romulo will miss the UEFA Champions League group stage after being ruled out for at least six months with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee. The Brazilian will have surgery in Germany while his team-mates prepare for their next Group G game at home to Celtic FC on 2 October.

Berend Scholten:
AFC Ajax have suffered an injury blow with the news that South African international midfielder Thulani Serero will be out for the rest of the year after tearing his groin in Sunday's 1-1 draw at ADO Den Haag. The 22-year-old has scored three goals in four Eredivisie appearances this term but will have to watch from the sidelines as his team-mates seek qualification from Group D. Frank de Boer's charges will look to bounce back from defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in their opening game when they take on Real Madrid CF on 3 October.

Olympiacos recorded their fourth league victory in as many matches (4-1 over Panthrakikos FC in Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday), but saw their captain Vassilis Torossidis limp off the pitch on the 59th minute. According to the medical staff of the club, the 27-year old right-back suffered a hamstring injury and will be sidelined for a fortnight – meaning that he is expected to miss the encounter against Arsenal FC in London on 3 October.

UEFA.com German newsdesk:
Kyriakos Papadopoulos has extended his contract at FC Schalke 04 for one more year until June 2016. The Greek international came to an agreement with sporting director Horst Heldt a few weeks ago, now both parties have signed the new contract.

"I feel very comfortable at Schalke and I am very happy to play for this club for a long time," Papadopoulos said. The 20-year-old centre-back joined in 2010 from Olympiacos FC and reached the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League and won the German Cup in his first season. Schalke win 2-1 away to Olympiacos last week and in their next Group B game welcone Montpellier Hérault SC on Wednesday.

Christian Châtelet in Paris: 
LOSC could be without captain Rio Mavuba for their UEFA Champions League Group F encounter with Valencia on Tuesday after the midfielder sustained a knee injury in Les Dogues' 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat by Stade Rennais FC on Friday. Mavuba limped off after 53 minutes and scans have revealed a damaged meniscus. "I heard it crack and then I was unable to run," he said.