D'Onofrio signs on with Standard

Coach confirmed
D'Onofrio has put pen to paper on a one-year contract with the option of a second term in 2004/05. Previously assistant to Michel Preud'homme and Robert Waseige, he took over as coach following the latter's sacking in September.

Double act
Standard have also signed Guinean international striker Sambegou Bangoura and his Congolese strike partner Papy Kimoto from Sporting Lokeren St-Niklaas Waaslan. The duo will arrive in the summer. Bangoura, 21, has agreed a four-year contract, while the 26-year-old Kimoto will join for an initial 12 months. Bangoura is third in the Belgian First Division's scoring charts with 16 goals.

New deals
Another who has committed himself to the Liège club is captain and defender Ivica Dragutinovic. The 27-year-old Yugoslavian international has signed a contract extension keeping him at the Sclessin stadium until 2006. Portuguese midfield player Almani Moreira has also agreed improved terms with a new three-year deal.

On the rise
A traditional force in Belgian football, Standard won the last of eight league titles in 1983 and have not won the cup since 1993. They had been linked with the 1. FC Kaiserslautern coach Eric Gerets but instead handed a vote of confidence to D'Onofrio, who has taken the team to seventh place in the table.