Wiese woe for Kaiserslautern

1. FC Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Tim Wiese is out for six months after suffering cruciate damage to his right knee. The former Germany Under-21 player picked up the injury in the struggling Bundesliga club's 3-0 win against SC Freiburg. "It is a huge blow for us," said coach Kurt Jara. "All we can do now is wish Tim a speedy recovery. Hopefully he will be back soon."

Cypriot champions and league leaders APOEL FC have signed Colombian striker Hamilton Ricard. The 30-year-old forward, who won eight international caps and whose previous clubs include Middlesbrough FC and PFC CSKA Sofia, was delighted with the move, telling uefa.com: "I like the club because they have set goals like the title and [UEFA] Champions League group stage, which is what I want. They also have some talented players and I am proud to be part of the team."

Elsewhere in Cyprus, struggling sides Ethnikos Achnas FCand AEK Larnaca FC have both opted to change their coaches. Serbian coach Slobodan Vucekovic parted company with Achnas following a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of AEP Paphos FC, while Andreas Mouskallis stepped down from cup holders AEK after a string of bad results despite guiding the club to their first ever trophy last season.

Former Swedish international defender Kléber Saarenpää, who has been with Danish Superleague club Aalborg BK for the past four years, has announced his retirement after a number of injury problems. The 29-year-old, who won eleven caps, said: "My career at the top level is over; my many injuries have broken me. I have decided not to be bitter, but instead to be happy for what I experienced during my time on the pitch."

Former German international Thomas Strunz has been appointed VfL Wolfsburg's new general manager, filling the postion vacated by Peter Pander in August. Strunz has agreed a three-year deal and will take up the role in January. "Thomas Strunz fulfils all our demands," said chairman Lothar Sander. "He knows his way around football and is a very good businessman. Our team is now complete again and we are looking forward to working with him."