Kuban take chance on Chovanec

FC Kuban Krasnodar

VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand has decided not to sign a new contract at the club and will leave on a free transfer in the summer after a decade with the team. The 25-year-old German international has been in negotiations with Stuttgart for some time but has turned down their final offer. Coach Matthias Sammer said: "Things like this happen all the time in football. We can all deal with the situation." Hildebrand has been linked with a move to England.

Levante UD left-back Ian Harte faces six weeks on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a groin injury. The 27-year-old Irish international returned to Britain on Friday to have the operation which doctors have declared a success. Brighter news for the Primera División outfit is that reserve left-back Luis Manuel Rubiales has recovered from a thigh muscle tear and is available again after four weeks out.

Serbia and Montenegro's Under-17 coach Tomislav Sivic has been named as the new man in charge of top-flight side FK Smederevo, having resigned his post with the national team set-up. "I want to work on a daily basis and this is only possible at a club," said Sivic. "Smederevo are a well-run club but at the moment they are in a crisis. My job is to try and change that."

Estonian side FC TVMK Tallinn are seeking a work permit for ex-FC Zenit St. Peterburg coach Vyacheslav Bulavin. The club want the Russian trainer to form a coaching team with their former boss Sergei Ratnikov. Estonian club licensing laws prevent Bulavin from working as head coach as he does not have the required UEFA coaching certificate.