Vaduz promotion bid denied
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Article summary
News round-up: Liechtenstein club FC Vaduz have again been thwarted in their bid to reach the Swiss top flight.
Article body
FC Vaduz
Turkish Superleague club Kayserispor have secured the services of Bulgaria goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov on a three-year deal. The 29-year-old PFC Levski Sofia captain, who has 34 international caps, moves to Turkey for an undisclosed fee. Since retaining their top-flight status, Kayserispor have also strengthened their squad by signing midfielder Aleksandar Aleksandrov from relegated Istanbulspor AS.
Victor Nosov is the new coach of FC Vorskla Poltava in Ukraine, replacing the departed Vladimir Muntyan. Nosov will lead Vorskla in the 2005/06 championship which starts on 12 July, although the current campaign only finishes today. The 64-year-old Nosov is not new to Vorskla, having coached the reserve team in 2003/04 although he most recently worked with the youth academy at FC Shakhtar Donetsk - the club he took charge of in the 1970s and 80s.
Striker Graham Weir has signed a new one-year contract with Heart of Midlothian FC. The 20-year-old feared he would have to leave the Scottish side after being told by former manager John Robertson that he had no future at the club, but caretaker manager John McGlynn has persuaded the board to offer Weir a new deal.
AJ Auxerre striker Arnaud Gonzalez has signed a three-year contract at Ligue 2 side EA Guingamp. The 27-year-old Auxerre academy graduate failed to win a regular place at the Abbé Deschamps last season, playing ten league games and scoring just once.
Also in France, promoted AS Nancy-Lorraine have recruited 25-year-old Moroccan international midfielder Youssouf Hadji and 26-year-old defender Pascal Chimbonda from one of the teams they will replace in Ligue 1, relegated SC Bastia. The Corsican club have also sold Algerian international defender Anther Yahia, 23, to OGC Nice. Yahia has signed a four-year contract.
Olympique Lyonnais centre-back Romain Sartre has been loaned to second division SC Sedan-Ardennes for the coming campaign. The 22-year-old also spent last season in Ligue 2 with Stade Lavallois MFC.
Finally, after 15 years as sporting director of AS Monaco FC, Henri Biancheri has joined Olympique de Marseille to take charge of their scouting department. At Monaco, Biancheri unearthed such talents as David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry and George Weah.
