Maldini reveals retirement plan

AC Milan

President Franco Carraro says the Italian Football Federation is ready to offer Italy coach Marcello Lippi a new contract in the wake of the Azzurri's FIFA World Cup qualification and subsequent 3-1 win in the Netherlands on Saturday. "We're very satisfied with the job Lippi's done so far and are very keen to extend his contract as soon as possible," said Carraro. Lippi's contract is due to expire after the World Cup in Germany.

Former Finland coach Antti Muurinen will return to football in 2006 as coach of Finnish Veikkausliiga side FC Lahti. Muurinen, who was fired from the national team in the summer after five years and 73 matches, previously coached the club in their former guise, FC Kuusysi, between 1988 and 1993, winning two championships. "It's nice to return to Lahti," he said today. "It doesn't feel like 12 years since I left." The man Muurinen will replace, Harri Kampman, is to take charge of AC Oulu in the first division.

German Bundesliga clubs BV Borussia Dortmund and Hannover 96 have lost key players for the remainder of the season. Dortmund midfielder Lars Ricken and Hannover defender Sören Halfar have both torn cruciate knee ligaments, with the 29-year-old former German international Ricken injuring his right knee in training and the 19-year-old Halfar sustaining similar damage in a reserve-team game on Sunday. Ricken becomes the fourth Dortmund player to suffer a cruciate injury this season, after Jan Koller, Cédric van der Gun and Sebastian Tyrala.

In Portugal, FC Paços de Ferreira have awarded Angolan international Edson a new three-year contract. The 25-year-old winger, whose previous deal was due to expire in 2007, moved to Portugal in the summer and has made ten league appearances so far, scoring once.

FC Schalke 04 defender Mladen Krstajić has escaped the threat of surgery for an appendix problem after tests today. The 31-year-old had to pull out of the Serbia and Montenegro squad last week for friendlies against China and South Korea, and it was initially feared he may need an operation. However, Schalke now hope to have Krstajić available for Saturday's German Bundesliga game against 1. FC Köln.

Croatian attacking midfielder Milan Rapaić has returned to R. Standard de Liège more than three months after returning to his homeland citing personal problems. The 32-year-old departed despite having a year remaining on his contract, but after deliberation, the Belgian First Division leaders have opted to welcome him back to the fold, adding a one-year extension to his current deal to tie him to the club until July 2007.

Dutch First Division outfit FC Twente have extended the contract of goalkeeper Sander Boschker by two years. The 35-year-old is now committed to the club until the summer of 2009. Boschker has been with Twente since 1989, playing 391 Eredivisie games.

Former Olympique de Marseille manager Gérard Gili has joined Henry Michel as assistant coach of the Ivory Coast in preparation for the Germany World Cup. The 53-year-old was a French title winner with Marseille in 1988/89 and 1989/00 and has coached three other Ligue 1 sides. He was national coach of Egypt from October 1999 to March 2000.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard striker Ilan Araujo will be out of action until mid-December after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury yesterday in training. The 25-year-old has top-scored for Sochaux this season with five goals. Sochaux are currently ranked 18th in Ligue 1 and could buy back Pierre-Alain Frau from Olympique Lyonnais.

Institute FC boss Pascal Vaudequin has resigned following Saturday's 5-0 defeat by Newry City FC. His departure leaves the Northern Irish club without both a manager and a chairman, coming two weeks after Billy Smallwoods quit his post. Vaudequin played for Derry City FC and Shamrock Rovers FC before moving north to Institute last year.