Bolton bonus for Okocha

Bolton Wanderers FC's Nigerian international Jay-Jay Okocha was left to ponder his team-mates' generosity after he reportedly lost nearly €6m when a bank crashed. Hearing of Okocha's plight, Kevin Nolan started a whip-round among the Premiership club's players, netting a massive €30 for their stricken colleague. "I organised the whip-round and took a quid [€1.45] off every player," said Nolan. "It's just one of the ways we have taken the mickey out of Jay-Jay and he has seen the funny side of it. He's taken it very well - mind you, he's still probably got a load more cash stashed away in other banks." In other nefarious news, Real Madrid CF's Roberto Carlos was left smiling after Spanish police arrested the men who recently burgled his house, taking a number of items of sentimental value. The police were amazed to discover, on apprehending the thieves, that one of them was called Roberto Carlos too. "It's hilarious," the Brazilian international was reported to have said. "I don't suppose the getaway driver was called Iker Casillas?"

Hello Ancona
One player who did not have the chance to contribute to Okocha's relief fund was Bolton striker Mário Jardel who enjoyed a less than impressive start to his loan spell at Serie A strugglers Ancona Calcio. The former Sporting Clube de Portugal striker had just completed a press conference in advance of his debut against AC Perugia, saying with customary modesty that there was "no other striker better" than him, when he went out to meet his new team's fans. However, without knowing any better, he headed straight towards the Perugia supporters and did not manage to salute the Ancona fans until the club's team manager, Gianluca Petracchi, informed him of his error. That match ended 0-0, as did the recent one between Serie B sides Atalanta BC and Avellino, thanks to a little bit of gamesmanship from Atalanta's Carmine Gautieri. Avellino were awarded a penalty ten minutes from time, but as his team-mates protested to the referee, Gautieri furtively kicked the chalk away from the penalty spot. A steward was called to redraw the spot and, six minutes later, and at the second attempt, Avellino's Marco Capparella hit the crossbar with his spot-kick and the score remained level, preserving a 20-game unbeaten run for Atalanta.

The Frome witch project
From one white circle to another, players from English non-league side Frome Town AFC have been encouraged to think of circles in order to lift a curse on their home stadium. White witch Titania Hardie was called in to help the club who had found themselves incapable of scoring on home territory. "She walked on to the pitch and waved her hands around and then she talked to the players and gave them confidence," said manager Ian Pearce. "She told them to think there was a white circle around them." However, the ceremony could not prevent a 2-1 home defeat against Paulton Rovers FC. Witchery is standard practice in Romanian football, where superstitions and curses are an everyday feature of the game. Seeking luck in the remainder of this season, FC Dinamo Bucuresti players posed for a religious calendar to get help from God, while FC National Bucuresti had their stands and pitch blessed on New Year's Day. Witchcraft also plays its part, and a group of Romanian witches warned Chelsea FC's Adrian Mutu that his career might suffer because of curses put on him by a former girlfriend. "No problem," replied Mutu, revealing another unusual Romanian superstition. "Curses can't touch me because I wear my underwear inside out."