Madrid - Valencia will be without central defender Alexis for up to four months, the Spanish club announced on Tuesday night.

Hamburg - A neatly taken second-half goal from substitute Didier Drogba helped Chelsea book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a
2-1 victory Tuesday over Romanian side CFR Cluj.

Despite the win, last year's beaten finalists Chelsea still finish second in Group A behind Roma, who secured top spot with a 2-0 win over Bordeaux, who qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Rome  - AC Milan mi

Sao Paulo - Off-form Brazilian superstar Ronaldo is set to play football again in 2009, with the Brazilian club Corinthians, his agent confirmed Tuesday.

"There is a verbal agreement which will, within the next two days, be reflected in a contract so that Ronaldo's presence can be confirmed as soon as possible. Corinthians is led by very serious, determined people, and we are very happy about that," agent Fernando Farah told the website GloboEsporte.

London, Dec 9 : Brazilian football coach Phil Scolari has said that the best thing that can ever happen to a football player is a “good wife”.

Scolari, 60, slammed the culture that involves cash, flash cars, nightclubs and WAGs, insisting that they could put the players and their career in trouble.

The manager of the Premiere League side Chelsea also warned players against using up their huge pay packets on luxuries because their career was so short.

Hamburg  - Playmaker Diego from troubled top club Werder Bremen was banned for four Bundesliga matches by the German football federation on Tuesday for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Diego, 24, grabbed SC Karlsruhe player Christian Eichner by the throat and neck during the teams' league match on Saturday which Karlsruhe won 1-0.

The incident went unnoticed by the referee but the DFB acted upon television footage. The DFB said that Bremen and Diego have accepted the ruling.

The Brazilian midfielder will miss the final match of the year on the weekend and the first three games after the winter break. He is eligible to return in late February for the match at Energie Cottbus.