FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the 2009 Ballon d'Or by a record margin, becoming the first player from Argentina to claim the coveted prize awarded annually by France Football magazine.

Hamburg is looking forward to a double first next year when the inaugural final of the new UEFA Europa League competition will be the first European final to be staged in the northern German city.

Having married an SK Rapid Wien supporter and won the hearts of fans in the Austrian capital, the club's German captain Steffen Hofmann has no regrets at not making the grade in his homeland.

Midfielder Wout Brama believes European football has increased FC Twente's "belief in ourselves" with coach Steve McClaren predicting "a top game" against Fenerbahçe SK in Group H on Wednesday.

Huub Stevens may believe S.S. Lazio are "a class above" but the Group G table tells a different story as his FC Salzburg team need a point to secure progress and compound their opponents' misery.

Winger Marco Marchionni will miss ACF Fiorentina's final Group E game at Liverpool FC with a thigh problem, while tests have ruled out more serious injuries for Dario Dainelli and Juan Vargas.

Celtic FC need six points and a minor disaster for Hamburger SV to reach the last 32, but as they host Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC on Matchday 5, defender Marc Crosas maintained his side "still have a chance".

MŠK ilina are certain to top the Slovakian table until at least the end of February, but coach Pavel Hapal is "not completely satisfied" with the Yellow-Greens gritty successes to date.

Athletic Club have secured the services of precocious forward Iker Muniain for a further three seasons after the Pamplona-born 16-year-old agreed a fresh contract with the San Mamés based outfit.

Former Turkey coach enol Güne wants to make Trabzonspor "a world-famous brand" after returning for a fourth spell with the Black Sea side in place of Hugo Broos, who was sacked last week.

Former Norway coach Åge Hareide is targeting a rapid return to the international stage after taking over at Viking FK, replacing Uwe Rösler who departed by mutual consent at the end of the season.

FC Internazionale Milano will be shorn of Ricardo Quaresma for next week's UEFA Champions League meeting with FC Rubin Kazan after the Portuguese winger sustained a knee injury on Sunday.

A last-32 place looks like a long shot for FC Timi oara, but as they prepare to host AFC Ajax, coach Ioan Ovidiu S bau told uefa.com the club's priority is now "to learn, to improve, to gain maturity".

Istanbul holds fond memories for Djibril Cissé as Panathinaikos FC head for the home of Galatasaray A and he said he is "always excited to play against a team where there is an atmosphere".

Ismael Blanco says AEK Athens FC still have "a thorn in our side" after September's 4-0 loss at Everton; beating the English team in Wednesday's "an all-or-nothing" reverse fixture would remove it.

Hernán Crespo told uefa.com that he still finds AC Milan's 2005 UEFA Champions League final loss to Liverpool FC "hard to digest" but the 34-year-old is enjoying a new lease of life at Genoa CFC.

FK Partizan's UEFA Europa League may be over, but after a week that brought the arrival of his nephew and a winning goal in the Belgrade derby, striker Cléo is determined to bow out on a high.