Aurelijus Skarbalius made Denmark a home from home during his playing career, and the former Lithuania captain is now enjoying similar success coaching as he prepares to lead HB Køge in the Superligaen.

Latvia captain Vit lijs Astafjevs is "happy to be back in the most popular club tournament in Europe" after joining FK Ventspils following a spell with more modest Virsliga rivals JFK Olimps.

An emotional Kaká said he wants to etch his name into the Real Madrid CF history books as the Brazilian was presented at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time since his move from AC Milan.

Racist behaviour in football stadiums and related guidelines for match officials is a key item on the agenda at the next meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Wednesday and Thursday.

After guiding Switzerland to the finals for the first time in three years, Yannick Schwery has tipped his free-scoring charges to create a few surprises in Belarus this summer.

WFC Rossiyanka striker Elena Danilova has finally returned to the Russia squad for the upcoming friendlies against China after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury that has kept her out of action for a year.

Former Celtic FC defender Willie McStay has been named as the new coach of Hungarian side Újpest FC, who will take on FC Steaua Bucure ti in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

Valencia CF have bolstered their back line with the double signing of goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyá, 25, from RCD Mallorca for a reported €5m and right-back Bruno Saltor, 28, who arrives from UD Almería.

A model of unfussy determination, Viktors Morozs is settling well in Bulgaria with PFC CSKA Sofia, but the one-time Skonto FC midfielder, 28, admitted that he is still pining for a return to the national team.

Club Atlético de Madrid have confirmed the arrival of centre-back Juanito from Real Betis Balompié, with the man capped 26 times by Spain committing to a two-year deal at the Vicente Calderón.

FK Partizan have made a clutch of signings as they prepare for UEFA Champions League action, with Brazilian forward Cléo joining the club in a shock move from arch-rivals FK Crvena Zvezda.

Two days after Diego Milito joined FC Internazionale Milano from Genoa CFC Thiago Motta has followed suit, with three promising Inter youngsters moving in the other direction as a makeweight.

The Belgian Football Association has announced that Dutchman Dick Advocaat will step down at FC Zenit St. Petersburg at the end of the year to take up the position as their national team coach.

Greek side Panathinaikos FC have boosted their ranks after signing Liverpool FC winger Sebastián Leto and Greek international Kostas Katsouranis on long-term deals for a combined fee of around €7m.

Louis van Gaal has overseen his first training session as FC Bayern München coach, with the Dutchman saying: "I always want to make history and have done this with every club I have coached so far."

Sporting Clube de Portugal have signed Matías Fernández, 23, in a €3.6m transfer from Villarreal CF, the Chilean international forward committing to the Portuguese Liga outfit until summer 2013.

Spain have called up Real Zaragoza defender Ramiro Mayor to their preliminary 22-man squad for the finals in Ukraine after captain Ignacio Camacho was ruled out with a hip injury.

Christian Bordinggaard, tournament director of the next UEFA European U21 Championship, tells uefa.com interest in Denmark is "already huge" as he looks back on 2009 and forward to 2011.

SP Tre Fiori 1-1 UE Sant JuliàMatteo Andreini made amends after conceding a first-half penalty by earning the home side a draw against their ten-man visitors.

A day after unveiling €68m signing Kaká at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid CF have continued their spending after agreeing a fee of €35m with Olympique Lyonnais for forward Karim Benzema, 21.