--------------------------------------
Ivory Coast midfielder Tiene joins St Etienne
 
PARIS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast international Siaka Tiene has joined St Etienne from South African club Mamelodi Sundowns on a four-year deal, the French Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday.

Midfielder Tiene, 23, was in Ivory Coast's starting line-up last Wednesday in their 3-0 friendly defeat by France.

A product of Jean-Marc Guillou's football academy in Abidjan, Tiene joined Johannesburg's Mamelodi Sundowns in 2003.

In his two seasons in South Africa the midfielder scored 14 goals from 46 games.
 
-------------------------------------
Santrac resigns as Macedonia coach
 
SKOPJE, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Macedonia coach Slobodan Santrac has handed in his resignation, the Macedonian Football Association said on Tuesday, ending a disappointing spell in charge of the national team.

In a letter to Haralampie Hadjiristeski, the Macedonian FA, Santrac said his wife's health problems were his main reason for stepping down.

Santrac took over from Dragan Kanatlarovski in March but managed just one win and three defeats in four games, including the 3-0 World Cup qualifier defeat by Finland last Wednesday, triggering calls for his resignation.
 
Macedonia are fifth in European zone Group One after 10 games and cannot qualify for next year's World Cup finals in Germany.

Hadjiristeski said a replacement would be appointed soon for Macedonia's two remaining World Cup qualifiers in Finland on September 7 and the Netherlands on October 12.

A new coach would be named to lead the side in the European championship qualifiers, which begin after the World Cup.

--------------------------------------
 
Bonfrere stands down as South Korea coach
 
(Adds S.Korean reaction, edits)

By Peter Rutherford

SEOUL, Aug 23 (Reuters) - South Korea coach Jo Bonfrere has resigned and the search for his successor will begin immediately with the World Cup finals less than a year away, the Korea Football Association (KFA) said on Tuesday.
 
Dutchman Bonfrere steered South Korea to their sixth consecutive finals in June, but a string of poor performances since had prompted widespread calls for him to step down before next year's tournament in Germany.

"Bonfrere informed the KFA of his decision on Monday and the members of the technical committee have agreed to accept his resignation," said Kang Shin-woo, vice chairman of the KFA's technical committee.

"The KFA did not ask Bonfrere to step down," he added in a televised news conference.

Bonfrere said there was never enough time to build a solid team because key players active in Europe would be brought back just days before a match.

"No coach in the world can bring a team together in two days," he told reporters after the announcement.

Criticism of Bonfrere's leadership increased after South Korea finished last behind China, North Korea and Japan in the East Asian championship earlier this month.

A 1-0 home defeat by Saudi Arabia in their final World Cup qualifier last week had fans and media clamouring for his resignation, prompting the KFA to convene a meeting of its technical committee.

"Bonfrere has decided that it would be difficult for him to continue in the job of coach under the current circumstances," said You Young-cheul, KFA media director.

Asked about a successor, You said the committee was meeting on the issue. It was expected to reach a decision within a month, committee chairman Lee Hoi-taek was quoted as saying by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Bonfrere was himself a surprise replacement for Humberto Coelho, who stepped down in April last year after a humiliating 0-0 draw with the Maldives in a World Cup qualifier.

Coelho had also cited a lack of time to work with players as one of the reasons for his side's disjointed displays.

South Korean media have already been speculating about possible replacements, among them Mick McCarthy, manager of English Premier league side Sunderland, and former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu.

With time short, former South Korean coach Kim Ho said the search might have to be narrowed to Koreans.

"It would take a little time to bring in a foreign leader at this point. I think it would be good to pick a person here," Kim was quoted as saying by YTN television.

The urgency was also reflected in an online poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, where 57 percent of the respondents said they preferred a Korean coach.

The job appears to have become something of a poisoned chalice since Guus Hiddink took South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup on home soil.

"You in the media brought it to the people that this team wasn't as good as it was in the 2002 World Cup -- and that's not fair," said Bonfrere.

"The media and fans had too much expectation." (Additional reporting by Kim Miyoung and Jack Kim)
 
-----------------------------------
Brazilian Denilson joins Bordeaux on one-year deal
 
PARIS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian midfielder Denilson is joining Girondins Bordeaux from Spanish side Real Betis on a one-year deal for an undisclosed transfer fee, the French Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday.

Denilson, who is 28 on Wednesday, joined Real Betis after the 1998 World Cup, when Brazil were losing finalists, for a then-world record fee of $35 million.

Renowned for his dribbling skills and mesmerising shimmy, the talented left-sided midfielder failed to live up to his billing at the Andalucian club.
 
He returned to Brazil for a brief loan spell with Flamengo in September 2000 after Betis were relegated to the second division but was on his way back to Spain after just four months when the Brazilian club failed to keep up its payments.

His second stint at Betis was hampered by a series of knee problems and last season he also fell out of favour with coach Llorenc Serra Ferrer, making just 10 appearances in the Primera Liga.

Bordeaux are fourth in the French league after three wins and one defeat in their first four games of the season.
 
Viana signs loan deal with Valencia
 
MADRID, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Valencia have signed Portugal midfielder Hugo Viana on loan from Newcastle United for this season, the Primera Liga side said on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old, who played on loan at Sporting Lisbon last season, was signed days after Brazilian midfielder Edu tore his cruciate ligament in training.

Valencia said they had an option to buy the midfielder at the end of the loan deal.
 
Viana was signed by Newcastle on the advice of Bobby Robson from Sporting Lisbon for 8.5 million pounds ($15.29 million) in July 2002, with a reputation as one of the most promising young players in Europe.

However, he struggled to adapt to English football and returned to Sporting on loan at the start of last season.

The midfielder had been linked with a move to Deportivo Coruna as part exchange for a possible deal for Spanish striker Albert Luque.
 
-------------------------------------
South Africa striker Nomvete set to join Djurgarden
 
STOCKHOLM, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Swedish first division Djurgarden have agreed to sign South Africa striker Siyabonga Nomvete, the Stockholm-based club said on their website on Sunday.

Nomvete has spent four years with Italian Serie A side Udinese but has not managed to secure a first-team place.

He is a regular in his national team, however, and is a member of the South Africa squad that will face Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier on September 3 in Ouagadougou.

South Africa must win the match to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup finals in Germany, whom they play in a friendly four days later.
 
-------------------------------------
 
Everton sign Portugal defender Valente
 
LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Everton have completed the signing of Portugal defender Nuno Valente for an undisclosed fee from Porto, the English Premier League club said on Sunday.

The 30-year-old left back, who passed a medical in Liverpool on Sunday and signed a three-year deal, has 18 caps and played in Portugal's run to the Euro 2004 final. He won the Champions League with Porto the same year.

The 30-year-old is an immediate replacement for Italian Alessandro Pistone, who could be out for six months with a knee injury sustained last week.

Everton manager David Moyes is hoping to sign Dutch international Andy van der Meyde from Inter Milan after securing the services of Italian defender Matteo Ferrari on a season's loan from AS Roma.
--------------------------------------
Cagliari sack coach after one match
 
MILAN, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Serie A club Cagliari sacked their coach Attilio Tesser on Monday after just one game in charge.

Tesser led the Sardinian club for the first time in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Siena and was dismissed less than 24 hours later.

Daniele Arrigoni, who was in charge of the team last season before leaving for Torino, is almost certain to return.

Arrigoni left Cagliari to take over at Torino but never took up the job after the Turin club's promotion to Serie A was blocked due to financial problems.

"I was contacted on Sunday night for the first time and it was completely unexpected," Arrigoni told Gazzetta Dello Sport's website.

"It was a huge surprise after everything that happened. We spoke again this morning and they asked if I was available -- I confirmed I was," he added.
---------------------------------------
Villarreal sign Uruguay keeper Viera
 
MADRID, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Uruguay goalkeeper Sebastian Viera has joined Villarreal on a four-year contract from Nacional de Montevideo, the Primera Liga side said on Monday.

The 22-year-old, whose move to Arsenal fell through earlier this month, passed a medical and is scheduled to be presented to the media at 1030 GMT on Tuesday.

Viera will compete with 21-year-old Argentine keeper Mariano Barbosa, who joined Villarreal from Banfield in June, for a place in the starting line-up. Previous first-choice keeper Pepe Reina moved to Liverpool for 9 million euros ($11.09 million).

Villarreal have qualified for the Champions League group stage where they have been drawn against Manchester United, Lille and Benfica. They lost their opening Primera Liga match of the season 2-1 at Osasuna on Sunday.
 
-------------------------------------
Zaragoza sign former Real Madrid midfielder Celades
 
MADRID, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Former Real Madrid midfielder Albert Celades signed for Real Zaragoza as a free agent on Monday.