Paulo Wanchope has decided to bow out of football. The football hero from Costa Rica cited health problems as the reason. “It was a tough decision but I had to do it. I’ve been suffering with knee problems and each time I found it more difficult to recover,” explained the 31-year-old, whose last club was Chicago Fire in the USA. All in all, Wanchope scored 45 goals in 71 internationals, two of which he netted in the 2006 World Cup opening game in Munich that ended 4-2 in favour of the German hosts. He also took part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ in Korea and Japan.

Some statistics speak for themselves. This is certainly true of Coton Sport, based in Garoua, northern Cameroon. Run by Pierre Kaptene, they recently won their fifth straight championship title, leaving top clubs Tonnerre and Canon Yaounde yet again in their wake. By the end of last season, the club coached by Frenchman Denis Lavagne had suffered only three defeats. As well as being the team of the moment, Coton Sport have also left an indelible mark on the last decade in Cameroon. Originally founded by Cameroon association president Mohamed lya, the club have been crowned champions a total of eight times since their 1996-97 campaign and have captured the league and cup double on two occasions – in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Their greatest achievement so far was when they reached the final of the CAF Cup in 2003, only to lose out to Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca.

Alex Aguinaga was one of the best players, if not the best, that Ecuadorian football ever produced. Recently, he ended his impressive career with an official “adios”. But the 39-year-old has not turned his back on sport completely and there was no farewell match or a lavish party. At Atahualpa Stadium in Quito, where he had played many of his 109 internationals, the playmaker with the trademark ponytail made another appearance, in which a world star team, Estrellas Mundiales, beat the locals, Idolos de la Mitad del Mundo (idols of half of the world), 3-2. Estrellas Mundiales, coached by Colombian Hernan Dario Gomez (who had guided Ecuador’s national team with captain Aguinaga to their first ever FIFA World Cup™ in 2002) lined up with former stars such as Chile’s Ivan Zamorano and Ivo Basay, Colombia’s Faustino Asprilla, Brazil’s Cesar Sampaio, Mexico’s Zaguinho, Enrique Borja, Luis Hernandez, Jose Luis Montes de Oca and Manuel Sol, Uruguay’s Sergio Vazquez, Argentina’s Mario Quiroga and Paraguay’s Hugo Caballero. Alex Aguinaga, of course, scored a goal, as did his son, Alex junior, who converted a penalty. Alex’s brother was playing for the opposition. Alex Aguinaga’s career as a footballer spanned 13 years and 492 matches (84 goals) for Mexican club Necaxa, where he enjoyed three league championship titles and came third in the FIFA Club World Cup Brazil 2000. El Maestro, as Aguinaga is reverently called by countless fans, will no doubt remain loyal to his club. He is planning to join the board but is not sure in which capacity. What is sure is that Aguinaga set up his own football academy in Mexico City in December 2007.