The oldest player of EURO 2008, Austria’s Ivica Vastic, is not ready to give up yet: the 38-year-old plans to continue playing for Austria until the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. “I’ve acquired a taste for it, and I’d love to play the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ with Austria. I feel like a 20-year-old at heart. The team manager need only call and I’ll be there,” said the Croatian-born player. However, Josef Hickersberger’s successor as coach of the Austrian team has not yet been confirmed. The retired coach was effusive about Vastic: “Including Vastic in the EURO squad was my best decision. He made a great contribution to the team in every sense,” said the 60-year-old.

Former England coach Steve McClaren has been appointed as coach of FC Twente, taking over at the Dutch first-division club from Fred Rutten, who moved to German Bundesliga side Schalke 04. McClaren signed a two-year contract with the club. This is the 47-year-old’s first job since he was let go in November 2007 after England failed to qualify for EURO 2008.

Hernan Medford was let go as coach of the national team of Costa Rica in June. With the former national player as coach, the three-time World Cup participants had played 12 matches in a row without winning, before beating Grenada 3-0 on 21 June to get through to the next round of qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. “I’m free again,” said Medford, who earned 89 caps for Costa Rica, after a meeting with the association officials.