Brazilian idol Pele was also the victim of a robbery in his home country. A gang of ten youths attacked the three-time world champion’s chauffeur-driven car while it was stopped in Sao Paulo traffic at the end of May, snatching a watch, a gold chain and a mobile phone from the 67-year-old. The footballing icon tried to fend off the attackers by telling them who he was, but the young gangsters were unimpressed, and insisted he hand over the valuables.

The Nigerian national player Emmanuel Okoduwa has been the victim of an armed robbery in Lagos. The armed robbers stole the Dynamo Kiev star’s car, several thousand US dollars, credit cards, passport and other valuables. “It was a terrible experience. It was like something out of a film. The robbers threatened to kill me,” reported Okoduwa afterthe attack, which occurred on his way to the airport.

Following their promotion to the top flight, FC Cologne have lured away archrivals Bayer Leverkusen’s masseur Dieter Trzolek. After 32 years with the club owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer, “Tscholli” moved to the club whose mascot is a billy goat. “Trzolek was actually under contract with us until 2012, but he asked us to terminate the contract. I, personally, still find it hard to imagine the team without Trzolek. But we have to accept his decision,” said Leverkusen’s managing director Wolfgang Holzhauser. Trzolek, who has also taken care of the Korea Republic team during a number of FIFA World Cup™ group stages, already worked closely with Cologne’s coach Christoph Daum while he was at Bayer between 1996 and 2000.