MELBOURNE, Australia — Melbourne Victory captain Manny Muscat will likely end his career in Australian football's A-League under suspension after being banned for eight weeks for a dangerous tackle. Muscat, a Malta international, was handed the ban for a tackle on the Melbourne Heart's Adrian Zahra during a heated derby last weekend.

BERNE, Switzerland Japan moved into the top 20 of the FIFA world rankings on Wednesday after winning the Asian Cup last month while world champions Spain stayed in first place. Japan's record fourth Asian title which they won in Qatar lifted them 12 places to 17th, making them the Asian confederation's highest-ranked side.

NEW YORK, NY The New York Red Bulls are trying to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, according to L'Equipe newspaper on Thursday. L'Equipe said the Major League Soccer club wants Anelka to reunite with fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry, who will begin his second season with the Red Bulls in March. "We will not comment [.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands Ajax Amsterdam extended the contracts of Roly Bonevacia (19) and Rodney Sneijder (19). Both midfield players renewed their contracts with the multi Dutch champions until the summer of 2013. Bonevacia has been with Ajax since 2001 and made his debut in the top squad on August 14, 2010 against Vitesse Arnhem.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina The president of the Argentina Football Association says Carlos Tevez has been dropped from the national team as a punishment for missing the previous friendly match. Tevez was not in the team to face Portugal in Switzerland on Wednesday. Argentina FA president Julio Grondona said in a radio interview in Buenos [.

ROME — Brazil forward Alexandre Pato will miss the Copa America after injuring his right shoulder in AC Milan's final match of the Serie A season. Pato was carried off on a stretcher in the 71st minute of Sunday's 0-0 draw with Udinese. Milan physician Maurizio Gevi told Italy's Sky TV that Pato will be [.

WEST BROMWICH, England — Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney could be out of action for two weeks after injuring his left ankle in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win at West Bromwich Albion. Rooney scored in the third minute for his first goal from open play since March but hobbled off late in the match after [.

MANCHESTER, England Sampdoria have confirmed that Manchester United star Federico Macheda has joined them on loan for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old striker was made available by Sir Alex Ferguson after he found his route to a first-team place blocked by the emergence of Javier Hernandez. Although Ferguson's preference was for Macheda [.

LONDON, England — Fulham has signed Steve Sidwell from Premier League rival Aston Villa on a six-month contract as it tries to shore up its midfield in the January transfer window. Fulham announced the deal on its website Friday but did not disclose financial details. The club said the initial deal expires at the end [.

COLUMBUS, Ohio Columbus Crew signed forward Tom Heinemann to a multi-year contract Friday. Heinemann joins the Crew after spending the last two years with the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues and Carolina RailHawks of the NASL. He trained with the Crew briefly early in the 2009 preseason.

CARDIFF, Wales Police say Wales striker Craig Bellamy has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting two men in a late-night incident last week. South Wales Police say the 31-year-old Bellamy, who is currently on loan at Cardiff from Manchester City, was released on bail on Wednesday after speaking with officers.

HOFFENHEIM, Germany — Netherlands defender Edson Braafheid has joined Hoffenheim from Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim said the 27-year-old signed a 3 1/2-year contract on Thursday. Braafheid says the transfer is "very important for my further development, particularly with a view to the national team.

BOLTON, England Daniel Sturridge has joined Bolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season. The 21-year-old forward will link up with Owen Coyle's squad hoping to add to his 21 appearances this season, in which time he has scored four times, most recently against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup on January [.

LIVERPOOL, England Andy Carroll has completed his transfer from Newcastle United to Liverpool FC and signed a 5 and a half-year-deal that will keep him at Anfield until 2016. The Club agreed a record transfer fee with Newcastle earlier in the day for the transfer of the England international striker.

LONDON, England— Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland has completed a loan move to Newcastle for the rest of the season. Ireland's arrival at St James' Park came just hours after reports emerged that the deal had fallen through because he had failed a medical. The 24-year-old former Republic of Ireland international had a disappointing start [.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan Miroslav Beranek, who guided his native Czech Republic to a surprise European Under-21 title triumph in 2002, was named Kazakhstan coach on Monday. Beranek, 53, takes charge of a Kazakh team who are rooted to the bottom of Euro 2012 qualifying Group A. The Kazakhstan job had been vacant since October following [.

LONDON, England — Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery, Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said Thursday. The Pole was injured during the warm-up ahead of Arsenal's Premier League match against Manchester City last month and has not played since.

LONDON, England Chelsea's Ashley Cole has been named England's Player of the Year for 2010 the first defender to win the award. Cole, who will draw level with Kenny Sansom on 86 caps to become his country's most-capped full-back if he faces Denmark on Wednesday, was the stand-out performer in a [.

LONDON, England — David Beckham has extended his training stint with Tottenham by another two weeks. The former England captain had been set to return to the United States this week but the Premier League side says he will stick around until Feb. 22. The 35-year-old midfielder will begin preseason training with Los Angeles Galaxy [.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Major League Soccer scoring leader Chris Wondolowski has agreed to a new contract with the San Jose Earthquakes. Wondolowski scored 18 of his team's 34 league goals during the regular season last year to win the MLS Golden Boot award. The 28-year-old played for the Earthquakes in 2005, moved to [.

MANCHESTER, England Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung has been ruled out for four weeks because of a hamstring injury. The South Korea international, who recently returned from the Asian Cup in Qatar, injured his hamstring in training on Friday. United manager Alex Ferguson says "it was very unfortunate because it was his last kick [.

WASHINGTON, D.C. D.C. United waived defender Julius James, the Major League Soccer club announced on Thursday. In one and a half seasons in Washington, James played in 31 MLS contests, recording two goals in 2,388. "We would like to thank Julius for his contributions to D.C. United and we wish him well in the [.

MANCHESTER, England Patrice Evra has committed his future to Manchester United and agreed a new four-year contract, with an announcement expected from Old Trafford on Friday morning. Evra had considered leaving Old Trafford, tempted by the possibility of playing in Spain, and had been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

ROME, Italy — Claudio Ranieri has resigned as Roma coach following Sunday's disastrous 4-3 defeat at Genoa, despite having led 3-0. It was the club's fourth defeat in a row and Ranieri then told Italian news agency Ansa he had decided to quit. "I've always thought about the good of Roma and after a game [.

MANCHESTER, England Manchester City have swooped to snatch Celta Vigo starlet Denis Suarez from under the noses of Barcelona. Celta's chairman Carlos Mourino has confirmed that the Spanish Under-17 midfielder will move to Eastlands for an initial fee of €1 million which could rise to €3m depending on appearance- and performance-related clauses in the [.