Good cheer

"I am proud to confirm that my son Christian will start training with the Milan youth system from Monday," said the son of Rossinieri legend Cesare Maldini after beating Dino Zoff's record in Sunday's 2-0 win over Treviso.

Club Vice-President Adriano Galliani says that Paolo "has a contract until 2007, but I'd like to negotiate for another year. We'll retire his Number 3 jersey when he retires, but keep it in storage for when his son grows up."

Speaking of kids, Freddie Moore, 9, - grandson of Bobby - made an appearance as team mascot for West Ham and delighted the home crowd by beating Roy Carroll in the warm-up.

Luis Olivera opened the Spanish branch of the 'We Luv Referees, Us' club after he got sent off for applauding the ref àla Rooney in Betis Seville's loss to Barcelona.

Indeed, Rooney's Champions League theatrics are quite the rage.

Alain Perrin, the French boss of Portsmouth, did the same in his side's 1-0 loss to Bolton. Perrin not only got a red but can expect a touchline ban for "applauding" man in black Mark Clattenburg.

Aston Villa's Luke Moore won 10000 pounds for charity from The Sun for scoring against Chelsea. It was the first goal gone past Petr Cech in a record 641 minutes.

Although Manchester United have scored only one goal in the Premiership in five hours of play, there's no word so far on whether the London tabloid is preparing a new fundraising drive.

That honour belongs to the esteemed peers of The Sun who work at Bild:

"Thanks Hamburg. You have made (almost) the whole of Germany happy." after Van der Vaart and friends ended Bayern's 15-match winning streak.

French second division side Istres' home fixture against Caen Sunday was postponed due to... an infestation of mosquitoes. "The risk of repeated bites can trigger allergic reactions," explained FC Istres president Betrand Benoit.

Weather watchers will note that mild, dry weather after heavy rains in the Mediterreanean port city caused the outbreak, which didn't bother Ligue 1 neighbours Marseille who after disappointing start to the season found their bite Saturday with a 3-1 home win over Metz.

We dread to ponder the fate of Nene under the watchful eye of Salgado in Alaves' 3-0 home loss to Real Madrid. Your thoughts on the matter? newsroom@eurosport.com