Sporting briefs...

Nilton Santos: Brazilian World Cup winner Nilton Santos, 81, was in hospital yesterday after suffering from hypertension, his former club Botafogo said. Botafogo said that Santos, who played in the Brazil teams which won the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, was taken to hospital on Tuesday. Known as "The Encyclopedia" during his playing-days, Nilton Santos spent his entire career with Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo.

Player dies: Paraguayan footballer Sixto Rojas collapsed during a training session yesterday and died almost immediately afterwards. Rojas, a 24-year-old midfielder who had also played in Chile, was training in a public park with newly-promoted first division club Sportivo Trinidense when he collapsed.

Blomqvist: A man has been charged with assaulting former Milan and Manchester United midfielder Jesper Blomqvist, Swedish television said yesterday. Blomqvist had been visiting his home town of Umea in northern Sweden last September when he was hit in the face at a nightclub. Blomqvist, who will be 33 next month, played for Sweden 30 times and was part of the squad at the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.

Brawling duo: Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano and Real Zaragoza defender Carlos Diogo have been suspended for five matches each by the Spanish federation (RFEF) after a fight at the end of Saturday's Primera Liga match. RFEF spokesman Alfredo Flores said: "The players' apologies were not taken into account as they were made a day after the incident and cannot be considered spontaneous."

Ahn returns home: Former Duisburg forward Ahn Jung-hwan has said he abandoned Germany for a return to his native South Korea because he wanted to play with a winning side. The 29-year-old signed a one-year contract with 2004 K-League champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Tuesday, ending an overseas spell stretching back to 2000 that also included time in Italy, Japan and France.