Contreras commits to Betis cause

Real Betis Balompié

Fenerbahçe SK coach Christoph Daum has told the club he is prepared to stand down because he is to have hip surgery on Friday. The German said the operation would leave him out of action for some time. It is not yet known whether the Turkish side, who just missed out on the 2005/06 title, will accept his offer.

Club Atlético de Madrid midfielder Juan Valera has undergone shoulder surgery. The 21-year-old dislocated his right shoulder playing against CA Osasuna on 3 May and faces eight weeks of rehabilitation. Valera made 17 Spanish league appearances this season, scoring twice.

Dutch UEFA Cup qualifiers AZ Alkmaar have signed striker Santy Hulst on a two-year contract from amateur club RCL Leiderdorp. The 18-year-old won the non-professional Dutch third division title with Leiderdorp this season.

Belgian club KSC Lokeren OV have appointed Ariël Jacobs as their new coach. The 52-year-old has signed a three-year contract and arrives from KRC Genk where he was technical director. He takes over from caretaker Rudy Cossey who had replaced Aimé Anthuenis when the latter stood down for health reasons in February.

Slovenian club NK Maribor have appointed Marijan Pusnik as their new coach following the resignation last week of Milan Djuricic. This leaves the top two of NK Domžale and NK Gorica as the only Slovenian First League teams to have kept the same coach this season.