Former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder CLAUDE MAKELELE "has been appointed to the coaching staff" at EPL side Swansea City by new Manager PAUL CLEMENT. Makelele, 43, was a "key part of the first Chelsea team to win the Premier League following his arrival from Real Madrid and it was there he first met Clement" (EUROSPORT, 1/11). ... Former WTA World No. 3 NADIA PETROVA announced her retirement from professional tennis after a 19-year career. Petrova, 34, concludes a career which saw her clinch 13 WTA singles and 24 WTA doubles titles, reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal, advance to two Grand Slam doubles finals and win the WTA Finals doubles title twice (WTA). ... Japanese striker KAZUYOSHI MIURA will "take his professional football career into his 50s after signing a new contract with second-tier Yokohama." Miura, who retired from int'l football 17 years ago, "is the oldest scorer in the history of the domestic league after netting at the age of 49 last season." He turns 50 on Feb. 26, about the time the '17 campaign begins (BBC, 1/11). ... Former Premier League player NILE RANGER admitted to "an online banking fraud" in which a woman lost more than £2,000 ($2,442). The 25-year-old League One side Southend United player "pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud by obtaining bank details and transferring the money" (BBC, 1/11). ... Romanian tennis player ALEXANDRU-DANIEL CARPEN has been "banned from tennis for life after admitting to match-fixing." A Tennis Integrity Unit investigation "found the 30-year-old made a corrupt approach to another player, who has not been named," in Oct. '13 (BBC, 1/10). ... A Spanish judge "dropped a tax fraud case" against Bayern Munich midfielder XABI ALONSO. Alonso had been under investigation by the Spanish authorities since '14 "for alleged tax evasion involving his image rights." According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, a prosecutor "asked a judge to investigate the 35-year-old, claiming there was evidence that Alonso had defrauded the tax office" of €2M from '10-12 (ESPN.com, 1/11).
FIRST PRO RETIRES: England's record goal scorer and Arsenal forward KELLY SMITH "retired from football" at the age of 38. Smith, who scored 46 goals for her country, "became Britain's first female professional footballer when she joined American side New Jersey" in '99. The striker earned 117 England caps, played in six major tournaments and represented Team GB at the 2012 London Olympics (BBC, 1/11).
