Ryan Giggs' path to becoming the most durable and decorated player of the Premier League era can be traced back almost 32 years, to the moment his precocious talents were spotted by a milkman on a muddy school pitch in north-west Manchester.

"He was just like a gazelle, flying up the wing," recalled Dennis Schofield, who happened to also be a scout at Manchester City. "I thought, 'Flipping heck, he's good this kid.'"

Jason Kidd dropped more than a soda in an attempt to delay a game. He ended up dropping $50,000 for the stunt.

The NBA fined the Brooklyn Nets coach on Thursday, saying he intentionally spilled his drink on the court as an unusual stall tactic.

Spanish sides Valencia, Sevilla and Real Betis booked their spots in the Europa League's round of 32 on Thursday, while Tottenham locked up first place in its group with a fifth victory in as many matches.

Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt.

Criminal investigators interrogated 20 current and former footballers in Austria on Thursday for their alleged involvement in fixing at least 17 league matches, including nine in the country's top-flight division, since 2004.

Investigators said they had their sights on about 10 more suspects and five people were held in custody, while house searches were conducted in Vienna, Lower-Austria, Carinthia and Salzburg.

Ross Brawn has stood down as principal of the Mercedes Formula One team, the team announced on Thursday.

In a statement, Mercedes said the leadership of the team will now fall to business chief Toto Wolff and technical director Paddy Lowe.

Cristiano Ronaldo's match-winning goals for Portugal in World Cup playoff matches against Sweden lifted his country to No. 5 in the monthly FIFA rankings.

Portugal's 1-0 and 3-2 wins fueled a nine-place jump in the standings published Thursday as rivals played only friendly matches which score fewer points in the calculations.

With one thunderous crash, Brazil's troubled preparations for the World Cup are thrown in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, just as soccer gears up for the high-profile setting of the schedule for next year's big event.

Part of the stadium that will host the tournament's opening match collapsed Wednesday, killing two workers and aggravating already urgent worries that Brazil won't be ready.

Former Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta, a World Cup winner in 2006, has been appointed coach of struggling Swiss Second Division side Chiasso, the club said on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old former AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona defender has been given a contract until June 30 with the aim of saving the club from relegation.

Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic will both miss Manchester United's Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

Van Persie has a groin injury and Vidic is still not being risked after being concussed against Arsenal earlier this month.

Barcelona's first defeat of the season has led some players to question the squad's hunger.

The Spanish champions fell behind and never recovered in a 2-1 Champions League loss at Ajax on Tuesday, with defender Gerard Pique calling it "the worst first half of football" the club has played this season.