Zlatomir Zagorčić: currently seeking employment (novosti.rs)FK Vojvodina is currently leading the Serbian Superliga with 10 points from four games, including a run of three successive wins. The Novi Sad-based side is doing so well that it is outperforming Partizan Belgrade, which is currently chasing its sixth consecutive domestic title.

Leading the league with a run of victories has proven to be unsatisfactory for Vojvodina's president, however. For he has fired manager Zlatomir Zagorčić because the wins simply weren't convincing enough. The Guardian reports:

"We have analysed our performances during the international break and felt that we should have played better football against the three lesser rivals we beat by the skin of our teeth," club president Miodrag Pantelic told a news conference. "We didn't play well and we assessed that we needed a new coach for the upcoming challenges again stronger opposition."

Zagorčić is a former Bulgarian national team center back who was enjoying his first stint as a manager, so a defensive mindset that

Cristiano Ronaldo feeling good again. (Getty)

Cristiano Ronaldo has announced that he is no longer sad after seeing Apple's highly anticipated unveiling of the iPhone 5. The Portuguese star first told the press that he was "feeling sad" after refusing to celebrate his goals in Real Madrid's 3-0 win against Granada. Since then he has refused to elaborate, only saying that the people who work at Real Madrid knew why he was sad and that it had nothing to do with wanting more money. But now Ronaldo has said that the improvements to the new iPhone have put his sadness behind him.

"This has been a very difficult time for me," Ronaldo told reporters with a relieved smile. "My teammates have known that I've been extremely unhappy with the current phone for a while now. I no longer have the nicest case. The camera doesn't produce magazine quality pictures, then the screen is too small to see those pictures of me and don't even get me started on the earbuds. They're very ineffective at drowning out other people's voices. It's terrible.

Like the players they oversee, football managers can also be prone to the dramatic arts. Walter Knario of Brazilian third division club Cambe was sent off for comments he made to the referee during his side's scoreless draw against PSTC, but the enraged manager refused to go. Instead, he dropped to his knees in front of a military police officer and held up his hands asking to be cuffed during the first half. When the officer obliged his request and pulled out his cuffs, Knario suddenly changed his mind and resisted the cop's attempt to shackle him.

Knario's own staff then stepped in and escorted him off before he got himself in any more trouble. The lesson here? Cops will call your bluff.

Video via The Offside

Norway earned the first win of its 2014 World Cup qualification campaign with a 2-1 victory in Oslo on Tuesday, but three points on the board didn't stop goalkeeper Rune Jarstein from losing his temper.

In a post-match interview, a journalist for Norway's TV2 asked whether the Viking shot stopper felt he was at fault for the Slovenian goal. The 27-year-old obviously felt he wasn't, as his calm demeanor suddenly gave way to headset-throwing fury.

According to the AP report, Jarstein's inner-Russell Crowe was still running on Wednesday morning, when he nearly engaged in a spot of fisticuffs:

Jarstein apparently had not cooled down by Wednesday, when he reportedly threatened to punch a photographer taking his picture as he left the Oslo hotel where the national team was staying.

Steven Gerrard violates Ukraine's Denys Garmash. (Getty)

England salvaged a 1-1 draw in their World Cup qualifier against Ukraine thanks to a Frank Lampard penalty kick in the 87th minute. While Lampard scored his third goal in England's two qualifiers thus far, captain Steven Gerrard got himself sent off just one minute later after being booked a second time for trying to reach the ball by lunging between Denys Garmash's legs and falling on his back.

That prompted England manager Roy Hodgson to prove the lengths to which he will defend his players. From the Telegraph:

"Steven Gerrard is extremely unlucky to be sent off," Hodgson said. "The two fouls he was adjudged to have committed weren't worthy of cards. I thought all the yellow cards were very harsh. I don't think there were a lot of bad fouls, or fouls full stop. So I'm going to say there were far too many cards for the fouls committed."

This was the first time Gerrard has been sent off in his England career and it will keep him out of their next qualifier against San Marino. Which he can probably afford to miss.

Video of the challenge right this way...

Despite some pre-match fear mongering in the press, Jurgen Klinsmann's confident declaration that the U.S. woudn't lose to Jamaica again proved well founded. Though the U.S. only beat Jamaica 1-0 in Ohio after losing 2-1 in Jamaica on Friday, the difference in the two performances was tremendous.

Klinsmann made a few key changes to the starting XI, most notably in the midfield with Graham Zusi, Danny Williams and Jose Torres replacing Kyle Beckerman, Maurice Edu and Jozy Altidore and all three proved to be inspired choices. Williams and Zusi played especially well, as Zusi got off a few excellent shots in the first half and both played integral parts in a constantly dangerous attack. But even with the U.S.'s dominance in the first 45 minutes, they just didn't have enough luck to get one to go in.

Herculez Gomez finally found a much deserved goal in the 55th minute though, when his free kick from distance went off the hands of outstretched goalkeeper Dwayne Miller and found the back of the net. Miller made some huge saves in the first half that prevented the U.S. from taking the lead earlier on, but his one mistake proved to be enough for the hosts to finally get the edge. The U.S. then held on for their first clean sheet of this World Cup qualifying campaign.

From Reuters:

"It was important for us to regroup after what happened in Jamaica, we knew it wasn't our best performance," said Gomez.

"It wasn't always pretty but I think we did the job well," added the striker.

Jamaica, the U.S. and Guatemala are now all on seven points in CONCACAF Group A. The U.S. will have a chance to separate themselves from the pack in their next match against last-place Antigua and Barbuda, before returning home to play Guatemala in their final group-stage match.

Here's what Clint Dempsey had to say to Jamaica's Ryan Johnson during the game...

Javi Martinez waves goodbye to the stuff he left in Bilbao. (Getty)

It turns out forcing a move from Athletic Bilbao to Bayern Munich was only the initial stage of the covert mission Javi Martinez thinks his life has become. Martinez (who will henceforth be known as "Javi Bond") apparently left all his personal belongs at Athletic's training complex and hasn't had any human interaction with anyone at the club since he fled Spain at the end of August when Bayern dumped €4o million to trigger his buyout clause, so he of course had to retrieve his things in the most unnecessary way possible.

Marca has the details (which will be used as the screenplay for the Javi Bond thriller that will be in theaters next summer):

Athletic Club de Bilbao's training grounds, Ciudad Deportiva, in Lezama. Two o'clock on Sunday morning. A weekend off at the club's training facilities as there is no activity until Monday. The gates are closed and there is no-one around apart from the security guard who is suddenly startled by the arrival of a car.

The guard watches with

Jens Lehmann makes a save and strikes a pose. (Getty)

Fresh off the tremendous success of the London Paralympics, former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has expressed interest in participating in the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a keeper for Germany's blind football team. In Paralympic football, only the team's four outfield players must wear eyeshades to ensure fairness in the varying degrees of visual impairment. Teams are allowed to use a sighted goalkeeper, who cannot leave his penalty area, and one guide positioned off the field.

The Independent reports (and takes a dig at Lehmann):

According to the German newspaper Bild, Lehmann, who will be 46 in 2016, is tempted by the chance to win the first major international title of his career.

"This is very interesting, as long as I am fit to go there," he said.

"In any case, it's okay to talk about it if you are interested."

German Disabled Sports Assocation President Friedhelm Julius Beucher said that such a decision would be discussed privately and the team's coach, Ulrich Pfisterer described Lehmann's potential inclusion as "sensational."

Let's just hope that if Mad Jens does participate he remains on his best behavior and doesn't steal anyone's glasses, use the pitch as a toilet or throw his opponents' boots on top of his net.

Here's video of David Beckham giving blind football a try last year...