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There was penalty shoot-out heartbreak for former England boss Steve McClaren as his FC Twente side lost to Heerenveen.

NETHERLANDS

Heerenveen won the Dutch Cup for the first time by beating Twente Enschede 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Gerald Sibon struck the winning penalty for Heerenveen, runners-up in 1993 and 1997, after Youssouf Hersi had missed the fifth spot kick for Twente.

Heerenveen had opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Goran Popov struck from close range.

Twente, who lost winger Marko Arnautovic and defender Peter Wisgerhof to injury in the opening 20 minutes, levelled nine minutes into the second half when winger Eljero Elia fired into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

Bonaventure Kalou struck eight minutes before the end of extra time to put Heerenveen back in front but a close range header by Hersi with two minutes remaining pulled Twente level again.

"We are in shock after losing this way but I can't blame my players for anything," Twente manager Steve McClaren said.

"We had a problem in the first half and had to reorganise after losing two injured players, but we dominated the second and I am really proud of the efforts my players put in."

Groningen striker Marcus Berg scored a hat-trick to earn his side a 3-3 draw at Utrecht in the first leg of their Dutch championship Europa League playoff semi-final.

Utrecht took the lead on three occasions through Tim Cornelisse, Leroy George and Morten Skoubo Utrecht but Swedish international Berg replied each time.

NAC Breda made a promising start to their playoff campaign with a 3-2 win over Feyenoord.

Rob Penders, Donny Gorter and Matthew Amoah were on target for Breda in the second half, while Roy Makaay and Jon Dahl Tomasson both converted penalties for Feyenoord.

The play offs are the best of three and the second matches are scheduled for Thursday. The eventual winners will meet in a best-of-three final, starting on May 28.

Former Dutch international Ronald Koeman has signed a two-year contract to become the new head coach of AZ Alkmaar.

Koeman, 46, succeeds Louis van Gaal who will coach Bayern Munich from next season.

Koeman has previously had stints in charge of Ajax Amsterdam, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia.

CROATIA

Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb won their fourth successive league title with two games to spare after a 2-0 home win over Slaven Belupo Koprivnica put them seven points clear at the top.

Dinamo have 73 points from 31 matches and will again finish ahead of their bitter foes Hajduk Split, who have 66 points after strolling to a 2-0 home win over Sibenik.

Brazilian striker Sammir gave Dinamo the lead with a 10th-minute penalty after talented playmaker Milan Badelj was fouled by Slaven goalkeeper Silvio Rodic.

Mario Mandzukic, who missed several sitters in the first half, doubled the lead shortly after the break when he took strike partner Ilija Sivonjic's defence-splitting pass into his stride and steered it past Rodic.

Dinamo keeper Tomislav Butina was sent off in the 66th minute for a professional foul outside the penalty box but the champions held on comfortably to delight their fans on a warm evening.

Dinamo can complete the domestic double on May 28, when they take a 3-0 cup final first-leg lead to Hajduk.

PORTUGAL

Benfica secured third spot in the Premier League with a 3-1 away win over Braga while Porto thrashed struggling Trofense 4-1 and Sporting beat Maritimo 2-1.

Porto, who clinched the title last weekend, are on 69 points with one match left and Sporting are second on 63. Benfica are on 56 points, with Braga seven points adrift.

Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo opened the scoring for Benfica in the seventh minute, beating the offside trap to head in from a pass by Konstatinos Katsouranis. Angel di Maria added a second on 13 minutes, finishing coolly after a bad clearance by Braga keeper Eduardo.

Urreta scored Benfica's third at the start of the second half and Braga earned a consolation goal moments before the final whistle when Luis Aguiar scored from a penalty.

On Saturday, Porto's Argentine forwards Lisandro Lopez and Ernesto Farias scored two goals each against Trofense. Sporting's Liedson also netted twice in the win over Maritimo.

RUSSIA

CSKA Moscow went top with 19 points from nine matches after an 85th-minute penalty from Brazilian striker Vagner Love gave them a 2-1 home win over Zenit St Petersburg in an entertaining match.

Champions Rubin Kazan slipped to second, a point behind CSKA, after scraping a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Amkar Perm thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Sergei Semak.

POLAND

A tight three-way title race continued after champions Wisla Krakow enjoyed a 4-0 victory at LKS Lodz to stay a point ahead of Lech Poznan and Legia Warsaw, who both won to stay in thehunt with two games left.

An Adrian Paluchowski brace helped Legia to a 3-1 home win against Polonia Bytom while Lech Poznan beat struggling LechiaGdansk 1-0 at home thanks to a late Robert Lewandowski effort.

ROMANIA

Dinamo Bucharest came from behind to beat FC Timisoara 3-1 at home and stay two points clear at the top, with closest rivals Unirea Urziceni keeping up the pressure thanks to a 2-0 win at Otelul Galati.

With three games left, Dinamo are in pole position with 65 points, Unirea have 63 and third-placed Timisoara are still in with a mathematical chance on 58. Last season's champions Cluj, who have 55 points, are out of the title race.

ARGENTINA

Velez Sarsfield lost their unbeaten record and top spot in the Clausura championship after a 3-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Gimnasia-La Plata.

Velez dominated the opening exchanges and went ahead when Jonathan Cristaldo finished off a sweeping move, started by Victor Zapata's incisive pass, in the 18th minute.

But Gimnasia levelled less than one minute later when Diego Alonso hit the post in a goalmouth scramble and Mariano Messera snapped up the rebound.

Sebastian Romero put Gimnasia ahead in the 41st minute, scoring after Juan Cuevas' shot hit the crossbar, and Cuevas himself added the third early in the second half.

Velez, who have 27 points from 14 games, slipped to second place, one behind Lanus who beat Rosario Central 2-1.

VENEZUELA

Caracas FC came from a goal behind to win 3-1 at Zamora FC and win the second stage of the 2008/09 championship.

Caracas leapfrogged defending champions Deportivo Tachira, who were held 3-3 at home by Estudiantes de Merida, and will meet Deportivo Italia, winners of the first stage, in the two-leg, end-of-season final.

The second half of the match in Barinas was delayed for 10 minutes as rival fans in the 8,700 crowd clashed on the terraces.

Local media said Caracas fans hurled objects, includingplastic seats, at the home contingent and police used tear gas to stop the trouble.

Orlando Cordero put Zamora ahead two minutes after the game eventually re-started but Rafael Castellin scored twice in three minutes to give Caracas the lead.

Defender Jose Manuel Rey completed the scoring with a trademark free kick late in the game.

Caracas completed the 17-match programme with 37 points, one ahead of their arch-rivals Deportivo Tachira.

Daniel Arismendi gave Tachira a 31st-minute lead but William Diaz levelled three minutes later and Duvier Riascos put the visitors ahead just before the hour.

Although Gerson Chacon made it 2-2 in the 77th minute,Angelo Pena put Estudiantes back ahead eight minutes later and Marlon Fernandez's 90th-minute goal for Tachira was too late.

PARAGUAY

Libertad, winners of the last four championships, closed the gap on leaders Cerro Porteno with a 3-1 win over Nacional.

Juan Samudio converted a third-minute penalty for Libertad, Manuel Maciel added a second before halftime and Miguel Samudio made it 3-0 early in the second half.

Nacional had Escobar sent off for spitting at Libertad's debutant teenager Victor Ayala as the two argued at the end of the first half.

Libertad had Omar Pouso sent off for the second match running in the second half.

Libertad moved within four points of Cerro Porteno, who were held to a goalless draw by 2 de Mayo, and have a game in hand.

COLOMBIA

Defending champions America missed out on the playoff stages of the Apertura championship, their final hopes evaporating in a 3-1 defeat at Millonarios.

They were one of several big clubs who failed to qualify alongside Millonarios themselves, Santa Fe, Independiente Medellin and Atletico Nacional.

Deportivo Cali qualified by drawing 2-2 at home to Santa Fe in a match played behind closed doors following a pitch invasion during a cup game against America earlier this month.

Deportes Tolima, who nearly pulled out of the championship at the start of the year because of financial problems, finished top of the qualifying stage, completing their programme with a 1-0 win over Atletico Junior.

PERU

Cienciano, whose players received two months' outstanding wages on Friday, celebrated by beating promoted Inti Gas 3-0.

Goalkeeper Johnny Vegas converted a penalty to open the scoring six minutes before halftime. Raul Penalillo put through his own goal immediately after the re-start and Juan Manuel Cavallo made it 3-0 two minutes later.

The visitors had Hector Ramirez and Hector Diaz sent off in the last 20 minutes.

Alianza Lima went top of the championship's first stage by beating CNI 4-0. They lead on goals scored from Juan Aurich, who were held 1-1 at Jose Galvez.

URUGUAY

Defensor Sporting won 4-2 at nine-man Wanderers to stay four points clear at the top of the 2008/09 championship's second stage.

Despite having Agustin Pena and Marcelo Mendez sent off in the second half, Wanderers were level at 2-2 with five minutes left after twice coming from behind. However, late goals from Rodrigo Mora and Diego Vera gave Defensor the points.

Second-placed River Plate won 2-0 at Penarol to end their opponents' interest in this year's title race.

Reuters