Malafeev stalls international career for family

Russian goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev on Monday announced he was temporarily stepping down from international duty to spend more time with his two children. The Zenit St Petersburg shot-stopper informed the Russian Football Union (RFU) deputy president Nikita Simonyan and Russia's national manager Fabio Capello, the official RFU site reported. "It was a difficult decision to stop my international career from both a professional and human point of view," the RFU site quoted Malafeev as saying. "But it's the only correct decision for my family," added the 33-year-old who is raising his children alone after his wife Marina has died in a car crash in March 2011. Malafeev has played 28 matches for Russia after making his international debut in a 1-0 victory in the Euro-2004 qualifying play-off match against Wales in 2003. FIFA