Kidnappers grab Oliveira's sister

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SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The sister of AC Milan's Brazilian forward Ricardo Oliveira has been kidnapped from her home in Sao Paulo, police have revealed.

Police sources said at least two armed men broke into the home of Maria de Lourdes in a northern neighborhood of Brazil's largest city in the early hours of Wednesday.

She was snatched while her husband and eight-year-old son were tied up. The kidnapping is the latest involving the relatives of footballers in the state of Sao Paulo.

The most infamous involved the mother of striker Robinho, who spent more than 40 days in captivity in 2004.

Robinho, now with Real Madrid, was playing for Santos at the time and left the club less than one year later.

Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano's mother was snatched in Campinas last year and spent around two months in the hands of kidnappers and the mother of Grafite, playing for Sao Paulo at the time, was held for one day after a kidnapping, also last year.

Ricardo Oliveira joined AC Milan in August, having previously spent a short period with Sao Paulo.

He played for Brazil at the 2004 Copa America and during the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

However, he suffered a knee injury last year and, although he had recovered in time for the World Cup, he was overlooked.

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