Juve will sign one star in the summer

Juventus chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc said on Wednesday that the Italian giants will sign a star player in the summer.

Juve are currently trailing Inter Milan by seven points in Serie A with only nine games remaining.

Following their elimination from the Champions League by Chelsea earlier this month, club coach Claudio Ranieri said they needed bigger stars to compete for the top honours.

And Blanc has now promised him at least one.

“I’m not talking about the transfer market but what I can tell you is that we will buy a star player,” Frenchman Blanc told investors at a conference in Milan.

“One who can herald a new era of success.”

Juve are not out of the championship race but will need to not lose any more ground on Inter ahead of the pair’s clash in Turin next month.

Were they to win that and reduce the gap between the two to no more than four points, Juve would certainly be in with a chance of claiming their first title since 2003.

“We’ll see what shape we’re in at the direct clash between the two teams,” added Blanc.

“Until it’s mathematically impossible, we’ll keep fighting.”

Ibra staying but Maxwell leaving Inter

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent on Wednesday denied that his client is looking for a move away from Inter Milan.

However, Mino Raiola confirmed that another client of his, Brazilian left-back Maxwell, will definitely be leaving the San Siro at the end of the season.

Ibrahimovic sparked speculation about his future on Sunday when he said after his two-goal starring role in Inter’s 3-0 home win over Reggina: “I’m totally focused on winning the title but as for next season, we’ll see.

“I’m very happy to be at Inter but next year we’ll see.”

Inter president Massimo Moratti responded on Monday by saying: “I can’t imagine Inter without Ibrahimovic.

“But if that were to happen, it would not stop the club from carrying on.”

Ibra, as he is known in Italy, is a reported target for Barcelona but Raiola told Radio Radio that the Sweden striker, who Italian media claim to be the highest paid player in Serie A, will be going nowhere.

“People are talking about convincing Zlatan to stay but no-one has said he is leaving,” said Raiola.

“Zlatan has a great relationship with Moratti. There’s no reason for them to have a meeting (to discuss his future).

“Moratti was right when he said that we’ve given bait to the newspapers and the media to develop a story which for now doesn’t exist.

“If I or Zlatan or (Inter coach Jose) Mourinho don’t say anything Italy stops talking about football.”

Raiola also dismissed speculation that Ibrahimovic has set demands for staying with Inter.

“Zlatan has never asked for reinforcements or more money and anyone who says otherwise is a liar,” he added.

As for Maxwell it is the end of the road, however. The Brazilian was one of two players individually picked out by Mourinho for criticism following a 3-1 defeat at Atalanta in January and he lost his place to teenager Davide Santon.

Santon has impressed ever since and Maxwell has not been able to win his place back in the team.

“With Mourinho either you’re Zlatan and he takes you to his home or if you’re not Zlatan you’re dead and that’s not right from a coach’s point of view,” blasted Raiola.

“The relationship between Maxwell and Mourinho is finished.”

Raiola suggested Maxwell could move to Inter’s city rivals AC Milan.

“That’s not a decision for Inter to take but the player’s. We’ll terminate his contract, we’ll pay what has to be paid but we won’t set one price for Milan and another for other clubs.

“All the big teams know how good this player is.”

Buffon expects Inter to win the Scudetto

Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon believes Inter will win the Scudetto this season.

The Old Lady are seven points behind the Nerazzurri in the race for the Scudetto.

“Inter will surely win the Scudetto because they have a big lead over us,” Buffon said on Sky Sport 24.

“They are a very balanced side and so it is difficult when you let them get an advantage.

“However, there is obviously some hope we could catch them otherwise I wouldn’t bother playing on Sunday.

“Inter are the most complete squad with the best unit. At the moment they deserve to be top and under pressure they managed to respond by winning games extremely easily.

Milan focus on Champions League return

AC Milan face a tough trip to Napoli as they continue their push for a top three finish and automatic entry into next season’s Champions League group stages.

Milan finished fifth in Serie A a year ago and spent this season in exile in the UEFA Cup until they were knocked out by Werder Bremen at the end of last month.

But now, according to injured midfield general Gennaro Gattuso, the Italian giants are focussed on securing a top three finish.

While Milan may have failed to put up a championship fight this season — they trail leaders and city rivals Inter by 12 points — Gattuso is convinced that they would have succeeded where their neighbours failed and beaten Manchester United in the Champions League.

“If Milan had come up against Manchester we would have beaten them,” he said. “In one-off matches we can achieve the unexpected.

“But for us right now the most important thing is getting back into the Champions League, a year in the UEFA Cup has hurt us.”

The clash in Naples will be the latest step in achieving that objective and they will be looking to maintain their six-point lead over fourth placed Genoa, who host Udinese.

But Gattuso is expecting a rejuvenated Napoli under former Italy coach and Milan midfielder Roberto Donadoni, who is taking charge of his first home match.

Napoli have not won in 10 league matches but the mood around the camp has improved since Donadoni’s arrival.

“Donadoni’s arrival will have made things even harder but if we win then third place is in the bag,” said Gattuso, who is not likely to play again this season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in December.

Before the season began this match would have been viewed as potentially a crucial one in the title race but Roma’s disastrous start to the season sees them arrive at this juncture with their eyes set firmly on clinching fourth place, not the title.

They trail Genoa in that race by two points but have stuttered recently, drawing their last three matches and winning only two of the last seven.

Juventus, in stark contrast, have won four in a row and are still dreaming of a first scudetto crown since 2003, having had their 2005 and 2006 titles stripped due to match-fixing.

Midfielder Claudio Marchisio, an increasingly important part of the team with Malian Momo Sissoko out injured, believes Juventus can still pull back the seven-point gap to Inter.

The two sides meet in Turin in four weeks.

“We’ve having a great season and we are going to keep on believing right to the end,” he said.

“There are still a lot of points to play for and Inter are starting to feel tired after all their matches.

“This is a decisive moment, we need to look for a maximum of points in our next three matches against Roma, Chievo and Genoa so we can be in the best possible position when we play the leaders.”

Inter host rock bottom Reggina on Sunday and will be odds on to come away from that with three points, particularly since star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic put his European disappointment behind him with a brace last weekend in the 2-0 win over Fiorentina.

Jimenez unhappy at Inter

Inter midfielder Luis Jimenez admits he is eager to leave the club at the end of the season.

The Chilean midfielder is frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities with the Nerazzurri.

“I asked to leave in the winter - I had several offers and big clubs came forward,” Jimenez lamented in La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“However, Inter said that they needed me and a transfer was out of the question. I was amazed and the situation has deteriorated still further since then.

“I can’t come to terms with what is happening and I can’t see a good reason for it.

“I feel good and I even discussed things with Jose Mourinho recently and that left me optimistic, but I obviously misunderstood what he was saying.

“I thought I would be brought back into the team, but I wasn’t even in the Coppa Italia squad.

“Sometimes I feel like a ghost in training and I don’t want to spend another season like this.”

Ancelotti: We still aim for the second place

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that the club are interested in Inter full-back Maxwell and reassured the fans on Kaka’s condition. “Maxwell is a player Milan like a lot, I think we will talk about it in a while,” he said. “He is one of the best wing players around.”

“Checks on Kakà have been made, it’s nothing serious. Abbiati? This season, destiny has been against us,” he continued, referring to the goalkeeper’s season-ending injury.

On the team’s objective in the league, Ancelotti said, “We are doing well and we are still aiming for the second place, we aren’t getting complacent. We also have the direct encounter against Juventus to play at home”.

Pato confident of Champions League success next season

AC Milan youngster Alexandre Pato is confident they will win the Champions League next season.

The Brazilian ace has impressed for AC Milan in the Serie A recently and believes they will manage to qualify for the Champions League this season.

“Milan have won everything in the past,” Pato told La Gazzetta Dello Sport. “The fans and critics have always been used to seeing us win.

“It’s normal sometimes to go through a period like we have. However, I am sure we will return to the Champions League next season and we will win it. We will start a new cycle.”

Pato has scored 12 goals so far in the Serie A for AC Milan.

Mourinho dismisses exit talk

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has rubbished rumours that he could leave the San Siro at the end of the season, according to Sky Sports.

Reports in Italy suggest that the Portuguese manager could face the axe should he fail to secure the UEFA Champions League, after many believe previous manager Roberto Mancini suffered a similiar fate from owner Massimo Moratti despite winning three Scudetti titles in a row.

On top of this the outspoken former Chelsea manager has come under fire from the Italian press this week for verbal attacks on referees and rivals, but Mourinho insists he has no plans to leave in the summer.

Mourinho said :

“In football you never know. You could stay two, three, four, five years, it depends on everything,”

“At the end of the season I will leave Italy to go on holiday in Africa where I will do charity work with children. But I’m certainly not working so that another coach can come in.”

“Am I fed up with Italian football? No, the only adjective I would use to explain how I feel right now is not angry but proud, proud of myself,” he said.

“I’m neither angry nor tense, that’s your feeling. I like to change, sometimes I change my hairstyle. Once I cut it all off, now I’m letting it grow out. Once I turned up with a long beard. But right now I’m absolutely perfect. I like to change but I’m not angry.”

Spalletti lashes out at Mourinho over title jibe

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti on Friday hit out at Inter Milan counterpart Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese coach claimed the Romans would win nothing this season.

Spalletti accused Mourinho of being afraid of Manchester United ahead of the Champions League second round, second leg ties next week.

Mourinho angered Spalletti by claiming in midweek that Roma would win nothing this season despite having many good players he himself would like to sign.

The former Chelsea boss had reacted furiously to suggestions his team had got a penalty they did not deserve in last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Roma.

“Mourinho’s words surprised me a little bit because on Sunday after the match he gave me a cuddle and wished us luck ahead of the Arsenal match (in the Champions League),” said Spalletti.

“But then he wished bad luck on us with that terrible and bad thing he said about winning no titles.

“Mourinho needs to keep calm, he has a very strong team. This thing he said about us winning no titles seemed to me to be more a sign of fear ahead of the Manchester United match.”

Mourinho dismisses exit talk

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho on Friday dismissed speculation that he is set to walk out of the club.

Rumours have spread this week that Mourinho will leave Inter if they fail to win the Champions League this season, despite the club being odds-on favourites to win a fourth straight Serie A crown.

But Mourinho dismissed any such concerns and said he could not determine how long he would stay in Italy.

“Me, leave Italy? In football you never know, you can stay two, three, four or ten years, it all depends,” he told a press conference in Milan ahead of Saturday’s trip to Genoa.

“But one thing’s for sure, I’m not trying to provoke a change of coach.”

Mourinho was questioned about his future in Italy because in midweek he launched a tirade against Italian football and the dramas surrounding it, particularly the manner in which every refereeing decision is analysed and reanalysed in the press.

However, he reacted in typical Mourinho fashion on Friday.

“Am I fed up with Italian football? No, the only adjective I would use to explain how I feel right now is not angry but proud, proud of myself,” he said.

“I’m neither angry nor tense, that’s your feeling. I like to change, sometimes I change my hairstyle.

“Once I cut it all off, now I’m letting it grow out. Once I turned up with a long beard.

“But right now I’m absolutely perfect. I like to change but I’m not angry.”

Mourinho was also in belligerent mood regarding his comments on Tuesday: “What I said on Tuesday is what I wanted to say.”

The former Chelsea boss landed himself in hot water with Italian football bosses over his comments about Juventus earning many points due to refereeing errors.

He could yet face a fine and/or touchline ban for what he said.

He was reacting to questions about his team getting an undeserved penalty in last weekend’s 3-3 draw at home to AS Roma.

His outburst against Juventus came when he was told that Juve coach Claudio Ranieri had agreed with Roma coach Luciano Spalletti’s assertion that the incident should not have resulted in a penalty — Inter forward Mario Balotelli had gone to ground very easily in the area as he tried to slip between Daniele De Rossi and Marco Motta.

“While Ranieri says he is behind Spalletti, I am on the side of coaches who have dropped points against Juve - and also on the side of those who are going to meet Juve in the coming weeks,” Mourino had said on Tuesday before slating all his main rivals.

“Roma, with their great players, so many players that I’d like to have, will end the season with zero titles.

“(AC) Milan will finish the season with zero titles when the club has everything it needs to win - as will Juventus, who have won a lot of points thanks to refereeing errors.”

For now, Inter face a tough trip away to Genoa, who alongside Inter are one of only two teams unbeaten at home this season.

Mourinho has some defensive problems to sort out after his team’s abject performance at the back in Wednesday’s 3-0 Italian Cup defeat to Sampdoria.

Centre-backs Marco Materazzi and Nelson Rivas are almost certain to face the chop even though Walter Samuel and Cristian Chivu are not yet fit.

It means Ivan Cordoba and Nicolas Burdisso should line up as centre-backs on Saturday.

Sampdoria humiliate Mourinho´s out of form Inter

Inter Milan’s recent run of poor form continued on Wednesday as an admittedly under-strength side were soundly beaten 3-0 by Sampdoria in their Italian Cup semi-final, first leg clash making it a long shot that the Serie A leaders reach their fifth successive Cup final.

Inter, who were second best in a Champions League last 16 first leg match with Manchester United last week and then were held 3-3 by AS Roma last weekend, went down to goals from badboy Antonio Cassano and a double by strike partner Giampaolo Pazzini.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho, with a mind towards this weekend’s tough Serie A match with fifth-placed Genoa and next week’s Champions League match at Old Trafford against United, had decided to rest players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cesar and Christian Chivu.

Their replacements could not handle it and a disastrous error by Colombian defender Nelson Rivas, who had a catastrophic first-half against United before being withdrawn by Mourinho at half-time, let in Cassano, who made no mistake and shot past Francesco Toldo in the ninth minute.

Padalino then added a double through a header and then a shot three minutes from the break to wrap up victory for Sampdoria.

Inter’s night hardly got better after the break as talented young striker Mario Baslotelli had to go off injured in the 52nd minute having collided with a post.

Inter could not even take advantage of Sampdoria being reduced to 10 men on the hour as defender Daniele Gastaldello was sent off.

Mourinho, who is subject of disciplinary proceedings after making inflammatory remarks following the draw with Roma, took defeat in his stride.

“We conceded a ludicrous first goal and a second off a rebound,” said the Portuguese. “When not everybody is there (as in first choice players), the team is obviously not of the same calibre.

“But I decided I had to make changes because it is not humanly possible for them to play every match.”

Lazio came from behind on Tuesday to beat Juventus 2-1 in their Italian Cup semi-final, first leg after second-half goals from Macedonian forward Goran Pandev and Tommaso Rocchi cancelled out Marco Marchionni’s opener on 34 minutes.

Diego wants to join Juventus

Brazilian ace Diego has admitted he would like to join Italian giants Juventus at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old has also been linked with Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea in recent weeks.

But the Werder Bremen ace’s father has revealed his son favours a move to Juventus, as he would like to be at a club that can win the Champions League.

Djair da Cunha said: “Diego wants Juventus and he would win the Ballon d’Or in the Bianconeri jersey.

“It’s such a big satisfaction knowing that all the Juve fans admire him and I would be really happy if the deal with Werder Bremen makes progress.

“My son dreams about playing for a club that wins in Europe.”

Juve furious amid Mourinho claims of ref favours

Juventus reacted with fury on Tuesday after Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho implied the club received favourable treatment from referees.

Mourinho made the comments at a press conference which saw him allude to the controversy which ensued following the Serie A leaders’ 3-3 draw with AS Roma - a match in which his men recovered to bag a point with the aid of a contested spot kick.

Mario Balotelli netted the penalty but Roma boss Luciano Spalletti was livid and accused Balotelli of diving.

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri - like Mourinho a former Chelsea coach - saw fit to back Spalletti and that angered the Inter coach, who promptly insinuated that Juve received preferential treatment from referees.

“While Ranieri says he is behind Spalletti, I am on the side of coaches who have dropped points against Juve - and also on the side of those who are going to meet Juve in the coming weeks,” Mourino said ahead of Wednesday’s Italian Cup semi-final meeting with Sampdoria.

Detecting what he termed an “organised attempt to manipulate public opinion” against his team Mourinho then proceeded to slate his team’s rivals, prophesying that “Roma, with their great players, so many players that I’d like to have, will end the season with zero titles.

“(AC) Milan will finish the season with zero titles when the club has everything it needs to win - as will Juventus, who have won a lot of points thanks to refereeing errors.”

The temperamental Mourinho, accepting that there had been one occasion, in Siena, that Inter might have themselves benefited from a refereeing mistake, then turned on his heel and left the interview room.

Juve later issued a statement expressing the Turin club’s “indignation”, while calling on Inter “to disassociate itself publicly from such claims.”

Juve accused Mourinho of a lack of respect - to Italian football as well as to the club.

Inter, who could only draw last week at home to Manchester United in the Champions League round of 16, currently lead the table by seven points from Juve with 12 games left.

Figo never wanted to leave Barcelona

Inter Milan star Luis Figo has revealed he never wanted to leave Barcelona.

The Portuguese star claims he wanted to stay at Barcelona rather than move to their rivals Real Madrid.

Figo became one of the most hated men in Catalonia following his move to Real Madrid.

“I didn’t lie when I said that I wanted to stay with Barcelona. I wanted to remain there and the president also knew that,” he declared.

“My only mistake back then was to say in an interview that I would not go.”

He added: “When I retire I will visit Barcelona again. They may not ask me for autographs, but I will will return. I continue to have a lot of respect for the fans, I have a Catalan daughter and I knew my partner there…For, it is an important place, and I am proud to have played there. They were five good years of my life.”

Serie A Team Of The Week - Giornata 26

In the U.S., its the time of the year called March Madness. After this week of UEFA Cup, Champions League, and Serie A action “March Madness” could also be applied to Calcio Italiano. Unpredictablility and surprise are the name of the game making the drama even more intense. This week’s Serie A Team Of The Week contributed to “March Madness” by making headlines and/or playing matches during the calendar week of Feb. 23 - March 1. The winner is:

Udinese Calcio

Udinese was the only Italian team to win both European & domestic matches this week. On Thursday, Udinese advanced to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Cup by defeating Polish side Lech Pozna? 2-1 to go through 4-3 on aggregate. Antonio Di Natale was the hero for Udinese by scoring a goal in 2nd half injury time to keep Udinese’s silverware hopes alive. On Sunday, they kept their winning ways by beating Lecce 2-0 in the Serie A. Both goals came from 2nd half substitutes Gaetano D’Agostino & Giovanni Pasquale. Udinese will now face defending UEFA Cup champions Zenit St. Petersburg in the Round of 16 as they look to be the Serie A’s best chance at winning a European trophy. For their victorious week, Udinese Calcio is Week 26 Serie A Team Of The Week.

Match ban for AS Roma coach Spalletti

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has received a one-match ban for bitterly criticising the fourth match official following Sunday’s thrilling 3-3 draw at leaders Inter Milan.

Sports judge Gianpaolo Tosel handed down the ban after finding Spalletti had used “an insulting and provocative expression” to the official.

AS Roma will additionally have to cough up an 8,000-euro fine after some of their fans chanted abuse at Inter striker Mario Balotelli during the game.

Inter twice came back from two-goal deficits to snatch a point which extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points.

Beckham deal moving closer

The former England captain joined Milan on a two-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy in January and was due to return to the Major League Soccer club next week.

But Beckham wants to stay in Italy, and Galliani said the two sides are close to a deal that would keep him at Milan until the summer.

"The deal is getting more and more concrete," Galliani told the club's TV station. "I hope we can arrange it so he stays on loan at least until June 30. Then he could return to Los Angeles and rejoin us in January."

"The deal is not done. We're working on the possibility of a loan until June 30, but no deal has been reached yet," Galliani said before boarding a plane for Doha, Qatar.

Financial terms of the proposal are unknown, but the Galaxy earlier had asked for $10 million from Milan for the outright purchase of Beckham. Milan had said it would pay no more than $3 million, since he could become available anyway after the MLS season.

"This is the direction we're aiming for," Galliani said. "It's complicated, as we've always known, but I'm still trying."

Beckham wants to remain with Milan to improve his chances of making England's squad for next year's World Cup. He has played in 11 games with the Rossoneri, nine of them in Serie A in which he always started.

"He's transformed himself into a very important player, although he's a bit worn down right now," Galliani added

Italian clubs tackle an inconvenient truth

World champions they may be, but Italy is feeling a chill in its domestic game as the country’s glamour clubs suffer a potentially devastating slump.

Last week’s European action brought home a very uncomfortable truth that the Italians, considered the continental driving force in the 1990s, are no longer sitting at the head of the table.

In three clashes against English opposition, Italy’s three Champions League representatives failed to score a goal, suffered two defeats and only some profligate Manchester United finishing, coupled with heroic goalkeeping from Julio Cesar, allowed Inter Milan to buck the losing trend.

To make matters even worse, three of Italy’s four UEFA Cup sides went crashing out with AC Milan, Fiorentina and Sampdoria eliminated, leaving only northern side Udinese to progress to the last 16.

If Udinese fail to get past holders Zenit St Petersburg in the next round, Italy could well find itself without a single team in the quarter-finals of either European competition.

It’s a far cry from the glory days of the 1990s.

First, the Spanish and now the dominant English, thanks to the mega-rich Premier League, have streaked past.

For the second year in a row, every Italian team that made it through to the Champions League knockout stages faces elimination by an English foe.

And once again, it has been the failure to score goals that has cost them dearly.

Last year AC Milan lost 2-0 on aggregate and Inter Milan 3-0 to Arsenal and Liverpool respectively at this stage.

Roma made it into the last eight but they lost home and away to Manchester United for a 3-0 aggregate defeat.

Taking those clashes between English and Italian teams from the knockout stages last year and the first-leg ties this year, that makes nine matches played, two drawn, seven lost, no goals scored and 10 conceded for the Italians.

It makes for sorry reading.

But it used to be so different in the 1990s, particularly when there were three European competitions.

From 1989, when Italy had a team in all three finals - winning the European and UEFA Cups but not the European Cup Winners’ Cup - they embarked on a decade of domination.

A year later four of the six European finallists were Italian and they carried home all three trophies.

In the European Cup/Champions League, Italy had a finalist in nine of 10 finals from 1989 to 1998, winning four and losing five.

In the UEFA Cup, which was occasionally deemed a tougher competition because up to four clubs from the same country could compete in it, Italy’s domination was even more apparent.

In the 11 seasons from 1989 to 1999, Italian teams won the competition eight times, providing four all-Italian finals and failing to make the final only once.

However, since 1999, when the Cup Winners’ Cup was ditched with Lazio as the final winners and Parma beat Marseille in the UEFA Cup final, it has been a steady decline for Italian teams.

Having dominated the UEFA Cup from 1989 to 1999, they have failed to qualify a single team for the final ever since, and with only Udinese left in it this season, that run looks likely to continue for another 12 months.

In the Champions League, their decline has been less profound, although only thanks to AC Milan.

They have reached three finals in the last decade, winning two of them while Juventus lost the 2003 final to Milan on penalties.

But in the same period four different English teams, and three Spanish, have reached finals.

And perhaps more significantly, English teams have been in the finals in each of the last four seasons, including last year’s all-English affair between Manchester United and beaten finalists Chelsea.