Serie A 2010/2011 Thread

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Red Sox chairman set to buy AS Roma

AS Roma should be bought out by a consortium headed by Italian-American businessman and Boston Red Sox chairman Thomas DiBenedetto, the club's current owners announced after agreeing a 30-day period of private discussion between the groups.

"It has been decided to proceed with a phase of exclusive discussions with the company DiBenedetto AS Roma LLC, which has made the most competitive offer that we have been presented", Italpetroli, the Sensi family's holding company, announced.

"This will last for 30 days."

Italian press reported that the deal would be worth €200 million.

The Sensi family, which owns the club, are in debt to bank Unicredit, who ordered the sale of AS Roma in July. Rosella Sensi is the president of the club.

DiBenedetto made his fortune in publishing, real estate and marketing.

He said that he "wants to conclude this as soon as possible" and reassured fans that he and his partners "have good experience in the world of sport and finance".

DiBenedetto acts as chairman to Red Sox, who are owned by NESV, the group headed by John Henry that bought Liverpool earlier this season.

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Sneijder misses Cagliari trip

Internazionale Milano playmaker Wesley Sneijder was left out of the squad to face Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday and could be doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League last 16 first leg at home to Bayern Munchen.

The Dutchman limped off with a minor leg-muscle injury during Wednesday's 2-1 win at Fiorentina but had been expected to be fit for the Cagliari game.

Centre back Lucio was also not on coach Leonardo's squad list on Friday for the game against the Sardinians following a knock but said he would be fit for the repeat of last season's European Cup Final.

"The match against Bayern is too important. I'll definitely be there", Lucio said.

Midfielder Thiago Motta is back in full training after missing the Fiorentina game and could face Cagliari.

Striker Diego Milito has already been ruled out of playing the Germans because of a hamstring problem.

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Juve target Aquilani stay

Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed the Italian club will aim to sign Alberto Aquilani permanently from Liverpool.

The on-loan central midfielder has expressed his desire to stay at Stadio Olimpico and Marotta confirmed the club would look to use the clause to sign the 26-year-old to remain in Torino beyond his season-long stint.

"Well, let's say that Aquilani is doing very well and we're very satisfied. He should not be worried, since having him on loan doesn't mean that we're only evaluating him, but believing in him", Marotta said.

"His skills are known since he has been in Rome and the Italy youth teams and therefore we'll discuss with Liverpool the option of a permanent move."

In another positive sign for Bianconeri fans, Marotta confirmed the club is aiming to extend the career of veteran Alessandro Del Piero.

"There is always this chance. Del Piero is a great professional player who has given much to Juventus", he said.

"We're trying to find an economic balance. It's only a matter of time, which is needed to find an agreement, but we're optimistic that we can achieve a positive result."

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Ranieri quits AS Roma



REZUMAT

Claudio Ranieri has resigned as Roma manager following his side's 4-3 defeat at Marassi.

AS Roma had been leading the match 3-0 after 51 minutes, but conceded 4 goals to slump to their 4th consecutive defeat and prompt the former Chelsea boss's exit.

"I've always thought about the good of AS Roma and after a game such as today's I believe it's right to give a signal", he said.

"After the final whistle I went into the changing rooms to thank the team and I decided to hand in my resignation."

Cash-strapped AS Roma, who are in the process of being sold, lost 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday.

Around 200 fans protested at Roma's training ground on Saturday, throwing flares and firecrackers at the gates before being dispersed by police.

AS Roma produced a stunning run to finish second in Serie A last term in Ranieri's first season in charge after taking over from Luciano Spalletti. They now lie eighth and have not won in 5 games in all competitions.

Rome-born Ranieri has also had a difficult relationship with club captain Francesco Totti, who has played for AS Roma his whole career and is regarded by fans as the heartbeat of the club.

Retired former AS Roma striker Vincenzo Montella could take over in a caretaker role but it is unclear who would make the decision given the club's circumstances.

Rosella Sensi remains the president until the club is bought but creditor bank UniCredit has been in de facto control for months as it looks to recoup debts from a sale which has dragged on and stopped Ranieri buying players in January.

However, the club hierarchy were already pondering Ranieri's position before he resigned.

Del Neri blasts arrogant Juve



REZUMAT

Juventus manager Luigi Del Neri slammed his players as "arrogant and without excuses" after their shock 2-0 loss at Lecce on Sunday.

"We got the wrong approach from the start", Del Neri said.

Juve's cause was hampered by the red card shown to goalkeeper Gigi Buffon in the 12th minute but Del Neri had no excuses.

"The team was very arrogant. This is a defeat that should make us think carefully, as we should been more intense and taken charge."

"Lecce were always first to the ball and we deserved to lose. In fact, we're lucky it only ended 2-0."

"We are unable to face supposedly 'easy' games with the right concentration."

"Now our objectives seem a long way away. We cannot afford any more mistakes."

"It's a shame, as we were on the right path, but today we had no excuses for this performance."

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Buffon a fost suspendat o etapa

Gianluigi Buffon a primit o etapa de suspendare in urma cartonasului rosu vazut in minutul 12 al partidei cu Lecce.

Comisia de Disciplina, condusa de Gianpaolo Tosel, a prezentat in aceasta dupa-amiaza sanctiunile disciplinare in urma etapei cu numarul 26 din Seria A: 10 jucatori suspendati pentru o etapa, printre care si portarul lui Juventus, eliminat in minutul 12 al partidei disputate de bianconeri in deplasarea de pe Stadio Via del Mare.

Numarul 1 bianconero nu va putea evolua astfel in meciul pe care Juventus il va juca pe teren propriu cu Bologna, dar va reveni in etapa 28 la confruntarea derby cu AC Milan.

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Del Piero offers to sign blank contract

Alessandro Del Piero has offered to sign a blank contract to stay with Juventus after flatly denying he was holding out for more money in talks for a new deal.

"I've signed my first blank contract with Juventus", said the 36-year-old Juve captain, out of contract in June, said in a video on his official website.

"I'll sign my last one to wear this jersey blank too", he added after admitting to having been stun by rumours he was holding the club to ransom.

The forward, who has made a record 667 appearances and scored 280 goals for Juve in a career spanning 2 decades, has played a more peripheral part this season.

The Turin giants have struggled, scoring 4 goals from 12 starts.

"The driving force in my career has always been a deep love for football, for the Juventus colours and for its fans", he said.

"It's not about money. I've earned a lot in my life, though I could have earned more if I'd accepted certain offers."

The Bianconeri brought in forwards Alessandro Matri and another veteran Luca Toni in the winter transfer window, but Del Piero is desperate to play a part next season when Juventus will play at their brand new stadium.

"I spoke with the president Agnelli not about financial matters but my willingness to make myself available for next season", said Del Piero.

"My passion and my will to win that has been with me from the Viareggio youth tournament to the World Cup, not to mention Serie B", he added.

"My ties to the colours and the fans cannot be measured in numbers."

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Pazzini set to face Sampdoria

Inter Milano striker Giampaolo Pazzini has vowed to put emotions to one side when he returns to Genova to face Sampdoria on Sunday.

Pazzini is relishing lining up against his former club for the first time since leaving Luigi Ferraris in January.

"This is a special game for me", Pazzini said.

"I spent 2 wonderful and unforgettable years in Genova."

"I don't have a single bad memory of my experience at Sampdoria."

"As soon as I walk out of the team bus to enter the stadium I will feel great emotion but once the game starts it will be business as usual."

"However, if I score against them, I will not celebrate the goal."

"Perhaps later in my career I will return to Sampdoria after I win every possible title with Inter first."

Serie A leaders AC Milan host second place Napoli on Monday and if results go their way, Inter could reduce their current gap with their city rivals to just 2 points.

Leonardo's men beat Cagliari 1-0 last weekend to climb to third place, 5 points behind Milan and just 2 points adrift of Napoli.

Sampdoria, meanwhile, have collected just one win in their last 8 games.

Little has gone right for the Blucerchiati since Pazzini's departure.

Last weekend's goalless draw at Fiorentina which followed their 1-0 defeat to Genoa in the city derby dropped Domenico Di Carlo's men to 14th in the standings.

Lack of goalscoring has been Sampdoria's biggest problem, with the Genova outfit having failed to find the back of the net in 7 of its last 8 matches.

Inter will be without injured Andrea Ranocchia and Esteban Cambiasso, while defender Maicon serves a one-match ban.

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Palermo to sack Delio Rossi



REZUMAT

Palermo coach Delio Rossi has a 1% chance of keeping his job after "destroying the team" in the 7-0 home thrashing by Udinese on Sunday, colourful club president Maurizio Zamparini said.

The Sicilian side, pushing for a European place earlier in the season, have slid down the Serie A table in recent weeks and were 5-0 down at half-time against a rampant Udinese with Alexis Sanchez scoring 4 goals and Antonio Di Natale 3.

"Rossi has a 1% chance of staying. He has ruined my Palermo", Zamparini told reporters.

"Rossi has destroyed this team. I told the coach to sort out the defence and he didn't. Rossi dropped Ezequiel Munoz and he is the best in defence. You can't play like that."

Rossi refused to resign but knows his fate is all but sealed.

"I'm not quitting. I'm a fighter", Rossi said.

"There was a risk I'd be sacked before, nevermind now."

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Inter chief hails Leonardo

Inter Milano president Massimo Moratti has showered praise on his manager Leonardo ahead of Sunday's match against Genoa.

The Nerazzurri have won 10 of their 12 Serie A games since Leonardo replaced Rafael Benitez at the helm earlier this year.

A victory tomorrow would see Leonardo break a record for most points taken by a coach in Italy's top flight in his first 13 games in charge of the team.

England manager Fabio Capello holds the current mark after leading Juventus to 32 points in the 2004/2005 campaign.

"Since the month of January, the team has done really well", Moratti said.

"I am extremely proud of what the players and Leonardo have done."

"I hope they can continue to do well, showing the same determination that they have displayed in recent months."

"I want to thank them for what they have done considering the difficult situation we faced at the end of 2010."

Inter were 13 points adrift of AC Milan when they dismissed Benitez and brought in Leonardo.

Leonardo's men, who clinched their third straight win last time out against Sampdoria, went into this round of games in second place behind league leaders AC Milan.

"We are 5 points behind and we have to do our job and hope Milan lose points", Moratti said.

"In football, anything can happen."

Genoa will not be at full strength tomorrow with Domenico Criscito, Miguel Veloso and Floro Flores all suspended.

The only consolation for coach Davide Ballardini is that defender Abdoulay Konko has shaken off a muscular injury and could start against the Nerazzurri.

The Grifoni go into the encounter on the back of last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Stadio Angelo Massimino.

The result halted a run of 4 games without defeat for Genoa and dropped the Liguria outfit to 10th in the standings.

Leonardo will be without former Genoa defender Andrea Ranocchia, who has failed to recover from a knee problem.

However, Argentina striker Diego Milito is still sidelined through injury but the hosts will be bolstered by the return of Dejan Stankovic.

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Di Carlo gets Sampdoria axe



REZUMAT

Serie A strugglers Sampdoria have sacked manager Domenico Di Carlo following a series of poor results.

Di Carlo, 46-year-old, was shown the door on Monday after their disastrous 3-2 loss to relegation candidates Cesena at home on Saturday, with president Riccardo Garrone admitting results were to blame for the sacking.

Sampdoria sit in 14th place in Serie A and just 3 points outside the relegation zone, having lost 7 of their past 10 league matches.

Di Carlo had been appointed manager of Sampdoria in May 2010, having joined from Chievo.

The club named former Fiorentina, Lecce and Brescia coach Alberto Cavasin as the caretaker manager until a permanent boss is found.

"Di Carlo is a great person but we couldn't do anything else given results", Garrone said.

"I don't know yet if Cavasin will just be a caretaker. Only results count now."

Sampdoria lost star strikers Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini to AC Milan and Inter Milano respectively in the January transfer window, but replacements Federico Macheda, Marco Maccarone and Jonathan Biabiany have struggled to fill the void.

Cavasin, 55-year-old, will debut as Sampdoria coach when his side travels to Stadio Angelo Massimino on Sunday.

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Serie A - Team of the Week 30


Sirigu (Palermo)



Zaccardo (Parma) - Migliaccio (Palermo) - Dainelli (Genoa) - Balzaretti (Palermo)



Krasic (Juventus) - Inler (Udinese) - Vargas (Fiorentina)



Totti (AS Roma) - Cavani (Napoli) - Del Piero (Juventus)

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Matuzalem gets 4 match ban

Lazio's hopes of snatching Serie A's final Champions League qualifying spot suffered a blow on Monday when midfielder Matuzalem was banned for 4 games.

The Brazilian was booked in Saturday's 1-0 win over Cesena, triggering a one-game ban, but Serie A said in a statement he would receive a further 3-match suspension after television replays showed he punched Antonio Jimenez off the ball.

With 8 games left, fifth place Lazio are 2 points behind Udinese in the 4th Champions League qualifying spot.

Serie A's statement also confirmed Inter Milano centre-back Lucio would miss the potential title-deciding derby against AC Milan on 2 April because of a yellow card received in Sunday's win over Lecce.

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inca o revenire de senzatie a napolitanelor

Lavezzi - CAVANI - Hamsik

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Serie A - Team of the Week 31


Marco Storari (Juventus)



Astori (Cagliari) - Silva (AC Milan) - Grosso (Juventus)



Ricchiuti (Catania) - Seedorf (AC Milan) - Brocchi (Lazio) - Vargas (Fiorentina)



Bertolacci (Lecce) - Cavani (Napoli) - Pato (AC Milan)

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Presedintele lui Napoli: “Pretul lui Cavani? E nepretuit. Nu l-as da nici pentru 100 milioane euro”
Presedintele clubului Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis nu pune pret pe atacantul uruguaian Edison Cavani, declarand ca acesta este nepretuit pentru club

Presendintele clubului Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis isi doreste sa-l pastreze pe Cavani la club cu orice pret. Internationalul uruguaian a impresionat o Europa intreaga prin numarul de goluri marcate in Seria A, specialitatea acestuia fiind golurile de pe finalurile de meciuri. Prestatia sa din meciul cu Lazio din acest weekend a fost una incredibila, cele 3 goluri marcate in poarta romanilor au adus toate cele 3 puncte lui Napoli, echipa ce s-a apropiat la 3 puncte de Milan.

...Continuare...

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Alessandro Nesta pune capat speculatiilor: “Nu ma retrag la sfarsitul sezonului”

Fostul international italian, Alessandro Nesta a pus capat unei lungi serii de speculatii si a declarat ca nu se va retrage la sfarsitul sezonului
“Nu am spus ca vreau sa ma retrag la sfarsitul sezonului. Am fost intrebat in ce punct al carierei mele sunt si am spus ca am 35 ani si ca sunt aproape sa ma retrag insa nu inca” a declarat Alessandro pentru Milan Channel. “Sper sa pot fi capabil sa joc in continuare chiar si daca nu voi juca in fiecare meci, asa cum s-a intamplat in actualul sezon. Sunt foarte satisfacut deoarece in acest an am jucat foarte mult insa poate nu voi fi capabil sa fiu in teren la fiecare trei zile. Sunt pregatit de actiune si voi da totul pana in ultima zi, atunci cand ma voi retrage. Insa nu o voi face la sfarsitul sezonului.”

...Continuare...

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Juventus militeaza pentru schimbarea regulii jucatorilor extracomuntari

Juventus incearca sa contribuie la schimbarea regulii in ceea ce priveste jucatorii extracomuntari pe care echipele din campionatul italian ii pot achizitiona. Clubul bianconero se va alatura celor de la AC Milan si altor echipe din Serie A si va solicita Federatiei Italiene de Fotbal sa renunte la regula stabilita si introdusa de presedintele Federatiei, Giancarlo Abete, o regula care s-a dorit a fi o masura de promovare a jucatorilor italieni dupa Campionatul Mondial din Afrca de Sud, incheiat cu rezultate dezastruoase pentru nationala Italiei.

...Continuare...

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Serie A - Team of the Week 32


Antonioli (Cesena)



Zapata (Udinese) - Silva (AC Milan) - Cannavaro (Napoli)



Maggio (Napoli) - Seedorf (AC Milan) - Hernanes (Lazio) - Nagatomo (Inter Milano)



Totti (AS Roma) - Lavezzi (Napoli) - Luca Toni (Juventus)

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Matri, 7 goluri in 10 meciuri: o medie record



Dupa primele zece meciuri la Juventus, Alessandro Matri are o medie de goluri egalata in ultimii 25 de ani doar de Aldo Serena si Toto Schillaci

In fata lui Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet sau Pippo Inzaghi. In fata tuturor. Alessandro Matri a inscris 7 goluri in primele 10 partide jucate in tricoul lui Juventus, iar in ultimii 25 de ani doar Aldo Serena si Toto Schillaci au mai reusit aceasta performanta. La cota sase s-au oprit Trezeguet, Roberto Baggio, Inzaghi si Iaquinta. La cinci goluri Del Piero, Ibrahimovic, Moeller si Amauri. La patru Vialli, Laudrup si Briaschi.

Daca in ceea ce priveste calitatile tehnice ale lui Matri nu existau indoieli (nu se inscriu din intamplare 11 goluri in jumatate de campionat la Cagliari), lucrul care a surprins cel mai mult a fost modul in care atacantul italian s-a integrat la Juventus. Dificultatile constau in doi factori principali: presiunea unui tricou precum cel al lui Juve si momentul negativ prin care trecea echipa. Insa Alessandro le-a depasit pe ambele inca de la inceput. Adaptat perfect la toate sistemele incercate de antrenorul Luigi Del Neri, Matri a marcat din situatii diferite (doar primul gol din meciul cu Cagliari si primul de la Cesena au avut o oarecare similitudine). Capacitatea de a inscrie si miscarile de atacant sunt impresionante, precum calitatile sale tehnice. Insa poate si mai important, caracterul jucatorului este ireprosabil: linistit si temperat atat pe teren (venit cu trei cartonase galbene de la Cagliari, inca de la primul meci la Juve risca sa fie suspendat la urmatorul avertisment, situatie care nu s-a intamplat in cele 10 etape disputate pana acum) cat si in afara lui, Matri a abordat cu zambete si incredere marea ocazie care i-a fost prezentata si a castigat pana acum duelul de la distanta cu Giampaolo Pazzini (7 goluri la 6), jucator care era vazut de multi ca fiind superior. Si nu din intamplare Matri a inscris inca de la debutul sau in nationala Italiei: provocarile il motiveaza, nu il preocupa. Poate si datorita faptului ca a ajuns in acest punct luand pe rand fiecare etapa in cariera sa si progresand treptat.

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Udinese hit by injury woe

Napoli's hopes of another victory to keep on the tail of leaders AC Milan have been helped by Sunday's visitors Udinese being hit by injuries up front.

Top forward Antonio Di Natale is doubtful with an ankle problem and strike partner Alexis Sanchez is also not fully fit, so Bernardo Corradi could come into the side.

Udinese are fifth, a point behind Lazio in the 4th and final Champions League qualifying spot.

Napoli, 3 points adrift of Milan with 6 games left, have forward Ezequiel Lavezzi fit after a knee problem.

Milan have Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended but fellow striker Antonio Cassano, fresh from becoming a father, is available again after a ban to face troubled former club Sampdoria on Saturday.