Bit of a surprise to hear that Lucio has decided to leave Inter. Lucio’s agent Sandro Becker is quoted as saying today:
“He had three excellent years at Inter and feels it’s time to make a change,”
“We have been working on this since last week and resumed talks on Wednesday. We put in a transfer request and Inter have agreed. Now we have to find him a new club.
“Considering the man he is and the player he is, Lucio only leaves friends behind everywhere he goes. The decision to leave came from us, but Inter understood it. This has been entirely amicable. Read more... (276 words, 1 image, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)
AC Milan have confirmed the signings of Bakaye Traorè and Riccardo Montolivo on Bosman transfers.
Both midfielders, Traorè arrives from French club Nancy and Montolivo has joined the Rossoneri after his contract at Fiorentina expired.
Traore has signed a deal through June 2015, while Italian international Montolivo has signed through 2016.
That Toure ended up at the San Siro is not a surprise after his radio interview earlier this month when he said:
“I am happy to finally announce that I’m going to sign for Milan. It’s an incredible sensation,” he told RMC radio. Read more... (220 words, 1 image, estimated 53 secs reading time)
Inter boss Andrea Stramaccioni says he must try and mastermind a serious Scudetto challenge in 2012-13 because the expectation at Inter is that they are title contenders every season:
“If you are called Inter then you have to aim for the Scudetto,” the 36-year-old stated in an interview with the Corriere dello Sport.
“There was more than a 20 point gap between us and Juventus, but I train players who are used to fighting for victory and competing for the big objectives. We have players who know how to win. Read more... (376 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
New PSV signing Mark van Bommel will take up a coaching role at the club once he retires.
The Netherlands international signed a one-year contract with the Dutch side yesterday after joining from AC Milan.
The 35-year-old spent six years at PSV earlier in his career, winning four Eredivisie titles, and the club’s technical director Marcel Brands says he remains a fans’ favourite.
“This is a special moment in particular for the fans who have been waiting for his return for such a long time,” Brands said. Read more... (220 words, 1 image, estimated 53 secs reading time)
Juventus’s players are attempting to refocus after their Scudetto celebrations and concentrate on Sunday’s Coppa Italia final against Napoli in Rome.
The Turin giants were crowned Serie A champions in the penultimate week of the campaign and then celebrated in front of their home fans two days ago after beating Atalanta 3-1 to cap an unbeaten season.
“This game is very important for us just as it is for Napoli,” said Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci said. “It will be an important test for us to see if winning the Scudetto was enough for us or if we still have some appetite left.” Read more... (188 words, 1 image, estimated 45 secs reading time)
Mino Raiola has confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be wearing an AC Milan shirt next season despite reports that the striker would be angling for a move after a disappointing season with the San Siro outfit.
However, his agent Raiola insists that the Swede is keen to stay, based on what Vice President Adriano Galliani had to say to him yesterday.
“This morning we didn’t talk about Ibrahimovic,” began the outspoken agent. “But we did talk about him yesterday.
“The contents of the meeting might be revealed by Galliani, even so, Ibrahimovic was very happy with the future project. And Galliani was also happy. Read more... (250 words, 1 image, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)
Roma director Walter Sabatini has admitted that that Catania coach Vicenzo Montella is on the short list to become Roma’s manager next season.
Montella, who played for Roma from 1999 to 2009, is currently in charge of Catania and led them to a respectable 11th-placed finish in the Serie A this season.
The former Italy international also had a brief spell in charge of Roma towards the end of last season when he took over from Claudio Ranieri as caretaker coach, and Sabatini admits Montella is a strong candidate to replace the outgoing Luis Enrique. Read more... (307 words, 1 image, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)
Udinese owner Gianpaolo Pozzo heaped praise on his players after they finished third in the league, securing a place in next season’s Champions League preliminary round.
Udinese won 2-0 at Catania in Sunday’s finale to edge Lazio into the vital third position.
“This is a great satisfaction for a small club like ours and for our city,” Pozzo said. “We have 20% less capital with respect to other clubs.
“I have to congratulate our coach and our players for the results achieved in the last two years.”
For the second consecutive year, Udinese took the last qualifying spot away from Lazio.” Read more... (277 words, 1 image, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)
Juventus wrapped up their historical season with a routine 3-1 win against Atalanta today. The win ensured that the new Italian champions finished their 38-game season unbeaten.
It was a day of celebration for the newly anointed champions, and Luca Marrone’s tenth-minute opener set the tone for a momentous day. Fittingly, Alessandro Del Piero doubled the hosts’ lead 18 minutes later to mark his final appearance at the Juventus Arena, having made over 500 league appearances for the Bianconeri. Atalanta halved the deficit through Stephan Lichtsteiner’s 83rd-minute own goal, but it proved in vain as Andrea Barzagli’s late penalty made sure of the result for Juve. Read more... (261 words, 1 image, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)
While Juventus has already wrapped up their 28th title, there is still a lot to play for in the final weekend of Serie A football.
Champions League Battle
Juventus and AC Milan will be two of Italy‘s three representatives in the Champions League next season, but the third and final spot is up for grabs between Udinese, Lazio, Napoli and Inter Milan.
The race to finish third and claim a place in the final round of the Champions League qualifiers has been complicated by the league’s decision to use the head-to-head rule rather than goal difference if teams finish level on points. Read more... (324 words, 1 image, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
Bit of a surprise to hear that Lucio has decided to leave Inter. Lucio’s agent Sandro Becker is quoted as saying today:
