AC Milan’s successful journey to the quarter-finals of the Champions League has ignited the belief in Arrigo Sacchi that they can compete with any team in the competition. The Rossoneri secured their place in the quarter-finals after a gap of nine years, with a 1-0 aggregate victory against Tottenham. Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of the tie early in the first leg at San Siro.
Premier League champions Chelsea are back on the case of Napoli defender KalidouKoulibaly, according to reports in Italy.
Past Chelsea bosses were keen on the player. Current manager Antonio Conte, who is knowledgeable about Italian football, agrees that he is worthy of chasing. Stamford Bridge were linked with the player last season and they launched a bid of €55 million. However, the move failed and Koulibaly remained with the Serie A side.
There are reports that Conte is looking at getting the player this summer after all the speculations have died down. Conte is believed to be a fan of the player and he hopes Napoli take the €60 million he values the 25-year old. In his three year stay, Koulibaly had played 119 games, scoring three times. Continue reading CHELSEA BACK ON KOULIBALY’S CASE
Juventus have sealed one down in their quest for a treble this season.
Juventus are expected to wrap up the Serie A title for a record six times this weekend. The Bianconeri took the lead through former Barca defender DaniAlves. Highly sought after defender Leonardo Bonucci scored the second to complete the 2-0 rout in Rome on Wednesday.
Juve had Neto in goal as he stood in for Gianlugi Buffon all through the tournament. Neto denied Felipe Anderson and Ciro Immobile to keep the scoreline in their favour. Continue reading JUVENTUS WIN COPPA ITALIA
Inter Milan sporting director PieroAusiliosays that it is extremely important for the club to return to the Champions League as part of the larger plan to take the club forward.
However, they have fallen under bad times since then. Even after going through several managers Office Professional Plus 2013 key like Rafa Benitez and Roberto Mancini, the club have been unable to revive their former glory days. Inter are in such a bad position that they have not qualified for the Champions League since 2012.
The club recently received a new investment in the form of Chinese owners, and they are ready to back the club in a substantial way. However, the club will struggle to attract the top players if they do not reach the pinnacle of the European football tournament. Juventus have been able to replace Inter as the top dog in Italian football. Continue reading Champions League Qualification Crucial for Inter Milan, Says Sporting Director
Former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has revealed a picture of what happened behind the scenes during his burst-up with Mario Balotelli that eventually led to the exit of the Italian.
Mario Balotelli suffers poor public acceptance due to his off the field activities, particularly when he moved to England. His spat with Mancini eventually led to his exit from the City squad.
“He came to conflict with some teammates because of his behavior, and he wanted to return to Italy. I was disappointed that he wanted to leave because he should have done so much more in an extraordinary championship,” the former Etihad manager added. Continue reading Mancini reveals why Balotelli left the Etihad
Retired AC Milan goal keeper, Christian Abbiati has blasted the poor attitude of some AC Milan players.
Abbiati joined Milan from Monza in 1998, and ended his 18-year association with the club when he decided to retire at the conclusion of this season. Milan endured another inconsistent campaign, as Cristian Brocchi guided the club to a seventh place finish following the sacking of Sinisa Mihajlovic in April.
The Coppa Italia failed to save their season as they lost to Juventus 1-0 after extra-time in Saturday’s final, and Abbiati has subsequently been scathing of some of his colleagues for their conduct throughout the 2015/2016 season. Though the goal keeper handled most of the games at the Coppa Italia, the first choice handled the Serie A games. Abbiati told Gazzette dello Sport:
“There are four or five players that didn’t do what was asked of them, and I’m not talking about making mistakes on the field. Continue reading FORMER AC MILAN GOAL KEEPER BLAST THE ATTITUDE OF THE PLAYERS
Chinese retail giant, Suning, is reportedly interested in taking over Italian football outfit, FC Internazionale Milano.
In a statement released to the public, the company confirmed the report from Italian sources.
“Suning Investment Holding Group and Suning Sports are interested in a strategic cooperation with Internazionale Milano Football Club.
“Once the contents of the cooperation have been established, it will be made official in China. We believe that international cooperation will provide a great boost for the promotion of the Suning team in Milan, while also boosting Inter, and Chinese football as a whole, which is very important for us.
“Our visit in Milan was of an excellent level, and we hope that this exchange with Inter, along with an experience of observation and learning, can improve the operational ability of Suning in the world of football, with the final objective of promoting the development of Chinese football.” Continue reading CHINESE RETAIL GIANT INTERESTED IN ITALIAN FOOTBALL
Italian football has reached a new low with the 4-1 defeat against Germany on Tuesday. This was the first time in almost 21 years that Germany manages to beat Italy.
Germany, who was beaten by England in their last match, wanted to reassure their fans as well as themselves by producing an exceptional performance. Unfortunately, it was the Italians that were on the receiving end of a well-deserved victory from the World Champions.
The Italian side will have to conduct a thorough analysis of their performance in order to improve themselves. If they have any ambition to win the Euro 2016, they should not be playing the way they did against Germany. In fairness, this has been coming for quite some time now. This can be evidenced by the decline of Italian football in the European club competition with only Juventus managing to perform in the Champions League.
Toni Kroos opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a shot just from outside the box which gave no chance to Italian keeper, Gianluigi Buffon. Germany doubled the lead just before the stroke of half-time thanks to a Mario Gotze header. The opportunity came thanks to a cross from Thomas Muller.
After the break, Italy managed to improve their game and had some opportunities to reduce the deficit. However due to poor decision making, they could not have a clear chance on goal. To the contrary, it is Germany who extended the lead with a goal from Jonas Hector. Julian Draxler raided the Italian defence and passed the ball to Hector, who could not miss from inside the box. Continue reading Italian football shocked by defeat
Roberto Mancini has downplayed suggestions that winning the title is his number one priority this season.
The Italian was appointed as the manager of Inter Milan last season. The club has been hit hard by a number of poor seasons and it has seen the club drop out of the Champions League. This is an astonishing element considering that Inter Milan won the Champions League not too long ago – in 2010. Mancini has reiterated that the primary objective of the team this season is to finish in the top three. For much of the first half, Inter have been among the leaders.
However, their form towards the end of 2015 has reduced and the club will find it difficult to maintain their place amidst competition from the likes of Roma and Fiorentina. Juventus have steadily climbed up the table and are now in pole position to retain the trophy that they have won for the last four seasons. Inter will be preparing for the second half of the campaign with some key friendly matches. After recently suffering a 1-0 defeat against Paris St Germain in a friendly, Mancini stated that he was looking to bring some players in January. However, they are merely aimed at strengthening the squad rather than an aim at the title. Continue reading Roberto Mancini has downplayed suggestions
Southampton’s Ronald Koeman has set his eyes in securing a top spot in the Premier League that would allow the English club of competing in the Europa League for the upcoming season but things have started to become difficult for Ronald Koeman and his players.
On May 2, Sunderland received Southampton at the Stadium of Light and Ronald Koeman’s team were the favorites of claiming a victory as Sunderland is struggling just to stay out of the bottom relegation zone but in football anything can happen and indeed this match emerged with a surprising victory as it was Sunderland who came out on top with the victory.
Jordi Gomez scored twice as he helped Sunderland claiming a surprising but at the same time crucial triumph for his team as they overcame Southampton with a final scoreboard of 2-1.
Even with this defeat, Southampton still has a very good chance of snatching a Europa League position but they will have to get back to their winning ways and pick up triumphs in at least 2 of their 3 remaining matches.
Leicester City, Aston Villa and Manchester City are the last obstacles that Southampton have to face in this season and 2 triumphs from these games might just be enough for Ronald Koeman to position Southampton in a European spot. Continue reading Southampton is racing to reach a Europa League spot but is faced with tough obstacles