Ferrara gets Juve backing after crisis meeting

January 19, 2010

Ciro Ferrara remains in charge of Juventus, for now. On Monday, the club board held a crisis meeting but concluded that the coach can’t be hold responsible for the poor results and decided to keep faith with Ferrara.

Sunday’s defeat to Chievo was Juve’s fourth league defeat in five games. The Bianconeri now lie fifth in the Serie A table, thirteen points from league leaders Internazionale.

Ferrara’s future has been the subject of intense speculation for a while now but Juve’s deputy director general Roberto Bettega has reiterated his support for Ferrara and insists the club have no plans to sack the former Italian international.

“We go forward with Ferrara, as we always said,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“He came out smiling from this meeting and this is already an answer. Have we told Ferrara that the problem was him? No, evidently we did not have to tell him that.”

Juventus are expected to make large investments on the transfer market but Bettega denied any links.

“We won’t be signing any players because we are just waiting for the ones who are injured to return.

“Mohamed Sissoko is our first capture. Mali have been knocked out and he will be back for the Roma game, he is our most important reinforcement. ‘Momo’ is very important for us.”

Tags: bianconeri, deputy director general, faith, Ferrara, five games, game, intense speculation, investments, juve, juventus, league leaders, mali, mohamed sissoko, momo, reinforcement, Roberto Bettega, Roma, serie a table

Atletico sign Argentine teen striker: reports

January 12, 2010

Atletico Madrid, looking to recover from a dismal first half of the season, have signed 19-year-old striker Eduardo Salvio from Argentine side Lanus for 8 million euros, Spanish media said Tuesday.

“I have fulfilled the dream of my life, because it is a dream to play alongside players like (fellow Argentine Sergio) Aguero or (Diego) Forlan,” Salvio told the sports newspaper Marca.

“Atletico is one of the greats of Europe and I am joining with the hope of battling for major things.”

Lanus chairman Nicolas Russo confirmed the transfer, lamenting that this “fantastic player” was “irreplaceable.”

The Spanish club have been looking for a striker to replace Frenchman Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who left for Sporting Lisbon earlier this month.

Atletico last week signed Portuguese international midfielder Tiago from Juventus and he was presented to the fans on Tuesday.

“I want to repay the trust that the club has placed in me,” the 29-year-old said.

“With Tiago and Salvio, Atletico is closing its reinforcement programme,” club chairman Enrique Cerezo said on Monday.

Atletico, who finished fourth in the league last season, have been in poor form this season, crashing out of the European Champions League while struggling in the league.

However, wins in their last two league games, against Sevilla and Valladolid, have given cause for optimism.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: argentine side, club chairman, diego forlan, enrique cerezo, european champions, florent sinama pongolle, juventus, lanus, league games, midfielder, reinforcement, salvio, Sergio Aguero, spanish club, spanish media, sporting lisbon, valladolid

Atletico Â´on trackÂ´ to sign Argentine teen striker

January 12, 2010

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo said on Monday that talks to sign 19-year-old striker Eduardo Salvio from Argentine side Lanus were “on the right track”.

“I hope that Salvio will be our next reinforcement. The talks are on the right track and I hope that the transfer could be concluded in the coming days,” he told reporters in Madrid.

Spain’s sports media suggest Atletico could dish out around 8million euros for Salvio, who made his international debut last year.

Last week Atletico brought in Portuguese international midfielder Tiago on loan from Juventus for the remainder of the season, their first and only signing so far of the January transfer window.

“With the arrival of Tiago and Salvio, in principle the winter market will be closed for us. I think that both players can contribute goals, in addition to those already in the squad,” added Cerezo.

Tiago – who has also played for Chelsea and French giants Lyon – had been due to be presented on Monday in Madrid but he was not able to travel to Spain because of the severe winter weather which has grounded flights across Europe.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: Argentine, argentine side, atletico madrid, CHELSEA, Eduardo Salvio, enrique cerezo, Europe, French, giants, international debut, juventus, Lyon, MADRID, madrid spain, midfielder, monday in madrid, reinforcement, remainder, s sports, salvio, Spain, sports media, tiago, winter market, winter weather

Ronaldo poised to return as Real target Zurich win

November 25, 2009

Real Madrid have been dreaming of winning this season’s Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium but first they need to get out of the group stage and there is still some work to be done going into Wednesday’s home match against FC Zurich.

Real lie joint top of Group C alongside AC Milan but Marseille are just a point behind the duo meaning Real need to defeat bottom side Zurich to put one foot in the knockout phase of this season’s competition.

Real have moved to the top of the Spanish league table with their best start since the 1991/92 season and have a vital match this Sunday in ‘El Clasico’ against Barcelona at Camp Nou but for now Europe is the focus.

“The Barcelona game is coming up but before that we have a key match against Zurich and if we win we can put one foot in the next stage of the Champions League,” explained Dutchman Royston Drenthe.

Real have lost some of their aura at home in Europe in recent seasons losing 3-2 to AC Milan in this season’s competition while Juventus and Liverpool both won at the Bernabeu last season.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is on the recovery road after ten games out with ankle trouble and coach Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to risk the forward, who is the top-scorer in this season’s Champions League with four goals, ahead of the Barcelona match or limit him to a brief run out against Zurich.

“We must go slowly as Cristiano (Ronaldo) has had many days without training,” said former legendary Real striker Emilio Butragueno, now working behind the scenes at the club. “It’s not enough that the ankle is good it must have the necessary reinforcement to compete.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a great professional, he is a winner and has a commitment to the club and does everything possible to return, but when he returns he cannot have a relapse.”

Despite the absence of Ronaldo, Real have won nine games in 11 games to top the league but coach Pellegrini has still not won over the unforgiving Real crowd who have not been enthralled by the pragmatic winning football which was again on show in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Racing Santander.

“We have to improve the football we are playing,” admitted Pellegrini. “It was difficult against Racing because we had a two-week break and were coming off the back of the Kings Cup defeat (to Alcorcon).”

Pellegrini has shown he is not afraid to make big decisions, leaving captain Raul – the club’s all-time leading goalscorer – on the substitutes’ bench for the last three league matches with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema favoured in attack.

Raul, now 32, will hope to make an impact against Zurich to stake a claim for a place in the starting line-up against Barcelona.

Swiss side FC Zurich caused a few problems for Real in the away game and need to record a historic win in Madrid to have any chance of reaching the knockout phase as they are four points behind the leaders.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, Barcelona, bottom side, camp nou, captain Raul, champions league, cristiano ronaldo, Drenthe, dutchman, Emilio Butragueno, Europe, group stage, home match, juventus, Karim Benzema, knockout, Liverpool, MADRID, manuel pellegrini, Marseille, Milan, real madrid, reinforcement, relapse, ronaldo, royston drenthe, santander, Santiago, santiago bernabeu stadium, spanish league table, top scorer, ZURICH

Motta wants Deco at Inter

June 30, 2009

Italian club Inter Milan’s midfielder Thiago Motta has revealed that Chelsea’s out of favor Deco would be a great addition to the San Siro club.

Playmaker fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge after a bright start to the season and it is being rumored that, Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho wants to offer him a lifeline with his Italian champions.

Motta, who moved to Inter this summer from Genoa, believes his former Barcelona team-mate would be a great addition to Inter.

“When I played with him (Deco) at Barcelona, you had the best Ronaldinho while Lionel Messi was beginning to shine, but the reference point for everyone was Deco,” said Motta in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He is the most complete midfielder there is. He would be a fantastic reinforcement.”

Deco joined Chelsea last summer from Barcelona for £8million but after a promising start, the Portuguese midfielder failed to live up to the hype and was rarely used in the second half of the campaign.

The 31-year-old is under contract with Chelsea until June 2011.

Written by: Abhimanyu Rajput