Soccer 360 - CA (2020-03 & 2020-04)

(Antfer) #1

AROUND ITALY


ITALY IS NOT FOR ME
Daniele De Rossi has admitted that he felt his last day
with Roma was his “real retirement”, when he also
opened up about his stay at Boca Juniors. The former
Italy international hung up his boots after a stint in
Argentina with Boca and has come back to talk about
how he felt about leaving the Giallorossi. And he said it
was only natural to be disappointed about not getting a
new contract after serving the Giallorossi for nearly two
decades. De Rossi has revealed that he rejected many
offers from Serie A, but confessed it didn’t seem the right
choice for him to prolong his career in Italy.

SORRY
Sporting director Daniele Faggiano has revealed that
Gervinho “has apologised” and said the Ivorian forward
“didn’t want to leave” Parma. After the controversial
episode towards the end of the transfer market, Gervinho
has now returned to the group and trained with his
colleagues at the Ennio Tardini.

YER IN .... YER OUT
Sampdoria coach Claudio Ranieri has revealed that he
knew his stint at Roma would be over without a place
in the Champions League. Last season, the 68-year-old
replaced Eusebio Di Francesco at the Olimpico, but only
lasted for a few months in the Italian capital. He has
revealed that he was aware of the task in hand and the
Giallorossi decided to appoint Paulo Fonseca as their new
coach last summer.

WELCOME TO 4 HOUR GAMES
FIGC are ready to “intensify” the use of VAR and the “on-
field review” to help avoid “instrumental controversies” in
Serie A. The Italian Football Federation has revealed that
they are open to the implementation of a “challenge” rule
by request from clubs in Serie A.

JUVE ALLIANZ
Juventus announced the extension of their professional
relationship with Allianz to 2030 worth €103.1m. The
deal also extends naming rights for the Allianz Juventus
Stadium from July 2023 to June 2030, visibility on the
training kit of the first team and some sponsorship rights
for the women’s team.

NOT STRESSFUL AT ALL
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri has offended the Italian
Post Office, who released a frosty statement in response
to his suggestion it’d be work with less pressure. The
controversy arose during a press conference when Sarri
was asked about the difficulties of the job in Turin. The
former Chelsea coach replied he would have taken a job at
the post office, if he wanted an easy job.

THE SKINNY
Gonzalo Villar insists he doesn’t feel the “pressure” of
making the step from Elche to Roma, but did lose 2kg
through the stress of transfer talks. The midfielder turns 22
in March and arrived from Elche in a deal worth €4m plus
up to €1m in bonuses, making his debut as a substitute in
the 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo on February 1.

THE EARLY BIRD
Former Juventus midfield
star Claudio Marchisio
recalled a funny incident
from his early days as a
player. When he was 18/19
years old and was training
with the Bianconeri
first team under Fabio
Capello, Marchisio fell
asleep in his car at the
club’s parking lot after
a night out. The next
morning, he woke up to
the sound of Alessandro
Del Piero’s car. Del Piero
praised the youngster for
his punctuality without knowing he
actually spent the night in his car.

THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG


ENOUGH
Ronaldo has recalled the end of his
time at Inter and why he decided to
leave. The 2002 World Cup winner
for Brazil revealed he approached
then club president Massimo
Moratti and told him either he or
coach Hector Cuper would stay at
the club. El Fenomeno, as Ronaldo
was known, had been at Inter for
five years, but by the summer of
2002 had become disillusioned
with life at San Siro under Hector
Cuper’s management.


  • Prior to the
    Coppa Italia
    match against
    AC Milan,
    the last time
    Juventus
    conceded at
    least 11 shots
    on target in a
    competitive
    match was back
    in August 2013,
    against Lazio in
    Serie A.

  • Napoli’s Coppa
    Italia win over
    Inter Milan was
    the first time
    since 1991 they
    managed to
    win a Coppa
    Italia semifinal
    first leg fixture.

  • Alejandro
    Gomez is the
    only player
    so far to have
    delivered 10+
    assists in each
    of the last four
    seasons in the
    top-5 European
    leagues.


DID YOU


KNOW?


“I have to admit, I smile at this, because
so many turned their noses up when
Ibrahimovic was coming to Milan, but
at the age of 38, he is making the
difference” – Gigi Buffon praises Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, as the Juventus veteran isn’t
the only one “making the difference” at a
certain age.


“To play against Juventus is easy, you
have nothing to lose” – Former Brescia
hero Dario Hubner says it’s easy for teams
like Brescia to play against Juventus as
they have nothing to lose.


“If we start with the headlights turned
off and have great humility at Euro 2020,
our national team could go far, very far. I
hope our opponents will underestimate
us” – Italy boss Roberto Mancini hopes
the opponents “will underestimate” Italy
during Euro 2020 this summer but still
calls for “humility”.




QUOTES

Free download pdf