JUST DANCING
Cagliari striker Leonardo Pavoletti confirms he suffered a
new devastating ACL tear while leaving a team dinner with
Luca Cigarini, but “it was just bad luck, there was no brawl.”
There were reports on how he injured his knee again, with
anything from excessive dancing to a brawl with teammates
after dinner out together. With these rumors flying, Cagliari
decided to set up a press conference with Pavoletti and
Cigarini to set the record straight.HE’S A KEEPER
Wojciech Szczesny
wants to “win
everything” with
Juventus after being
rewarded with a new
deal until 2024. The
Poland international
extended his contract
at the Allianz Stadium
and said he has
“sacrificed a lot” to
become the first choice
in goal for the Old Lady.
Szczesny arrived from
Arsenal in 2017, after a
stint on loan at Roma.
CAN’T BUILD THERE
Fiorentina have announced that they could scrap their plans of building a new
stadium after recent revelations about the costs of building at the Mercafir site.
President Rocco Commisso has made no secret of his desire to build a new venue and
replace their current home at the Artemio Franchi. The club has explained that the
price set at €22m to buy the land is already too high for the club to accept but are
adding that other costs will make the Mercafir site “prohibitively expensive”.
NO BOOBY PRIZE
Sam Allardyce has claimed
Manchester City coach Pep
Guardiola will “completely
change” the “negative” philosophy
in Italy, if he ends up at Juventus.
Reports in England have
claimed that the Bianconeri are
considering to offer the former
Barcelona coach an exit-route
from his current club Manchester
City. According to Allardyce, who
has coached a host of clubs in the
Premier League and had a very
short spell as England coach in
2016, such a move could provide a
“complete change” in the style of
football at the Allianz Stadium.
BUT NOT QUITE
Director Walter Sabatini has admitted that they tried to lure Zlatan Ibrahimovic to
Bologna through his “friendship” with their current coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. Bologna
fought Milan for the former Sweden international’s signature this winter, as he decided
to return to Europe after a stint at LA Galaxy in MLS.
THE TOTTI AGENCY
Francesco Totti has revealed the
next step of his career, setting up
his own scouting, management
and consultation agencies for
clubs and players. He made the
announcement via his social
media, noting this was “the start
of a new adventure”. The former
Roma star and World Cup winning
Italy international said he wanted
to remain in the football world
after his retirement. He was briefly
part of the Giallorossi directorial
staff, working with Monchi, but
left due to disagreements with the
club hierarchy.BY^ THE^
NUMBER
SDrawing against
Juventus in the
Coppa Italia,
AC Milan have
interrupted
a streak of 9
consecutive
defeats against
Juventus in all
competitions.
Romelu Lukaku
became the 6th
foreign player
for Inter to have
scored in both
of his first two
meetings against
AC Milan.AND STAY OUT
A group of eight Hellas
Verona ultras have been
banned from stadiums for
trying to bring in Hitler hats.
Police found the woolly hats
during a standard search
as the Verona fans were
preparing to enter the Stadio
Dall’Ara for the game against
Bologna on January 19. The
eight supporters, ranging
from age 21 to 49, have been
given two-year bans from all
Italian sporting events.JUST A COUPLE OF JERKS
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that a Roma fan managed to get hold of a pass
allowing him to enter the press room at the Stadio Olimpico. He was spotted
and pointed out to the authorities when shouting racist abuse at Bologna striker
Musa Barrow, who scored two goals on the evening. Security immediately
removed the fan and investigated his credentials, realizing he had swapped
tickets with a freelance journalist who had a ‘better’ seat in Tribuna Monte Mario.
The fan has been banned from buying tickets for Roma home games for three
years, while the freelancer had his press accreditation suspended for a year.IT’S ONLY SOCCER,
FOLKS
Tickets to the Inter-Napoli Coppa Italia
semi-final were not made available to
residents of the Campania region due
to security fears. This decision was
taken in wake of the deadly clashes
between ultras outside the stadium in
December 2018. Inter fans prepared
an ambush for travelling supporters,
resulting in a Nerazzurri ultra being
run over and killed by a car driven by
Napoli followers.STINKY PJANIC
Former Juventus president
Giovanni Cobolli Gigli
questioned Miralem Pjanic’s
fitness level saying the
midfielder is soft “like
mozzarella”. Cobolli Gigli was
speaking to Radio Sportiva
about his old side in the
aftermath of their 2-1 defeat to
Verona. The-75-year-old also
bashed the Juventus hierarchy
for trying to sell Paulo Dybala
last summer, who he describes
as the best player for Juventus
this season.AN ENGLISHMAN IN MILAN
New Inter Milan recruit Ashley Young thoroughly enjoyed the taste of victory in
his first ever Milan derby and claimed it’s the best football experience he ever
had. The 34-year-old is the first Englishman to wear the Inter jersey since Paul
Ince, but insists it is a natural progression from Manchester United.BIG MONEY DAY
The second Derby della
Madonnina of the season
made Inter an estimated
€5.5m in match day revenue,
the fourth highest in Serie
A history. Close to 75,000
fans converged on San Siro
for the game between Inter
and Milan, which translate
to roughly €5.5m in gate
receipts, ranking it fourth
on the all-time list of Serie
A match day revenues, the
third highest involving Inter,
and the seventh including all
competitions.GOOD LUCK
Romelu Lukaku has revitalized
his career at Inter Milan and
he would like to meet two of
the club’s legends who could
inspire the Belgian to further
success. The ex-Manchester
United striker reveled he always
tries to emulate Nerazzurri
greats Ronaldo and Adriano,
and would relish the chance to
meet them in person.