AROUND ITALY
“In all honesty, as director of sport, with
all due respect, I don’t think he is the
right profile for a club like ours.” – AC
Milan sporting director Paolo Maldini
plays down rumors of former RB Leipzig
boss Ralf Rangnick joining the club next
summer.“If I didn’t want to face examinations I
would’ve taken a job at the post office.
This is the job.” – Juventus boss Maurizio
Sarri says that if he didn’t want to feel
pressure, he “would’ve taken a job at
the post office” instead of managing a
club with extraordinarily high levels of
ambitions.“From my first press conference since
joining the club, I have always said that
this season is year zero for Roma. I was
called in to resolve the problems of the
last few years, with a lot of desire and
humility I threw myself into the job.
Roma underwent a true revolution, 20
players left and 14 were brought in. we
didn’t buy players for €70m. Some need
to understand that patience is needed
on everyone’s part. Some things can go
well, others less so.” – Roma director of
sport Gianluca Petrachi has pleaded for
patience, and says this is still “year zero
after the trouble of the last few seasons.”KING OF THE HILL
Romelu Lukaku has declared himself the ‘new
king in town’ on social media in what seems
a clear dig at former Manchester United
team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Belgium
international scored for Inter Milan in their
4-2 derby victory over AC Milan, with the
Rossoneri throwing away a two-goal lead in
this big game at the San Siro. Ibrahimovic
scored for Milan in the first half, but Lukaku
enjoyed the last laugh as he continued
his terrific form for Inter since his summer
transfer from Man Utd.WONDER WHY
Christian Eriksen showed off his singing
skills while delivering his Inter initiation
song. Unfortunately for the Dane, not
everyone was seemingly impressed. Romelu
Lukaku gleefully decided to record his new
teammate’s rendition of Oasis’s classic track,
Wonderwall. It’s hard to think that anyone
can go wrong with such a choice, but clearly
Eriksen didn’t deliver his best performance as
Lukaku and Ashley Young couldn’t help but
troll him while he was still singing.NOW HE HAS TWENTY
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 35th
birthday on February 5, and his girlfriend
Georgina Rodriguez certainly delivered
when it came to his present. Despite his busy
schedule, Ronaldo did manage to find time
to enjoy his birthday as he seemingly had
an evening out with his better half, and the
night ended with a pretty expensive looking
present. Ronaldo looked genuinely stunned
and surprised as he is greeted by friends
with a luxury car parked in the middle of
the street with a huge red bow on it. The
five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now the proud
owner of a Mercedes AMG G63 which is said
to be worth around $150k.DON’T JINX YOURSELF
It hasn’t been long since Christian Eriksen
became an Inter player, but he’s already
throwing serious shade at former club
Tottenham. The Denmark international told
Sky Sports there is more chance of winning
a trophy at his new club, compared to the
club he previously was in. Eriksen was a star
performer for Spurs in his six and a half years
in north London, but not once did he manage
a single trophy win with the club.NEXT, SANFORD AND SON
After the Coppa Italia match between
Juventus and AC Milan, Gigi Buffon managed
to get the shirt of one of Milan’s substitutes:
Daniel Maldini. Maldini, 18, is the son of Italian
football legend Paolo and the grandson
of the equally famous Cesare. And Buffon
wanted the youngster’s shirt in order to build
his growing father-son shirt collection. The
42-year-old told reporters his collection has
shirts of (Enrico) Chiesa and son, (Lillian)
Thuram and son, (George) Weah and son,
and now Maldini and son.IT’S CALLED FAT
Inter Milan medical team spotted
a digestive problem in Romelu
Lukaku’s body and helped
him lose more than 3kg within
just 12 days of his arrival. The
Belgian has now recovered his
speed and sharpness as a result
Antonio Conte’s men are reaping
the rewards. Lukaku was often
criticized in Manchester United
because of his bulky figure, but
it turns out, Man United medical
staff couldn’t diagnose his
underlying condition.100%
EFFORT
Hirving Lozano
didn’t have an ideal
start at Napoli, and
he went through
a lot of criticism
for it. The Mexico
international took to
Instagram to express
his current state of
mind saying very few
understand the effort
he has been putting
in to overcome his
struggles. Lozano
joined the Partenopei
last summer from
PSV Eindhoven for a
fee of €38m.- AS Roma have
conceded 2+
goals during
the first half in
back-to-back
Serie A games,
for the first time
since March
2005. - Cristiano
Ronaldo has
scored the most
goals (40) in his
first 50 Serie A
appearances,
among the
players that
debuted in the
three points for
a win era (since
1994-95). - Demme is the
second player
named "Diego"
to score a Serie
A goal for
Napoli, after
Maradona, that
scored his last
goal in the
Italian top-flight
in March 1991,
just in an away
game against
Sampdoria. - Romelu Lukaku
is the first
player in the
three points
per win era to
score 11+ goals
in his first ever
11 appearances
away from
home in Serie A. - Ciro Immobile
has scored 25
goals after 21
Serie A games,
no player in
history had
more (Antonio
Valentin
Angelillo also
scored 25 goals,
in 1959).
DID YOU
KNOW?