Ranieri interested in Gallas

(GSM) - Claudio Ranieri has admitted he would be interested to bring William Gallas to Roma. The Italian tactician had coached the French defender during his reign as Chelsea manager.

Ranieri had brough Gallas to Chelsea and would love a reunion with the 32-year-old defender, having followed his career with interest.

Gallas will be out of contract at the end of the season and Arsenal's policy of offering a one-year extension to players over 30 years of age might motivate Gallas to ask for a move away from the Emirates.

Reports suggest Roma are monitoring the versatile defender's situation, with officials from the Serie A club holding talks with the player's advisor Pierre Frelot

And Ranieri seems enthusiastic about a reunion with Gallas, claiming that a player of such quality would be welcome to join the Italian club.

"Gallas is a player who has achieved so much in his career," said the manager.

"I signed him when I was in charge at Chelsea and he has done well both for them and Arsenal.

"He is a top-level player and all top players are welcome at Roma."

Chievo' s coach was not the only one caught out; one of his players, Michele Marcolini, was deemed to have said 'God' as he left the field after a red card.

Domenico "Mimmo" Di Carlo could not be said to have emblazoned his name on the annals of Italian football – until, that is, last Sunday in the third minute of the second half of Chievo's 2-1 victory over Cagliari in Serie A.

It was at this moment, according to the disciplinary watchdog of the Italian football league, that the Verona club's coach "proffered a blasphemous expression" that was to make him the first victim of a zero-tolerance policy on irreverence.

Di Carlo, whose side narrowly avoided relegation last season, was banned from the touchline for a game after Sunday's outburst. The Italian federation, Federcalcio, decided last month that the time had come for disciplinary action to be taken against players and coaches heard taking God's name in vain.

The president, Giancarlo Abete, declared it would "intervene with official decisions to make clear that blasphemy is within the definition of 'offensive, insulting or abusive language' in the rules [that warrant sending-off]".

Chievo's coach was not the only one caught out; one of his players, Michele Marcolini, was deemed to have said "God" as he left the field after a red card. After scrutiny of TV footage, however, the league judge, Gianpaolo Tosel, was convinced Marcolini had deployed "a slang expression used in Lombardy and [the region around Venice] with a crude reference to 'Diaz' and not 'Dio'" – although no one on the pitch was called Diaz.

Juventus have confirmed that they have replaced Ciro Ferrara with Alberto Zaccheroni after days of feverish speculation.

The Bianconeri have been planning to replace Ferrara for much of the last month, but proceedings accelerated after Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Roma.

It emerged fairly soon afterwards that last night's Coppa Italia Quarter-Final against Inter at San Siro would be Ferrara's final game in charge no matter what the result.

Incidentally, Juventus lost 2-1, conceding a last minute goal for the second straight game to seal their ninth defeat in 12 games.

Juventus President Jean-Claude Blanc made Rafael Benitez the club's first choice after Guus Hiddink rejected his overtures.

However, Benitez's four-year contract with Liverpool made it distinctly unlikely he would arrive immediately.

Juventus vice-general manager Roberto Bettega was simultaneously pursuing an alternative line of inquiry, interviewing possible interim appointments.

He is widely believed to have interviewed Zaccheroni and Claudio Gentile, the Juventus legend and former Italy Under-21s boss, yesterday afternoon.

Bettega is said to have preferred Gentile, but Zaccheroni got the nod from Blanc and Juventus patron John Elkann.

He is said to have been in Turin this morning to sign a four-month contract.

The former Inter, Udinese and Lazio boss whose finest moment came with Milan in 1999 when he famously won the Scudetto, has been out of the coaching game since 2006 when Juventus's rivals Torino fired him after seven straight defeats.

Both Tuttosport and Il Corriere dello Sport expect him to take his first training session today ahead of this Sunday's match against Lazio. He is famous for playing a 3-4-3 formation, although that system is unlikely to suit Juventus's current personnel.

The Bianconeri currently lie sixth in Serie A and only remain in contention for the Europa League.

(GSM) - Serie A strugglers Lazio have completed the signing of Villarreal midfielder Sebastian Eguren on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal.

The Uruguayan underwent a medical on Wednesday morning and finalised his move shortly after.

Eguren had joined Primera Division side in summer 2008 having enjoyed spells at Montevideo Wanderers and Norwegian side Rosenborg.

Despite being a regular in the Yellow Submarine midfield last term Eguren has found opportunities harder to come by under new manager Ernesto Valverde.

The Biancocelesti are thought to have paid £300k to seal the loan with a figure of £2.6million being mentioned to make the deal permanent in six months' time.

Rafa Benitez's agent has played down reports his client is being lined up to replace Ciro Ferrara as Juventus coach.

Both men have come under pressure and criticism at their present employers, with Juventus' struggles this season in many senses echoing Liverpool's.

The Old Lady were expected to mount a title tilt this term but like Liverpool are badly off the pace as they currently sit in sixth place.

A 2-1 defeat to Roma at the weekend has only increased the pressure on Ferrrara, with many speculating he is working on borrowed time in Turin.

Benitez is known to be admired in the Juventus boardroom but his agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon, is loath to be drawn into hypothetical scenarios.

On the contrary he claims Benitez is very much committed to Anfield, while at the same time conceding things can change very quickly in football.

"This hypothesis is not correct because Rafa has a four-year contract with the Reds. His figure is very important there, the idols of the fans are Gerrard, Torres and Benitez," he told calciomercato.it.

"At Juventus next summer? I don't know what can happen between now and four to five months.

"In football, everything changes very quickly, but the basic principle is that Rafa has another four-year contract with Liverpool."

ROME (AFP) - Juventus have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against two-month bans handed out to two club doctors.Bartolomeo Goitre and Luca Stefanini were hit by the suspensions after giving a banned substance to Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro after he was stung by a wasp.

The centre-back escaped punishment for taking the substance but the troubled club's doctors have instead been sanctioned by Italy's national anti-doping body.

"We take into account the sanctions handed out by the national anti-doping body but remain firm in our conviction that the doctors Goitre and Stefanini offered the maximum collaboration with the relevant sporting institutions," said a brief club statement.

Juventus applied for a doping exemption but failed to include all the necessary documents and Cannavaro subsequently failed a dope test following a match against AS Roma.

The former World Player of the Year was exonerated of any blame in November.

(GSM) - Catania have signed former Barcelona and River Plate forward Maxi Lopez. The Argentine has agreed a four-year deal with the Sicilian club according to the club's website.

Lopez had been on loan at Brazil's Gremio from FK Moscow. Lazio ,Birmingham City and West Ham United were reportedly keen to sign the striker who opted to join the Serie A strugglers instead.

Catania are second from bottom in Serie A. The signing of Maxi Lopez will surely delight the fans who have been frustrated with the team's poor form this season.

(GSM) - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hopes to leave AC Milan during January's transfer window. The Dutch striker was told several times that the club wants to keep him at Milan and he got playing time against Genoa and Juventus.

But that's not enough for Huntelaar: the former Real Madrid forward has told his agent to look for another club.

"They told me this month that they insisted on keeping me at Milan and that they have much confidence in me," Huntelaar told Dutch paper De Telegraaf.

"Since then I moved up in the pecking order from third striker to second striker. I also got more match action but it's still not enough for me. I simply want more."

Now, it seems like Milan is also convinced that an exit from the San Siro is the best solution for both.

"It looks like the club only wants to sell me but I prefer a move on loan because I still want to succeed at Milan," said Huntelaar who has rejected a move to Shakhtar Donetsk, because he doesn't want to play in Ukrain.

Huntelaar also excluded a return to Ajax. "I already spoke German and English and my Spanish and Italian is also pretty good. I prefer a move to one of the big four leagues," added 'The Hunter' who said that there have already been six clubs that contacted his agent about a possible move.

Huntelaar joined Milan from Real Madrid this summer for €15 million. He failed to make an impact for the Rossoneri and has been warming the bench most of the time. Milan boss Leonardo prefers Marco Borriello at the striker position.

ROME (AFP) - Juventus fans continued their campaign of abuse against Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli during Sunday's match away to Chievo in Verona.

Earlier this week Juve were hit with a partial stadium closure due to chants of a racial nature their fans directed at Balotelli, an Italian of Ghanaian origin, in previous matches.

It was the third time this season that Juve had been punished for racial chants, although previously they were hit only with fines.

This time around their south stand, from where the majority of the chants tend to originate, has been closed for their next Serie A home game against Roma next weekend.

Last season they were forced to play one match behind closed doors due to racist chants against the same player during their home match against Inter Milan.

The chants during Sunday's game were not racial in nature but the continued targeting of Balotelli, who is black, has ensured racism remains a hot topic in Italian football circles.

Juve were previously punished when fans chanted: "There are no black Italians", while Sunday's chorus consisted of: "If you jump up and down, Balotelli will die".

Teenager Balotelli is a divisive figure in Italian football largely due to his occasionally impetuous on-field behaviour.

However, the forward is also considered one of the country's brightest young talents and many commentators are clamouring for him to be included in Italy's World Cup for South Africa in June.

Balotelli's parents are Ghanaian immigrants and he was born in Palermo on the island of Sicily before being fostered to an Italian family when he was three.

His birth-parents' surname is Barwuah but he uses the surname of his adoptive parents.

ROME (AFP) - Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho looks set to face a penalty for insulting a journalist after the Football League referred his case to the sporting justice disciplinary committee.

Following Inter's 1-1 draw at Atalanta in December, Mourinho allegedly screamed abuse at Corriere dello Sport journalist Andrea Ramazzotti.

Ramazzotti had strayed into a restricted area to listen in to interviews the official Inter TV Channel were conducting with players after the game.

According to press reports, Mourinho, who later claimed he had told Ramazzotti several times before not to come into that area beside the club's team coach, swore at the reporter.

Corriere, alongside several other major Italian newspapers boycotted Mourinho's next press conference in protest.

Mourinho is accused of having violated article 1 of the sporting justice code by "using hurtful language towards sports journalist Andrea Ramazzotti" and of having "grabbed him by the forearms".

Inter have also been called before the sporting justice to explain their employee's actions.

Mourinho has often found himself in hot water this season in Italy, twice being sent-off and serving one-match touchline bans.

ROME (AFP) - Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi will be out for at least a month after suffering a thigh injury against Sampdoria on Sunday, his club Napoli said on Monday.Lavezzi pulled a muscle during the first half of the match and was replaced by countryman German Denis, who went on to score the only goal of the game.

Napoli said 'El Pocho' - which means 'the chubby one' - will miss four to five weeks.

It means he will not be available for Wednesday's Italian Cup trip to Juventus where Napoli will try to extend their 14-match unbeaten run under coach Walter Mazzarri, who has yet to taste defeat since replacing former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni in October.

Genoa have signed Dario Dainelli from Fiorentina and are not looking to sell Alberto Zapater, according to president Enrico Preziosi.

The experienced defender spent six years at the Viola but was never far from speculation linking him with a move away from Florence, after impressing as a regular in the heart of the Serie A club's backline.

In 2007, the one-time Italy international was courted by Juventus but the 30-year-old instead chose to sign a four-year contract extension at the Artemio Franchi.

Dainelli - who was Fiorentina's skipper since 2005 - had another year on his current deal but the centre-back has opted for pastures new in what will seen as quite a coup for fellow Italian side Genoa.

"I can say that Dainelli is now a player of Genoa," said Preziosi to Radio Radio after revealing that former La Viola captain has joined until 2013 in a deal worth 2.5 million Euros (£2.25 million).

"We needed a central defender and he is one of the best in Italy"

Preziosi also announced a number of clubs are following the activity of Zapater but insists the Spanish defensive midfielder will not be leaving any time soon, with the deal for Bordeaux's Fernando Menegazzo now off.

He added: "Zapater is required by several clubs, also important. But at this moment we cannot be deprived of him, because it seems that Menegazzo will not arrive and we need to evaluate properly."

Source: Sky Sports

(GSM) - Ciro Ferrara said he believed he would stay in his job after Juventus' latest setback against Milan. On Sunday, the Juventus manager saw how his team got thrashed by their competitors from Milan.

Juventus were stunned by Milan: goals from Allessandro Nesta and Ronaldinho (2) secured a wide victory for the Rossoneri. Table topper Internazionale now has a twelve point lead over their rivals from Turin. However, Ferrara has no thoughts of quitting his job.

"I am not made like that. My way is to try to change things.

"I sincerely think my job is not at risk. Of course we are in a negative period but it's not for me to make the decisions. Any decisions will be accepted."

The Bianconeri spent heavily in the close season but Brazilians Diego and Felipe Melo have been big flops so far.

A flurry of injuries, including a knock to midfielder Christian Poulsen on Sunday which could delay Tiago's planned loan move to Atletico Madrid, have also not helped Ferrara.

"I obviously understand the disappointment of the fans.

"Our aim is to try to find the enthusiam there was at the start of the season," added Ferrara.

His Milan colleague Leonardo was satisfied with his team and backed Ferrara.

"It was a difficult game, even if it didn't seem like that," the Brazilian coach said.

"Juve are in a situation similar to us in October, it seems like everything is going wrong. I say to Ciro that it can sort itself out."

Atalanta have confirmed that Antonio Conte has resigned from his position at the club.It appears that the 2-0 loss to Napoli was the final straw for the 40-year-old, who stepped down from his position following a terrible run that saw the Nerazzurri register their fourth loss in the last five games in all competitions.

A statement on the club’s official website reads: “Atalanta communicates that they have accepted the resignation presented by Antonio Conte this morning.

“The club also informs that the team’s training session today will be conducted by youth team coach Valter Bonacina.”

The Bergamo-based club are currently in the relegation zone, just one point above of the rock bottom of the league.

Torino squad physically attacked

David Di Michele, Rolando Bianchi and other Torino players were physically attacked by ultras in a restaurant last night in “a shameful incident.”

There were reports of a fracas with fans and this evening the club released an official statement explaining what happened.

“Outside the Il Cavalieri restaurant in Turin, at the end of a private dinner marking David Di Michele’s surprise birthday party, Riccardo Colombo and Rolando Bianchi were surrounded by around 25 people wearing masks and then attacked with slaps in the face and repeated kicks to their car.

“At that point the ultras burst into the restaurant and attacked players Aimo Diana, Marco Pisano, Francesco Pratali, Massimo Loviso, Matteo Rubin, Paolo Zanetti, Angelo Ogbonna and Di Michele.

“There were more physical attacks, threats of death and of visiting their homes for more violent incidents, all regardless of the presence of their wives, girlfriends and – most serious of all – four of our visibly shocked children.

“Only when they realised that there were security cameras inside the restaurant did they leave, albeit continuing to threaten the players.

“The team as a whole is considering a strong signal so to stigmatize this incident and isolate the pseudo-fans from the real Granata supporters.”

A likely option is going on strike, something that could spread throughout Serie A and B.

“With regards to the vole ambush on the Torino players, the Italian Players’ Association manifests its total solidarity with the players and condemns this shameful incident,” read a statement from the AIC.

“It is the latest in a series of violent attacks from groups of pseudo-fans that have recently involved players from Gela, Brescia and Palermo.

“The AIC hopes the Federation and Lega Calcio can make a significant stand. The repetition of these deplorable incidents will force the AIC to stage adequate protest actions.”

FC Internazionale Milano defender Cristian Chivu has undergone surgery after fracturing his skull during the Nerazzurri's 1-0 victory at AC Chievo Verona on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Romanian international suffered the injury after a clash of heads with Chievo striker Sergio Pellissier and was taken off on a stretcher three minutes after half-time. He was taken to the hospital in Verona and, following a visit by Inter team-mates, underwent an emergency operation after doctors discovered a haematoma. "We hope he will be back as soon as possible, but I think he will be out for a long time," said coach José Mourinho, who side remain eight points clear at the Serie A summit. Inter meet Chelsea FC in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round, with the first leg in Milan on 24 February.

After months of speculation Napoli have reportedly signed Andrea Dossena from Premier League giants Liverpool.

The 28-year-old left-back has been Napoli's No 1 transfer target since the summer, but negotiations were a struggle as Liverpool tried to recoup as much of their original £7m investment as possible.

Napoli director of sport Riccardo Bigon flew to England yesterday to launch a final bid and is believed to have struck a deal for as little as £4.5m.

The transfer has yet to be made official but a formal announcement is expected later today.

Napoli have made reinforcing the full-back position a priority in the January transfer window.

They are currently still negotiating a move for Genoa right-back Francesco Modesto, who played under Walter Mazzarri at Reggina.

Meanwhile, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis was in Uruguay last night to meet Walter Gargano's agent, Pablo Betancourt.

Gargano recently signed a contract renewal that will keep him with the Partenopei until 2015.

After months of speculation and bitter recrimination Goran Pandev has finally joined Italian champions Inter.

The Macedonia international won a legal battle in December against former club Lazio to rescind his existing contract and he has been a free agent ever since.

Pandev took issue with being frozen out of the Lazio team after he expressed his desire to leave the club in the summer.

He has signed a four-year deal with the Nerazzurri after passing a medical in Rome on Saturday evening.

The 26-year-old is expected to train with his new team-mates later today and could even start against Chievo when Serie A resumes after a 17-day break on Wednesday.

Inter needed a striker capable of temporarily replacing Samuel Eto'o who is away with Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Pandev is now in his second stint with Inter after having signed for the Nerazzurri as an 18-year-old in 2001.

He scored 48 goals in 159 appearances for Lazio.

Reports in Holland suggest Guus Hiddink has reached an agreement with Juventus's new technical director Roberto Bettega to replace Ciro Ferrara.

The Bianconeri are on a terrible run of form, having lost five of their last six games in all competitions, the most costly coming at home to Bayern Munich who knocked the Turin giants out of the Champions League group stages.

Juventus President Jean-Claude Blanc has publicly supported Ferrara, insisting he will be on the bench at the Olimpico until the end of the season, but rumours persist that a replacement is being sought.

Earlier this month, Hiddink's agent told the Daily Telegraph that Juventus had approached his client with a view to taking over from Ferrara. He also revealed that Hiddink had rejected the offer.

Next came Luiz Felipe Scolari, the World Cup winning former Brazil manager, who also reportedly turned Juventus down and chose to remain in Uzbekistan with Bunyodkor.

However, according to Il Corriere dello Sport, Hiddink remains Juventus's No 1 target and Bettega, who was only formally unveiled yesterday, has actually been working on hiring the Dutchman over the last month.

A lot was made of the fact Bettega didn't confirm Ferrara's position during yesterday's Press Conference and some pundits now feel the latter won't be in on the bench when Juventus play Parma on January 6.

Hiddink's arrival would put the entire Juventus project in discussion as it was widely expected that Italy boss Marcello Lippi would return to the club after next summer's World Cup to perform the role of technical director, like Bettega, who would keep an eye of Ferrara.

Fiorentina ace Stevan Jovetic has brushed off talk linking him with moves to Real Madrid and Chelsea. Jovetic is regarded as one of the best young attackers in Europe and he came to the attention of a number of top clubs when he scored twice against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League this season.

Real Madrid are understood to have held a long-term interest in Jovetic and tried to sign him before he joined Fiorentina in 2008. Chelsea are also believed to be keeping tabs on the 20-year-old, but Jovetic claims he is only focused on life with Fiorentina.

"Real Madrid and Chelsea? Fiorentina are my only thought," Jovetic told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Jovetic, who was recently named Montenegrin Footballer of the Year for 2009, admits his two goals against Liverpool were his highlight of the past 12 months.

"That was some mad stuff," added Jovetic. "When I got back home, I couldn't sleep. Liverpool is Liverpool and I scored two goals against Gerrard and Torres."

Inter ace David Suazo could soon join Genoa, but his transfer depends on Sergio Floccari and whether the Rossoblu will be able to offload him.

The Grifoni are looking to strengthen their squad and the Honduran man would suit their needs.

However, with two strikers of the calibre of Hernan Crespo and Floccari in the team already they wouldn't be able to afford him unless one of them was to leave.

According to the latest rumours coming from Marassi, Genoa are trying to persuade Fiorentina to sign Floccari but the Viola are not so sure he would fit in their line up.

Liguri boss Gian Piero Gasperini has already made it clear he would love to have Suazo at his disposal and the former Cagliari star would really make a difference for them.

Meanwhile, other sides such as Roma, Lazio and Palermo have approached Inter for his services, but Suazo would reportedly rather go to Genoa - unless former club Cagliari came in for him.

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