Serbia starlet Branislav Ivanovic has played down talk linking him with Chelsea and a number of top Italian sides.
Ivanovic caught the eye during the European Under-21 Championship in Holland over the summer and has reportedly been scouted by none other than Chelsea manager Avram Grant when playing for Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia.
Juventus and Inter are believed to be interested in the 23-year-old and reports in Italy on Tuesday morning claim that Milan are aiming to sign either the Serb or Chelsea's own Brazilian defender Alex.
However, Ivanovic is only focused on the job at hand with Lokomotiv at present and is unwilling to let himself dream of Serie A or The Premier League.
'For now I am only thinking about Lokomotiv,' Ivanovic is quoted in a national newspaper.
'England or Italy? That's a hard one. I don't want to mess my head up by worrying about that.'
30 October 2007
Excelsior midfielder Rene van Dieren spent Monday night in hospital because of severe pain in his groin.
Van Dieren, 26, is to undergo an MRI scan on Tuesday.
"To be on the safe side, he spent the night in the hospital," Excelsior coach Ton Lokhoff told Voetbal International.
"Rene did train with us on Sunday and nothing was wrong then. After the training, he complained about pains in his groin. That pain worsened to the point that he could not set one foot before the other any more."
28 October 2007
Manchester City are set to hold talks with Nigerian starlet Macauley Chrisantus next week.
The 17-year-old striker was one of the stars of the recent World Under 17 championship as he helped Nigeria seal the title.
Christantus is currently plying his trade in his homeland with Abuja but a move to England could soon be sealed.
The youngster's agent, Adam Mohammed, confirmed that he and the player are set to hold talks with Sven Goran Eriksson.
"I can confirm Sven has written inviting myself and the boy for a discussion and we will be in England next week to conclude talks," he told the News of the World.
Mohammed admitted that an application for a work permit could be a stumbling block, but he voiced his optimism that one would be granted second time round.
"But there may be a snag with the issue of a work permit," he added.
"However, if it is refused first time we will get it second time if the club appeals."
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, Internazionale and Milan are also reportedly keen to snap up the youngster, but it appears that City have won the race to secure Chrisantus' services.
Meanwhile, Eriksson has called on striker Georgios Samaras to utilise his strengths, which he believes are his ability to be a powerful target man.
"Georgios has to decide what type of players he wants to be. He shouldn't be doing lots of tricks; he should be using his physical power. For me he is a central striker - and a good one," Eriksson told the News of the World.
"There is a big difference between the Samaras that I see now and the one I saw when I arrived in July. He could have gone in the summer but said he wanted to fight for his place and I'm happy that he did."
25 October 2007
Inter midfield star Patrick Vieira is disconsolate as he faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The ex-Arsenal man has been plagued by injury and he limped off against CSKA Moscow having only just returned from a frustrating period on the treatment table.
It is believed that Vieira could be out of action for as long as two months, but the damage to his right calf is still to be determined.
'He was very down after he came off on Tuesday,' teammate Olivier Dacourt told L'Equipe.
'It was really hard to see that. We tried as hard as we could to pick him up, but he was truly demoralised.'
Tests are still being done to ascertain the extent of the damage, but early indications suggest that Vieira may not feature until December.
24 October 2007
Roberto Carlos' Fenerbahce were on top for much of last night's Champions League encounter at the Philipps Stadion, but they couldn't manage the breakthrough needed to gain the three points.
That said, the Turks went down to ten men midway through the second half, but even with that disadvantage, PSV seldom looked like winning themselves.
Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian full-back, declared himself pleased enough with the eventual outcome.
He told UEFA.com, "We are happy with the point. I think we can do even better in Istanbul, and I am confident that we can reach the next round."
PSV substitute Danny Koevermans, meanwhile, praised Carlos and company for their rock-solid defending, but also rued his own side's lack of invention.
"Even against 10 men we couldn't force an opening," he panted.
"It will be even more difficult in Istanbul. We have to create more chances, but that's easier said than done. They are a very well-organised side, much stronger than when I played against them last year for AZ Alkmaar."
Dirk Marcellis, meanwhile, played admirably well despite this match signalling only his second full game for PSV.
He beamed, "The boss told me I would be playing in order to counter the threat of Deivid, and obviously I was happy to get the chance. I was reasonably happy with my own performance, but overall we're disappointed that we didn't create more."
Fenerbahce sit one point behind Inter at the top of Group G, while PSV trail them with four points from a potential nine.
24 October 2007
Obafemi Martins has dismissed reports suggesting he is unsettled at Newcastle.
Martins has produced a number of eye-catching performances this season but competition for places at St James' Park is fierce.
The former Internazionale striker has been linked with a January return to Serie A, with Juventus understood to be interested.
However, the Nigerian insists he will not be going anywhere, and has pledged his future to Magpies manager Sam Allardyce.
"I'm very happy and settled at Newcastle, I don't take any notice of the stories saying I'll leave," Martins said in the Daily Express.
"And if Sam Allardyce is here for five years I will be here for five years as well. That is how much I enjoy playing for him. I don't think I'll be going anywhere while Sam is here. I'm scoring goals and I'm playing games, that's all you can ask for as a striker."
Martins, who joined Newcastle in August 2006, admits he did struggle to adjust to the English game initially.
He explained: "It wasn't that easy when I first came to Newcastle and it took me a few months to learn about the Premier League, about England and living in Newcastle. I had to adapt to the style of football and it took me some time, but I'm very happy here."
23 October 2007
Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved was banned for two matches Tuesday for elbowing an opponent in the Serie A last week.
Nedved was sent off in the closing minutes of Juventus' 1-0 win over Genoa on Sunday and will miss Saturday's game at Napoli and next week's match against Empoli.
The Italian soccer league's disciplinary committee also suspended Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri for one match after he was dismissed from the sidelines for protesting.
Five other players were also banned for one to three matches for various offenses.
It is not the first time Nedved has lashed out at a Genoa player. The midfielder received a five-match ban last season for deliberately stepping on an opponent at the Luigi Ferraris stadium, when both teams played in the second division.
Juventus is second in the Serie A with 17 points, three behind Inter Milan but five more than Genoa, which is tied for fifth.
23 October 2007
Ex-Inter hitman Christian Vieri has reopened old wounds by blasting the Nerazzurri for their treatment of star players.
The Fiorentina striker was one of the Beneamata's most prolific of all time with 123 goals in 190 games between 1999 and 2005, but he left under a cloud.
Vieri reportedly accused Inter of spying on him and even monitoring his telephone conversations and returned to the subject after last weekend's Tuscan derby.
'The truth will come out in the end and then everyone will see what happened,' Bobo told Sky Sports Italia
'Now isn't the time to talk about these things as there are lawyers working on it, but it's a disgrace that you don't know everything. I have all the documents so anyone can see the way Inter behaved. There is no reason to act like that towards a player, whoever he was. At Inter I think I only did well, but unfortunately we didn't win anything because there were other sides stronger than us. I scored goals, trained well and acted with professionalism.'
Vieri also gave his support for troubled marksman Adriano, who he believes has also suffered at the hands of the San Siro giants.
'Look at Adriano, great players have problems with Inter as the club should defend its players more,' Vieri raged.
'First they love you, then they hate you, then they love you. It's always the same with Inter.'
After an investigation, the Italian Football Federation initially dismissed Vieri's accusations in June, but the matter is far from closed.
23 October 2007
Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon has set his sights on emulating Alessandro Del Piero and becoming a Bianconeri legend.
The Azzurri custodian is a beloved figure amongst the Old Lady's faithful and was amongst Del Piero's most vocal supporters during his difficult period.
'I want to be a Juve idol like Del Piero,' Buffon told Rai Sport.
'I'd like to truly earn a place in the fans' hearts. I want to be a reference point for them and be remembered when I quit. My biggest wish is to win the Champions League in this shirt and continue to prove myself with the national side.'
Buffon has excelled in Juve's return to calcio's top table and been one of the reasons that they are currently sitting in second place.
'We are doing so well – much better than was expected in pre-season,' the ex-Parma man stated.
'We may not have the quality of the past, but we are a hard-working squad and we are sure that we can do just as well.'
Despite his passion for the Turin giants, Buffon finished by praising Milan's finest.
'Inter are strongest side in Italy and they have a strength in depth that nobody else has,' he admitted. 'But I think Kaka deserves the Ballon d'Or.'
22 October 2007
Italy are dominating the Golden Ball list of 50 candidates with eight players, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona each contributed seven names on the list.
- Golden Ball 2007 nominees:
Éric Abidal (Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla)
David Beckham (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid)
Diego (Werder Bremen)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona)
Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal, FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
Kaka (Milan)
Frederic Kanoute (FC Sevilla)
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munchen)
Younis Mahmoud (Algharafa)
Paolo Maldini (Milan)
Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon, Chelsea)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic Glasgow)
Guillermo Ochoa (America Mexico)
Andrea Pirlo (Milan),
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto),
Raul (Real Madrid)
Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille, Bayern Munchen),
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Villarreal)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United)
Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Bayern Munchen)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Jose Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, Liverpool)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
David Villa (Valencia)
