FC Parma vs Juventus 28.01.2015 – Coppa Italia

FC Parma vs. Juventus / Coppa Italia – The second quarter-final couple of Italian Cup is somehow the least attractive of all because it brings us the weakest and the best team of Serie A, but the leading Juventus after 20 rounds has a large 40-point lead. In addition, in recent mutual clashes Juve has a series of five wins and two draws, and certainly in the team of Parma still remember the fall debacle at Turin’s Olimpico, when they were defeated with even 7-0. Begins: 28.01.2015 – 20:45 CET

FC Parma

Of course that all this information is acting totally disheartening for the team of Parma before this duel in Cup with the “Old Lady”, especially since in the past 10 days in the championship they experienced two consecutive domestic defeats by Sampdoria and Cesena. The last one was especially painful because it occurred in a match with a direct rival in the fight for survival, so after this match with Parma they again fell to last place in the standings, while Cesena is immediately above them, with three points more.
But what is a lot more concerning for coach Roberto Donadoni is the fact that the 17-ranked Cagliari currently has as many as 10 points more and is therefore not surprising that they and the leaders of the club recently brought four new players. However, some of them are still getting used to the Italian style of football, such as strikers Varela and Rodriguez, while perhaps the greatest reinforcement is the experienced midfielder Nocerino. The new face of Parma is the Albanian midfielder Lila, but he is injured and will miss this match, just like the previously injured strikers Biabiany, Jorquera, Coda and Ghezzal and midfielder Acquah and striker Belfodil who are currently at the African Cup of Nations.
Probable lineups Parma: Mirante – Cassani, Paletta, Lucarelli, Gobbi – Mauri, Lodi, Nocerino – Varela, Palladino, Rodriguez

Juventus

As for Juventus, we all know that they are in the last three years the absolute rulers of the Italian football and so in this moment they are at the leading position in Serie A, and with seven points more than the first and only true companion, Roma. However, only three rounds earlier the difference was only one point, but then Juve made a series of three wins, while Roma played three draws, which simply means that the current Italian champions in the season have only an easier job in an effort to defend Scudetto.
However, in their team are well aware that there should be no relaxation, especially since they will soon have performances in the Champions League and this is why coach Allegri announced that he will now for the Cup send his reserve setup to the field. However, they are a lot stronger than that first setup of Parma, so all these absences of the regulars should not be felt, as well as the absences of the injured defenders Marrone and Evra and midfielders Asamoah and Romulus.
Probable lineups Juventus: Storari – Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Ogbonna, Padoin – Pirlo, Pereyra – Pepe, Giovinco, Coman – Llorente

FC Parma vs. Juventus PICK

Since Parma has nothing to lose in this match, we believe that they will in front of their fans provide a much better resistance than in the autumnal championship match with Juventus, and this in fact means that there could be a lot of goals at Ennio Tardini.
Pick: over 2.5 goals
Stake: 5/10
Odds: 1.80 at M88 (down to 1.75 can be played)

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Torino Struggling to Hold on to In-Form and In-Demand Cerci

At 66, Torino’s Giampiero Ventura is the oldest coach in the Europa League preliminaries. He grew up in the post-war era when times were hard, then through the years of Italy’s economic miracle, before starting out in this profession in the youth sector at Sampdoria in the mid-1970s. Everything was so much simpler then. For a start, there was no social media. How Ventura must yearn for those days. For on Monday night, his protege Alessio Cerci, a player whose career he nurtured at Pisa and then resurrected at Torino, got caught up in quite the Twitter storm. 

It was 8:43pm when his followers, many of them fans of the Granata, viewed the latest post from his account. “Agreement reached with @atleti,” it read. “I would like to once again thank Torino and their fans for everything.” A minute and a half later, the message was deleted. Local papers Tuttosport and the sport desk at La Stampa were thrown into a panic. The first edition was approaching. They needed to get to the bottom of the story quick. Torino’s owner Urbano Cairo, their director of sport Gianluca Petrachi and head of press Piero Venera were all besieged with urgent phone calls. Cerci was too. 

It wasn’t long before he appeared on Sky Italia to explain himself. His Twitter had been hacked, he said. He didn’t write the tweet, nor did he delete it. “I was in my room playing PlayStation with my teammate Ruben Perez,” Cerci claimed, “when I started to receive a load of text messages. ‘What have you done?’ they all asked. The sky fell in. I had the phone with me at all times and I’m the only one who knows the password to my Twitter account. This story has unsettled me. I will take legal action. Let’s see what happens. One thing is certain. I am not an Atletico player. I’m a Torino player.” 

This seems to happen an awful lot of late: Footballers posting something they shouldn’t, in this case maybe jumping the gun on a deal that hasn’t gone through OR - to give Cerci the benefit of the doubt - being a victim of mischief. What’s not in question is the fact his future and the uncertainty surrounding it has been one of the stories of the summer in the Italian transfer market. 

You may recall Torino were one of the revelations of last season in Serie A. They qualified for Europe despite finishing seventh and Cerci missing a penalty that would have clinched a win against former club Fiorentina to make absolutely sure of it. Instead their place came at the expense of Parma who were not granted a license to compete in UEFA competition by the FIGC. 

It was a reprieve for Cerci even if his spot-kick blunder had actually endeared him further to Torino fans. He had become a tragic figure at a club whose very identity is defined by tragedy [the Superga air disaster and later the death of Gigi Meroni, the Italian George Best who was run over by a future Torino president].  

Cerci’s strike partnership with Ciro Immobile was the best the club had known since that of Francesco Graziani and Paolo Pulici, the original Gemelli del Gol or Goal Twins who fired the Toro to their last Scudetto in 1976. The most prolific pairing in the league after Juventus’ Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez, they scored 35 goals. In all they combined for 45 of their side’s total of 58, a staggering 78%. Immobile was Torino’s first Capocannonieresince Graziani in 1977. Cerci was the only player in Serie A to get into double figures for goals and assists (13 and 10 respectively). 

Unsurprisingly both attracted high profile interest. No sooner had this great duo emerged than a break up seemed inevitable. The twins appeared destined to be separated. Borussia Dortmund chose Immobile (in addition to Hertha’s Adrian Ramos) to replace the Bayern-bound Robert Lewandowski. In the meantime Torino hoped that Cerci would stay, sign a new contract and form another close bond with new recruit Fabio Quagliarella. But as Ventura has admitted, when Immobile left it became that little bit more difficult to convince the other not to follow him out of the club and on to bigger and better things. 

Only two players created more clear cut chances (11) and only two had more shots from counter-attacking situations (13) than Cerci did in Serie A last season. He also put in 260 crosses, the second most in the league behind only Antonio Candreva. It’s not hard to see why he is so highly regarded. Spanish champions Atlético Madrid are said to have put a €16m proposal on the table for him. Their Italian director of sport Andrea Berta is keen to give Diego Simeone a trident of Antoine Griezmann, Mario Mandzukic and him. 

Monaco also consider him a replacement for James Rodríguez (though not a like-for-like one of course), while Pippo Inzaghi has long made Cerci his No.1 transfer target since taking charge at Milan. Chief executive Adriano Galliani has a privileged relationship with Cairo but even after selling Kevin Constant and getting the likes of Kaka and Robinho off the payroll he is still struggling to make a competitive offer. These are straitened times at Casa Milan, an age of austerity. 

Not included in the squad for Torino’s Europa League play-off against RNK Split on Thursday night and still yet to feature in pre-season, Ventura maintains that Cerci “will have a great year.” When asked for whom, though, his reply was particularly telling. “I don’t know.

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Football transfer rumours: Manchester United to sign Xabi Alonso?

Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso, left, is the latest player to be linked with the task of filling Manchester United’s midfield void. Photograph: Rex

Have the trampolines ready; the fireworks too. Something big is happening, something glorious, and it’s happening at Liverpool, who are on the verge of replacing Luis Suárez with Mario Balotelli. Yes, it seems that Liverpool have had enough peace and quiet this summer after losing their lovable Uruguayan and are looking to do a loan deal with Milan for Balotelli, who must be itching to get back to these shores after having such a great time at Manchester City. It was all lies, he really did love us, he really did love England, despite always suggesting otherwise. And if the Balotelli deal falls through, Liverpool will turn their attention back to Monaco’s Radamel Falcao.

Chelsea officials have hypnotised Roma officials and are close to duping them into taking Fernando Torres off their hands and sendingMattia Destro to Stamford Bridge in return. The only stumbling block is thought to be whether Torres remembers to take his passport to the airport with him. Meanwhile Monaco are the latest club to show an interest in Petr Cech. Think about it Petr: sun, money, one of the finest stadiums in the world, Dimitar Berbatov.

Samuel Eto’o has turned down a move to Ajax because he wants to go to Everton or Liverpool. He’s not fussy, he just really wants to live on Merseyside as he’s a huge fan of Brookside. Speaking of which, is that show still running?

Newcastle are trying to keep a straight face as they demand £14m forCheikh Tioté, a target for Lokomotiv Moscow.

Manchester United are trying to keep a straight face as they pretend they would really, really, really, really, really like to sign a midfielder. Xabi Alonso is the latest player to be googled by Ed Woodward.

Hull City were commended for their negotiating skills after selling Shane Long to Southampton for £12.5m. Now they want to spend £12m on Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes, a striker who has never played above the Championship. Figure that one out.

Lukas Podolski will soon be taking selfies in Istanbul, with Arsenal – who are battling Everton for PSG midfielder Clément Chantôme – ready to sell him to Galatasaray.

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Juventus: Manchester United target Arturo Vidal will remain at club

Juventus are confident that they will keep Arturo Vidal, a reported target for Manchester United and Arsenal. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

Juventus are confident that the reported Manchester United and Arsenal target Arturo Vidal will remain at the club.

The Chilean midfielder, 27, has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League this summer, but signed a new contract with Juventus in December running to June 2017.

Juve’s general director Giuseppe Marotta told Gazzetta dello Sport: “All the requirements are there for Vidal not to leave before the end of the transfer market.

“The contract extension he signed has made more solid the marriage between Juve and Vidal. Vidal has always said he wanted to stay here and we are more than happy to keep him.”

Vidal moved to Juve from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2011. He made 32 league appearances for the Bianconeri last season, scoring 11 times and setting up five others as the club won their third successive scudetto.

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Liverpool close to £16m deal to sign Milan striker Mario Balotelli

Liverpool will hold talks with Mario Balotelli’s agent on Thursday to discuss personal terms. Photograph: Lui Siu Wai/REX

Liverpool are close to a £16m deal with Milan to sign Mario Balotelli having performed a major U-turn on the merits of signing the problematic striker, who is quoted as having told Sky Italia: “Today is my last day at Milan.”

Talks between Anfield officials and the player’s representatives will resume in Liverpool on Thursday over the proposed permanent transfer of Balotelli. Liverpool offered to sign the 24-year-old on loan on Wednesday but a combination of an exorbitant loan fee and Milan’s refusal to take the striker back should he cause problems for Brendan Rodgers ended that possibility.

Milan are keen to offload Balotelli on a permanent basis for a fee of around £20m although Liverpool believe they can clinch the deal for less after further contact with the vice-president, Adriano Galliani. The striker, who won the Premier League title with Manchester City but had several run-ins with Roberto Mancini, as well as moments of unrest at Internazionale and with the Italian national team, has previously been linked with a move to Arsenal.

Liverpool’s chief executive, Ian Ayre, and Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola, have discussed the prospect of Balotelli joining Liverpool in recent days and further talks are expected today. Personal terms have not been agreed with the forward at this stage.

It was only last month that Rodgers stated “categorically” he had no interest in having Balotelli at Liverpool, having strived to foster a close-knit squad at Anfield and sign only players he believes will adhere to his ‘elite performance’ standards at Melwood.

The Liverpool manager maintained that stance as the new Premier League season started but with Loïc Rémy’s proposed arrival from Queens Park Rangers collapsing on medical grounds, a loan deal for Radamel Falcao proving costly and dependent on Real Madrid’s interest in the Colombia international, and free agent Samuel Eto’o one of the few remaining viable options, the club has been tempted to reconsider.

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Transfer news: Juventus confirm Mauricio Isla is set to join Queens Park Rangers

Juventus have confirmed Mauricio Isla is poised to join Queens Park Rangers and is set to undergo a medical on Sunday.

As revealed by Sky Sports on Friday, QPR have lined up a loan deal for Chile international right-back Isla as Harry Redknapp looks to add to his squad.
Isla impressed for Chile at the World Cup, but the 26-year-old is well down the pecking order at Juventus and struggled to hold down a regular place in the side last season.
Juventus are happy to send Isla out on loan with a view to a permenant deal with the club's general director, Giuseppe Marotta, confirming a deal had been agreed with QPR.
"Tomorrow Isla will have his medical in England, as a deal has been reached with QPR," said Marotta.

Nastasic: Option for Juve

"We have already reached an agreement with the English club and the player has given his availability, it will be a loan with right of a permanent deal."
Marotta confirmed Juventus are in the market for a new defender as well as a striker and he refused to rule out a move for Manchester City's Serbia international Matija Nastasic, 21, to fill the centre-back role.
"Now we are looking for a striker and a centre-back," added Marotta.

"Nastasic? We'll see if it will be him or someone else."

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What has made Strootman Van Gaal's No.1 Manchester United target?

ANALYSIS
By Kris Voakes | International Football Correspondent

He might still be recovering from the serious knee injury which ruled him out of the World Cup, but it is easy to see why Louis van Gaal and Manchester United are so hell-bent on making a serious bid for Kevin Strootman.

The 24-year-old has already developed quite a reputation on the Continent thanks to his performances for PSV and then Roma, and his former Netherlands boss has rightly identified the midfielder as the priority target for his new United squad.

Van Gaal knows exactly what difference Strootman makes to any team, having changed his tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2 on the eve of the World Cup solely because of his star midfielder's absence. Given his intention to implement the same shape at Old Trafford, it's little wonder there is just one man for the job.

It is easy to see why Strootman is that man. From the early days in the Netherlands to his first season in Rome, he has stood out throughout his short career, imposing his game wherever he has been.

Having started out in the junior ranks at Sparta Rotterdam, relegated in 2010, it quickly became obvious that he was too good for the second tier. He did not hang around, either. Halfway through the following season he was snapped up by Utrecht, and, after making his Netherlands debut a month later, he was soon on the move again as PSV came knocking.

It was in Eindhoven that he really began to build his profile as a first-class midfielder, dominating the centre of the park for the famous club. Even after the return of Mark van Bommel from AC Milan, a man who may have felt entitled to his old role following seven sparkling years away from the club, Strootman continued to boss matches for the Rood-witten, with the ex-Bayern Munich man forced to take up an unfamiliar role on the right of the midfield three.

Last summer his staggering early rise continued when he left PSV for Roma in a €17m (£13.4m) deal. So highly rated was he at Trigoria that the management handed him the No.6 shirt which had previously been retired for club legend Aldair. But rather than shrink under the expectation, Strootman quickly became a key feature of the new-look Giallorossi.


 *2013-14 Serie A stats

Rudi Garcia’s side hit the ground running with 10 successive Serie A wins as they launched a rather unlikely Scudetto bid, and the Dutchman was at the heart of the positivity which punctuated their season. In a side boasting the likes of Daniele De Rossi and Miralem Pjanic, quality ball-players in their own right, Strootman quickly became Roma’s star midfielder.

With great passing ability and the vision to pick out a killer ball, Strootman was always likely to be a hit in the eternal city, but his eye for goal and imposing figure when not in possession helped to make him an all-round success in no time at all.
In 25 Serie A matches last season he created 43 chances from open play alone. He laid on five clear-cut chances for team-mates and scored five himself. He does not dominate games in a Xavi mould - on average he completed just 59 passes per match - but an accuracy of 88 per cent is not to be sniffed at for somebody who tries so many adventurous options.

"For over €100m (£79m) we can sit around a table and think about it," said Garcia recently when asked about Strootman's availability, and while that was obviously in part to scare off suitors it also gave a reflection of the midfielder's impact. It may have also hinted at Ed Woodward's repeated insistence that Manchester United have money to burn.

The knee ligament damage which ended his season two months early and made him a spectator at this summer's World Cup looked likely to also keep him off the market this summer. But Van Gaal’s increasing insistence that United make him their No.1 target and build their new midfield around him is no surprise.

The Red Devils’ difficulties in the middle last season were significant, and the Dutch coach has been quick to address the shortage in quality. But after being frustrated in their enquiries for some of Europe's most established names - there have been varying degrees of talks over Arturo Vidal, Angel Di Maria and Bastian Schweinsteiger - United could be ready to wait.

It could be a risky approach. Van Gaal has been filling last season's more maligned players - including Tom Cleverley - with renewed confidence during pre-season, but with Michael Carrick injured and Marouane Fellaini on the way out, the Red Devils would certainly be light on numbers.

There is also concern over how Strootman will bounces back from his knee injury. Recovery from such serious ligament damage tends to go one of two ways, and as such it may pay for the 20-time English champions to wait and see how he fares. But while some have been ruined by knee complaints, United know only too well that things can work out for the best - the huge number of goals scored by Ruud van Nistelrooy can attest to that.

But considering Strootman's tremendous talent even when not stretched to his physical limit, holding off now may be fatal in the longer term. This would be the equivalent of signing Vidal from Bayer Leverkusen before he was snapped up by Juventus. 

Leaving themselves open to the possibility of missing out on a player of Strootman’s quality and relative youth would be nigh-on foolish for a club who have so often been out-flanked when shopping for the world's top midfield talent.

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Mazzarri tells Inter fans: Look beyond Roma result

Inter boss Walter Mazzarri has urged fans and pundits to look beyond the result of Saturday's International Champions Cup friendly with Roma.

The Nerazzurri finished a massive 25 points behind Rudi Garcia's men last season in Serie A but only three places adrift of the Scudetto runners-up, securing a return to Europa League football in 2014-15.

Inter have picked up respectable results in their pre-season trip to USA, beating Real Madrid on penalties before losing to Manchester United on spot kicks after both International Champions Cup fixtures ended in a draw.

"So far everything has worked well in the US," Mazzarri told Inter Channel. "Now we face Roma.

"It is worth a lot for us to beat Roma, but we must look beyond the result. They are a very strong side and we know it will be a good test, but this isn’t Serie A yet."

One player who has been absent during Inter's clashes in North America is Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who has been suffering from a calf problem, and Mazzarri confirmed that he will not start again on Saturday against the Giallorossi.

"We don’t want to lose Kovacic, so he’ll be on the bench and will possibly play a few minutes, but without running any risks," the former Napoli coach added. "I wanted to let him start this one, but in training I saw he’s still struggling a little.

"Everyone is motivated and I expect more confirmations of our form tomorrow. Inter must never settle for less than 100 per cent."

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Koeman confirms Osvaldo-Taider swap interest

Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has confirmed that record signing Dani Osvaldo could join Inter in a swap deal with Saphir Taider.

Goal reported on Wednesday that the two players are set to switch clubs, with the Serie A side hopeful of agreeing personal terms with the striker soon.

Taider is a box-to-box central midfielder who went to the World Cup finals with Algeria and played two games in Brazil, while Koeman is also willing to take 34-year-old defender Hugo Campagnaro as part of any deal.

"We are looking for the best for Osvaldo and the best for the club," Koeman told BBC Radio Solent.

"Taider brings quality and we need that. We need competition in the squad as well and that will be good."

The Dutchman stated that Southampton are closing in on three new signings after losing Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers.

"We hope to do that this weekend and then we have two weeks still to prepare for the Liverpool game," said the former Netherlands defender.

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Napoli chief De Laurentiis confirms Fellaini interest

Goal understands the midfielder and his representatives met with the Serie A side this week, but a deal has stalled over Manchester United's valuation and the player's wage demands

Napoli chief Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed his interest in Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

Goal understands United are willing to listen to offers for the Belgium international but the club's valuation of the player and his wages have proved to be a stumbling block for the Serie A side so far.

Napoli sporting director Riccardo Bigon reportedly met the player and his representatives in Belgium this week with the Premier League side hoping to recoup at least £13 million of last summer's £27.5m investment.

"Fellaini is one of the names of our midfield, but he's not the only one," De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss.

"His hairstyle could be perfect for the Neapolitan style. I like his 'lion-hair', I have introduced Inler like a lion, Fellaini could compensate his lack of hair."

The Italian outfit have been in the market for a midfielder for much of the summer, having made enquiries regarding Tottenham midfielders Etienne Capoue and Sandro.

An agreement in principle is in place for Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva to be reunited with Rafa Benitez in a season-long loan deal but the club are eager to pursue the possibility of signing Fellaini.

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Real Madrid 0-1 Roma: Totti ends Blancos' title defence

The Giallorossi icon scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute, converting a cross from Alessandro Florenzi after releasing his team-mate with a clever dummy

Real Madrid's International Champions Cup defence came to an end after a 1-0 loss to Roma on Tuesday.

Francesco Totti scored a fine second-half goal at the Cotton Bowl in Texas to see the Serie A side to their first win of the pre-season tournament.

Madrid – beaten on penalties by Inter in their opening game – had their chances, particularly during the first half, but failed to capitalise and were punished by Roma's veteran captain as their hopes of retaining the International Champions Cup were extinguished.

Things threatened to boil over even before kick-off after Roma midfielder Seydou Keita, formerly of Barcelona, refused to shake Pepe's hand and then threw a water bottle at the Madrid defender.

Los Blancos, though, started the better of the two teams, with Gareth Bale proving a real handful for Roma down the left-hand side. Unsurprisingly, the first real chance of the game fell to the Wales international, in the 20th minute.

A fine team move led to a cross from Lucas Vazquez for Bale, but the attacker could only slice his shot well wide under heavy pressure.

Roma looked the more threatening side on the counterattack but Bale continued to cause them problems, shooting over from the edge of the area.

Luka Modric was heavily involved, too, and combined well with Bale on several occasions, but Carlo Ancelotti's men would somehow fail to score in the opening half.

Winger Vazquez forced Lukasz Skorupski into a save after a volley from inside the area and Mehdi Benatia made a brilliant block to deny Pepe on the follow up just before the break.

It would be Roma who took the lead in the 58th minute thanks to Totti. The No.10 dummied a pass that found Alessandro Florenzi's overlapping run down the right before continuing his run into the area and then finding the bottom corner with his team-mate's subsequent cross.

Substitutions ruined the flow of the game, but Roma were largely untroubled in seeing out a game that was repeatedly disrupted by a succession of pitch invasions late on.

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