Italy manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that he was pleased with his team’s performance after they picked up a slender 1-0 win over United States in an international duty. The Azzurri were recently frustrated with a goalless stalemate against Portugal and the United States game appeared to be going the same way before Matteo Politano found the breakthrough in the 94th minute.
No matter what league in Europe, one thing that is the toughest to achieve is dominating on both a domestic front and in the Champions League. This is what Juventus are aiming to do for the next couple of seasons. They have put together a squad that they believe is capable of doing that, and their focus is simply to win as many trophies as possible while they have top-end talent at their disposal.
The final piece of their puzzle was Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined this summer from Real Madrid. Ronaldo won’t be around forever – he is a short-term signing – but he is the most important player brought in by Juventus, and they are hoping he is the difference maker in the Champions League. Continue reading
Juventus director Pavel Nedved has revealed that the club are looking forward to offering a strong challenge for the Champions League crown, now that they have Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. The Portuguese superstar made the shock move to Turin from Real Madrid during the summer transfer window and Nedved is delighted to have the attacker on board to enhance their European ambitions.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “We are very happy that we could welcome to our team such a world class player like Ronaldo. As a club we have made a step forward and we want to make it count in the Champions League, which has been set as our objective in the next few years. Some might have thought it was crazy… We, Juventus, are in position where it is very difficult to buy players who are better than those in our XI.It was the right decision to get Juventus where the club belongs. We want to win the Champions League, so it was a good move.”
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Italy international Giorgio Chiellini has admitted that he is undecided over his national team future. The 33-year-old did not feature in Roberto Mancini’s first squad earlier in the year and he has now hinted that he could move on to allow the younger players to establish themselves under the new manager.
It’s weird to think of Juventus being without Gianluigi Buffon, but as one modern icon of football leaves Turin, another arrives, as the Old Lady have made a major summer statement.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Real Madrid, having fired them to the last three Champions League crowns including one at the expense of Juve in 2017, leaving Spain for Italy in his early 30s mirrored a move made by previous Bernabeu favourite in compatriot Luis Figo. He was a similar age when quitting Los Blancos for Inter Milan. Continue reading
Neymar, who played with the speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid and said that he is staying at Paris Saint-Germain. He said he is sure that Ronaldo will have a huge impact in Serie A. He said “I not just think, but believe so that Cristiano Ronaldo will change Italian football. He is a great player and it will be again the Italian football I used to during my childhood days.”
Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo has revealed that he has held talks with members of the Italian FA and other clubs as he considers stepping into a coaching career. The 38-year-old hang up his boots during the back end of 2017, and he is expected to be given a formal send-off at a San Siro testimonial next month.
After the bitter disappointment of losing the 2017 Champions League Final to Real Madrid, a question that many were asking was whether or not we were witnessing the end of what has undoubtedly been a great Juventus team over the last few years.
Such prolonged domestic dominance, with six successive Serie A title victories under their belt, is not something that should be discredited but the fact that they have not managed to win Europe’s top club competition since 1996 cannot be ignored either. Continue reading
Gianluigi Buffon could prolong his career for a couple of seasons, according to the goalkeeper’s agent Silvano Martina. The 40-year-old was initially expected to hang up his boots at the end of the season, but following another call-up to the Italy squad, he is considering the prospect of playing on for a few more years.
This summer at the World Cup in Russia, the Italian national team will not be there to compete but despite the disappointment of that, this World Cup can still be a very enjoyable one. With many teams in contention, this looks set to be one of the most competitive World Cup’s we have seen for the past few years, and realistically there are at least half a dozen teams who have a genuine chance of winning.
The top of the betting is full of big international teams, with Brazil, Germany and France leading the way. Behind those the likes of Spain, Argentina and Belgium will all head to Russia with a realistic chance of going all the way, and that is without mentioning the outsiders who are capable of causing an upset like England and Portugal. Continue reading