Conte: Juve players can learn to be champs

Juventus coach Antonio Conte has voiced his delight with the 2-0 victory over AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday evening.

The 42-year-old was full of praise for his players following the important win at the Juventus Stadium and stressed that his squad have what it takes to become champions.

"To win these games, you must win as a team. This year, the good players have to be champions. We have players who can learn to be champions," Conte told Tuttosport.

The former Juve captain tempered his praise with words of advice for his men in the coming weeks, urging them to be humble and never to forget the failures of last season.

"It is too early to lose the humility which reminds us that last season we finished in seventh place. If we had failed [to remember to be humble] we would have been massacred by Milan."

Juventus will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the Serie A season when they face Chievo after the international break.

Read more...

Juventus & Napoli as title contenders in Serie A

Marcello Lippi has said former clubs Juventus and Napoli are good value for winning the Serie A title this season.

Both teams signalled their Scudetto intentions over the weekend and held the two Milanese giants at their mercy.

Napoli beat Inter 3-0 on Saturday while Juventus brushed aside AC Milan 2-0 on Sunday.

"I think Juventus and Napoli will both fight to win the title this season," Lippi told Ansa.

"However, Milan, Inter and Udinese are also there. Udinese never cease to amaze me."

Lippi went on to speak about Roma who clicked into gear with a 3-1 win over Atalanta on Saturday.

"Roma have an excellent project and champions like Daniele De Rossi and Francesco Totti."

Juventus are joint top of the league with Udinese, one point ahead of Napoli. 

Read more...

Lionel Messi urges Argentina to end the cycle of failure

Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has admitted that he has experienced too much failure while on duty with the national team, and urged his team-mates to break the habit in the imminent Conmebol World Cup qualifying campaign.

Accustomed to harvesting titles as a member of the Spanish champions, the Argentine wizard has not seen the same fortune smile on him while representing the South Americans. Since making his debut in 2005, the 24-year-old can boast just one winners medal, gold in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, as a member of the senior team.

Speaking four days before Alejandro Sabella's men start their bid for Brazil 2014 against Chile, Messi affirmed that this was the time to build a consistent, winning team.

"The results we seek are still not materialising for us, we have experienced a great number of failures. I hope that against Chile we can start winning," Messi told Radio Metro.

The No. 10 also argued that it is unrealistic for the public to expect him to carry his national side, pointing out that this simply is not the case in Barcelona. And he continued to predict a fierce fight for qualification amongst South America's World Cup hopefuls.

"These games are getting more and more difficult because all the teams are on a similar level, and they can make life hard for you by packing the midfield," he explained.

Messi and Argentina host Chile in the Estadio Monumental on Friday, before travelling to Caracas to take on Venezuela the following Tuesday.

Read more...

Cristiano Ronaldo aims to break La Liga goal record again

Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo believes he can continue breaking scoring records in the Primera Division after picking up the Pichichi award for netting the most league goals in the Spanish top flight last term.

There is debate over the amount Ronaldo tucked away as Marca claim it is 41, while Spain’s Professional Football League (LFP) gave a deflected free-kick goal from last September against Real Sociedad to team-mate Pepe.

In any case, having picked up the trophy from Marca, the Portugal international intends to beat his own mark.

"In football nothing is impossible and every record can be broken," the Portuguese is quoted as saying by Marca.

"I hope to surpass the previous record, but I want to thank my team-mates for making it possible for me to win the trophy.

"We will see what happens in the future, you never know what may happen, but I could beat the record."

Ronaldo went on to talk about Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday, in which he did not score, but set up two goals.

"I like helping my team-mates score, it is also part of my job. They pass to me and I pass to them. I always do my best for the team so we can win."

Ronaldo's goal haul in the league last season surpassed previous record-holders Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sanchez, who both amassed 38 goals in 30 and 35 league games, respectively.

The former Manchester United man is the only player in history to have scored 40 or more goals in a single Liga season.

Last term Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored 31 goals in 33 league matches for his team, with the two players tied on 53 strikes in all competitions.

Read more...

Luciano Moggi: AC Milan did nothing but run around against Juventus

Luciano Moggi has been highly critical of AC Milan's performance in their 2-0 loss to Juventus on Sunday night, stating that the Serie A champions did nothing more than run after their hosts for 90 minutes.

A late double from Claudio Marchisio proved to be the difference between the teams on the night, but the former Juve general director feels that there was more to the game than that.

"I saw a team that did more running than playing," Moggi told Il Sussidiario. "Milan did nothing, and so the result was inevitable."

The 74-year-old then spoke about Inter's 3-0 loss to Napoli, which saw referee Gianluca Rocchi come under heavy fire after wrongly sending off Joel Obi and awarding the visitors a questionable penalty at San Siro.

"He [Rocchi] got it all wrong. He made a mistake with Joel Obi and then again on the penalty," Moggi said.

As a result of their poor star

Read more...

Aguero to meet up Argentina

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has played down the severity of the injury he picked up against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, insisting that he will be joining up with the Argentina squad on Monday.

The former Atletico Madrid star had to be taken off in the first half during the 4-0 win over Steve Kean's side and City assistant David Platt had predicted that Aguero could be out for two weeks with the groin injury.

Aguero has now claimed, however, that he is to join up with the rest of the Argentina squad for their World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Venezuela.

He Tweeted: "I am very happy because the doctor told me I have only a muscle bound! Tomorrow I come back to the national team!!"

Read more...

Former Italy boss Marcello Lippi: I have not had contact with Anzhi Makhachkala

Former Italy head coach Marcello Lippi has declared he has not yet been approached by Anzhi Makhachkala.

The Russian outfit are on the lookout for a new coach after dispensing with the services of Gadzhi Gadzhiyev following a series of disappointing results which saw the club slump to seventh in the league standings.

Roberto Carlos, who has been appointed as caretaker coach, revealed on Thursday the club were looking to sign a world-class tactician, with Fabio Capello and Guus Hiddink mentioned as some of the names under consideration.

Lippi has also been mooted as a possibility for the job, but the Italian tactician claims the Eastern Europeans have not yet come knocking.

"I follow Anzhi's situation closely, the team of Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto'o, but I have not had any contact with their officials, I have only read [about them] in the papers," he told Rai Sport.

"I have already said I want to coach again, and I do not rule out any possibility, I am not only considering proposals from national sides."

The 63-year-old, who has been out of work since the summer of 2010, coached a club for the last time in 2004, when he was in charge of Juventus.

Read more...

Downing backs Carroll to get more goals

Liverpool winger Stewart Downing has hailed team-mate Andy Carroll and backed the striker to go from strength to strength following his first Premier League goal of the season.

Downing moved to Anfield in the summer in a £20 million move from Aston Villa and has made a good impression, and believes that Carroll will get a lot of confidence from his opening goal in the Merseyside derby.

"Andy's off the mark now and we're all delighted for him," Downing told the club's official website.

"Even without scoring, he's been doing really well for us.

"But getting a goal is a real bonus and for it to happen in the derby is extra special for him.

"He deserved it for his all-round play and it was a great finish.

"Andy is a quality striker and I'm sure he'll build on this. It was such an important goal as this was a big win for us.

"Obviously coming here [to Goodison] and winning means a lot to the fans but the main thing for us was getting the three points."

Read more...

Brazil legend Ronaldo urges Santos' Neymar to move to Europe

Brazil legend Ronaldo has asserted that Santos forward Neymar should move to Europe to further his career.

The 19-year-old prodigy is widely expected to leave his homeland after establishing himself as one of the hottest commodities on the transfer market with his displays for club and country.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have both been credited with an interest in Neymar, who has declared he will not leave Santos before the summer of 2012.

And Ronaldo, who joined PSV at the age of 18, said that his countryman must move to Europe to continue his progression.

"We will see his evolution from the moment he moves to Europe, which will be the most important step in his career," he told Globo.

"He has done everything he can here in Brazil with his talent. I think it would be a shame to limit himself to Brazil only."

Read more...