Feb 12th-14th : Napoli hold Inter Milan but Inter are still 7 points clear

A round-up of the top action in Italy this weekend.

Napoli 0-0 Inter Milan

Leaders Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Napoli, meaning their lead at the end of the weekend stands at seven points over Roma.

Hosts Napoli had enough chances to win several games and struck the woodwork twice - via Marek Hamsik and Fabio Quagliarella - on a frustrating night against the defending champions.

Inter also hit the frame of the goal through Sulley Muntari and improved in the second half to claim a point.

As a result of their point, Napoli move back up to fourth and keep their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League alive.

AS Roma 4-1 Palermo

On Saturday, Roma moved back up to second place in the table with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Palermo.

Having dropped down the standings after AC Milan beat Udinese on Friday night, Roma wasted no time in taking second spot back.

A Cesare Bovo own goal in the 33rd minute set them on their way to victory with a scoreline that was far more convincing than their performance at the Stadio Olimpico.

Julio Baptista added the second in the 53rd minute before Matteo Brighi got his name on the scoresheet 10 minutes later.

Fabrizio Miccoli reduced the arrears with a dubious penalty in the 80th minute but a stunning strike from John-Arne Riise three minutes later secured the win for Claudio Ranieri's in-form Giallorossi.

AC Milan 3-2 Udinese

Ronaldinho inspired AC Milan to a 3-2 victory over Udinese, warming them up for the visit of Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday with three more Serie A points.

Although the Brazilian did not put his own name on the scoresheet, he set up all three goals.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first after seven minutes and substitute Alexandre Pato added the second five minutes before the break.

Antonio Floro Flores gave Udinese hope with a goal on the stroke of half-time before Huntelaar's second in the 57th minute restored the home side's two-goal advantage.

Antonio Di Natale pulled Udinese back into the game in the 86th minute, but they could not find an equaliser.

Sampdoria 2-0 Fiorentina

Sampdoria gabbed their fourth win as they downed an out-of-sorts Fiorentina 2-0.

Franco Semioli put the Blucerchiati on their way to victory in the 16th minute and Giampaolo Pazzini sealed the win in the 40th minute with his first goal against his former club.

Fiorentina are languishing in 11th position and struggling for form ahead of a testing Champions League tie against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Juventus 3-2 Genoa

A disputed penalty allowed Juventus to win their first game under coach Alberto Zaccheroni as they came from behind to earn a 3-2 victory against Genoa.

Genoa went ahead with a goal from captain Marco Rossi in the 16th minute, but Amauri brought the Bianconeri level shortly before the break.

Alessandro Del Piero put the home team in front after an hour, but Rossi struck back immediately with an equaliser Genoa more than deserved.

However, the game was decided in the 78th minute by a penalty earned and converted by Del Piero, although doubts remain whether it should have been a spot-kick in the first place.

Italian Serie A Top Six Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 24 16-6-2 49:20  54 
Roma        24 14-5-5 42:27  47 
AC Milan    23 13-6-4 39:24  45 
Napoli      24 10-9-5 32:27  39 
Sampdoria   24 11-6-7 32:31  39 
Juventus    24 11-5-8 38:32  38

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Feb 6-7th : Inter Milan in command on top of Italy Serie A

Inter Milan moved 10 points clear of city rivals AC Milan, and 8 clear at the top of Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory against in-form Cagliari at the San Siro on Sunday.

Inter Milan 3-0 Cagliari

Winter signing Goran Pandev gave them the perfect start after five minutes' play with Argentinian duo Walter Samuel (20) and Diego Milito (47) wrapping the game up for Jose Mourinho's men.

The result ended a six-game unbeaten run for Massimiliano Allegri's Cagliari, denting their hopes of European qualification.

Bologna 0-0 AC Milan

AC Milan fell 10 points behind city rivals Inter after an uninspiring goalless draw at Bologna.

A win for Leonardo's men was key to their hopes of keeping the pressure on their great rivals in the race for the Scudetto.

But Milan's failure to find the back of the net - although they went very close hitting the woodwork twice - means athat Milan slip back to 3rd on the table.

Fiorentina 0-1 AS Roma

Roma to move second in the table as Mirko Vucinic got the only goal for the game in the 1-0 win at Fiorentina.

The Viola were left empty-handed after one of their most impressive performances of the last few months while Roma extended their excellent run of form to 12 Serie A games without defeat.

Udinese 3-1 Napoli

Antonio di Natale scored twice in injury-time to complete a hat-trick for Udinese in a 3-1 victory against previously in-form Napoli.

Di Natale punished his hometown club, who had goalscorer Christian Maggio sent off just before half-time, to give the Bianconeri a first win in eight Serie A contests.

It provided Gianni De Biasi with a first victory since he took charge on December 22, easing the club's relegation fears and enabling them to put behind them the misery of the midweek Coppa Italia semi-final defeat to Roma.

Serie A Top Eight Team Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 22 16-4-2 48:19  52 
Roma        23 13-5-5 38:26  44 
AC Milan    22 12-6-4 36:22  42 
Napoli      23 10-8-5 32:27  38 
Palermo     23 10-7-6 31:26  37 
Sampdoria   23 10-6-7 30:31  36 
Juventus    23 10-5-8 35:30  35 
Genoa       23 10-5-8 36:36  35 

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30-31st Jan : Round-up Of Italy Serie A results

Parma P-P Inter Milan

Inter Milan's match at Parma was postponed due to snow, and has been re-scheduled for February 10th.

AC Milan 1-1 Livorno

AC Milan missed the chance to close the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan to six points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Livorno on Sunday.

Massimo Ambrosini opened the scoring for Milan in the final minute of the first half but Livorno levelled eight minutes after the break thanks to Cristiano Lucarelli.

Juventus 1-1 Lazio

New Juventus boss Alberto Zaccheroni had to settle for a point at Turin's Stadio Olimpico in his first match in charge as they played out a 1-1 draw with Lazio.

The former Lazio manager saw his team take the lead through Alessandro Del Piero's 70th-minute penalty. However, that was as good as it got for Juve as Stefano Mauri grabbed the equaliser eight minutes later by volleying home a cross from Mauro Zarate.

The result lifted the Turin outfit to fifth in the standings, and leaves Lazio two points clear of the drop zone.

Napoli 0-0 Genoa

On Saturday Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Paolo by their bogey team Genoa.

Napoli have not beaten Genoa since both sides returned to the top flight of Italian football two-and-a-half years ago, while their last home victory over the Ligurians dates back over a decade to when the clubs were in Serie B.

Bari 4-2 Palermo

Bari defeated 10-man Palermo 4-2 at the Stadio San Nicola.

Leonardo Bonucci and Edgar Alvarez gave the hosts a two-goal lead within the first seven minutes, but strikes from Edison Cavani and Javier Pastore either side of half-time brought Palermo level.

A red card shown to midfielder Fabio Liverani in the 56th minute tipped the scales back in Bari's favour before a penalty from Paulo Barreto and a fourth goal from Vladimir Koman earned them all three points to get them back in the reckoning for a place in Europe next season.

Italian Serie A Top Six Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 21 15-4-2 45 19 49 
AC Milan    21 12-5-4 36 22 41 
AS Roma     22 12-5-5 37 26 41 
Napoli      22 10-8-4 31 24 38 
Juventus    22 10-4-8 34 29 34 
Palermo     22  9-7-6 29 25 34

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23-24 Jan : Weekend wrap-up of Italian Serie A

Inter Milan 2-0 AC Milan

Nine-man Inter Milan moved nine points clear of city rivals AC Milan at the top of Serie A thanks to a 2-0 win at the San Siro on Sunday.

Diego Milito gave the Nerazzurri the lead in the 10th minute, but they were forced to play over two-thirds of the game with 10 men after Wesley Sneijder was sent off.

Goran Pandev's 65th-minute strike secured the points for Jose Mourinho's side, who lost Lucio to a red card in stoppage time before Ronaldinho saw his penalty saved at the end of a dramatic derby.

Juventus 1-2 AS Roma

On Saturday former Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri returned to haunt his old club and pile the misery on his successor Ciro Ferrara as Roma ran out 2-1 winners at the Stadio Olimpico.

Alessandro Del Piero gave the home side the lead with a fine goal in the 51st minute, but Francesco Totti equalised from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

Juve lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to a red card in the 83rd minute before John Arne Riise clinched the points for Roma deep in stoppage time.

Livorno 0-2 Napoli

Christian Maggio put Napoli ahead before the interval and Luca Cigarini made sure of the points in stoppage time, moments after Livorno goalkeeper Alfonso De Lucia was sent off.

Serse Cosmi stepped down as coach of Livorno following his team's defeat.

Palermo 3-0 Fiorentina

Abel Hernandez scored twice in the first half as Palermo enhanced their European chances with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fiorentina.

An Igor Budan strike just before the hour mark completed the scoring for Palermo who maintained their unbeaten home record to move up to fifth in the table.

Italian Serie A Top Six Teams

Team        Pl  W D L  Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 21 15-4-2  45:19  49 
AC Milan    20 12-4-4  35:21  40 
AS Roma     21 11-5-5  35:25  38 
Napoli      21 10-7-4  31:24  37 
Palermo     21  9-7-5  27:21  34 
Juventus    21 10-3-8  33:28  33

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AC Milan beat Juventus 3-0 in Turin to keep in touch with Inter

The Serie A Scudetto will be a race between Inter Milan and AC Milan after AC Milan won 3-0 away at Juventus to keep the pressure on Serie A table-toppers and city rivals Inter Milan.

Alessandro Nesta put Milan ahead in the 29th minute with Ronaldinho adding a second in the 72nd minute as Juve struggled to produce a performance that would ease the calls for Ferrara's head.

Another goal from Ronaldinho two minutes from time came amid protests from the home fans, who shrouded the field with smoke by burning any item possible, and sealed the win for Milan - now eight points behind Inter with a game in hand.

Napoli beat Sampdoria 1-0 to remain in 4th, and in the race for Champions League football after substitute German Denis came off the bench to score the winner against Sampdoria on Sunday.

On Saturday night Inter Milan twice came from behind to claim a thrilling 4-3 victory over Siena as Wesley Sneijder and Walter Samuel scored late goals in the top-versus-bottom clash at the San Siro.

And a first-minute goal from Daniele De Rossi was enough to give 10-man Roma a 1-0 victory over Chievo which moves them up to fifth in the table.

Rossi headed in from a corner to give the hosts the lead at the Stadio Olimpico, but they had goalkeeper Doni sent off after he handled the ball outside the area after coming out as Elvis Abbruscato charged through on goal.

CLUB        Pl  W D L  GD Pts 
Inter Milan 19 14-3-2 +24  45 
AC Milan    18 11-4-3 +12  37 
Juventus    19 10-3-6  +7  33 
Napoli      19  9-6-4  +5  33 
AS Roma     19  9-5-5  +6  32 
Fiorentina  18  9-3-6  +8  30

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Manchester United win in Wolfsburg while Bayern Munich thrash Juventus

Bayern Munich clinched their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a come-from-behind 4-1 victory over Juventus which saw the Italians eliminated.

Bayern earned the win at Juventus despite the Serie A side taking an early lead in Turin through David Trezeguet.

Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt levelled from the penalty spot and Ivica Olic put the visitors in front seven minutes into the second half.

Late goals from Mario Gomez and Anatoliy Tymoschuk sealed the German side's progression - to leave Juventus with the consolation of a Europa League place.

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Michael Owen scored a hat-trick as Manchester United made light of their injury woes to record a 3-1 win over German champions Wolfsburg.

Edin Dzeko's 56th-minute header cancelled out Owen's first-half opener, but the English international struck twice in the closing stages of the second half to leave Wolfsburg contemplating a place in the UEFA Europa League.

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Juventus beat inter Milan 2-1 while AC Milan thrash Sampdoria 3-0

Juve beat leaders Inter 2-1 as Mourinho sent off
Claudio Marchisio scored a superb goal gave 10-man Juventus a 2-1 win over leaders Inter Milan in an enthralling game on Saturday.

Italy midfielder Marchisio danced past Walter Samuel and chipped the ball over Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar just before the hour mark to inflict Inter’s second league defeat this term.

Juventus took the lead after 20 minutes when Diego's free kick was headed on by Giorgio Chiellini and the ball deflected in off Inter's Lucio.

Inter manager Jose Mourinho sarcastically applauded the referee after the goal for awarding the free kick and was immediately sent to the stands by the referee.

Inter Milan equalised after 26 minutes when a Dejan Stankovic’s cross was headed in by an unmarked Samuel Eto'o.

Second-placed Milan overpower Sampdoria 3-0
AC Milan scored three goals in the first 23 minutes to seal an easy victory over Sampdoria.

Ronaldinho set up the first two goals but then went off with a minor hamstring strain with one eye on Tuesday's Champions League clash at FC Zurich, where a win will put Milan through.

Striker Marco Borriello headed in the Brazilian's cross after just two minutes for his fourth league goal of the season.

Ronaldinho, playing on the left of a new three-man attack, then laid the ball off for midfielder Clarence Seedorf score just inside the box after 21 minutes.

Alexandre Pato scored soon after to secure a fifth straight league win for Leonardo’s side, who have recovered from a shaky start to the campaign.

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Champions League draw kind to English clubs

The four English clubs in the Champions League were handed favourable draws for the group stage of the competition.

Arsenal have been drawn against AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege in Group H.

Last season's finalists Manchester United take on CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg in Group B.

Liverpool are top seeds in Group E and face Olympic Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen.

Chelsea are the ranked club in group D and will play Porto, Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia.

Remaining Groups :

Group A
Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa

Group C
AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich

Group F
Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dinamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan

Group G
Sevilla, Glasgow Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni

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David Trezeguet decides to stay at Juventus

David Trezeguet has decided to stay at Juventus, at least until the end of the 2009/10 season.

The 31-year-old French striker has attracted interest from Italian clubs AC Milan and Roma, although Juve recently said they would only be prepared to sell him to a club outside of Serie A.

Trezeguet is quote on Juventus's official website: "I am definitely staying at Juventus for the whole season. After ten years in Turin I don't think it's right to leave now.

"At the back of this decision is the decisive support of those who backed me in the recent period - that is, the management, the coach, my mates and the supporters."

Trezeguet is under contract with the Bianconeri until 2011.

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Madrid and Turin derby matches centre stage this Saturday

Real Madrid are trying to make makes el Derbi Madrileno their 11th successive league win in the Primera this weekend.

Real Madrid host Atletico Madrid, well aware that Atletico devlivered a heavy blow to title rivals Barcelona last weekend, with a 4-3 stunning victory that cut Barca's lead at the top to a mere four points.

The two city rivals meet on Saturday at Santiago Bernabeu.

RELATED LINKS :
Real Madrid 1.79 at Globet, Atletico Madrid 5.10 at PinnacleSports
See all the Live Spanish football betting Odds at Bookielabrat.

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Serie A will share the derby spotlight over the week-end, when Juventus will face historic rivals FC Torino.

The Old Lady will need every win they can get, to close the seven-point gap that separates them from league leaders Inter Milan.

But Torino's run of five matches without defeat may spell trouble for Claudio Ranieri's men, who are also preparing for Chelsea's Champions League visit next week.

Expect plenty of tension at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening.

RELATED LINKS :
Torino 3.49 at PinnacleSports, Juventus 2.35 at Centrebet,
See all the Live Italian football betting Odds at Bookielabrat.

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Round 13 : Inter Milan clear at top of Serie A

AC Milan were held 2-2 at Torino on Sunday, leaving city rivals Inter Milan three points clear at the top of Serie A.

Torino's Alessandro Rosina scored a 78th-minute penalty, which was conceded for handball by Kakha Kaladze, to earn the hosts a draw.

Napoli are 3rd with Juventus on 24 points after being held 2-2 at home by Cagliari earlier on Sunday. Daniele Conti scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the Sardinian side after Ezequiel Lavezzi thought he had won it for Napoli with a superb late free kick.

Lazio are fifth after grabbing a 1-1 home draw with Genoa thanks to Ousmane Dabo's powerful strike that slipped through keeper Rubinho's hands 10 minutes from time.

Fiorentina round out the top six after they beat visitors Udinese 4-2 on Saturday.

AS Roma continued their return to form after a miserable start to the season with a 3-0 win at Lecce courtesy of first-half goals by Mirko Vucinic and Juan plus captain Francesco Totti's delightful chip four minutes after the break. Roma are in 15th spot.

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Inter Milan top of Serie A table after late goals

Julio Cruz headed home in injury time to give Inter Milan a 1-0 home win over Udinese on Sunday and send the Serie A champions top of the table.


AC Milan, a point behind Inter on 23, were held 1-1 at Lecce in the late game after conceding a late equaliser.

Napoli beat Sampdoria 2-0 to be on the same points as Milan while Lazio defeated Siena 3-0 at home thanks to a brace by Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate's goal.

Alessandro Del Piero celebrated his 34th birthday by scoring a third free kick in a week to help Juventus to a 2-0 win at lowly Chievo which puts them level with Udinese on 21 points.

Genoa are a point further behind in an extremely tight top half of Serie A after Diego Milito's hat-trick sealed a 4-0 home victory over bottom side Reggina.

Fiorentina are also on 20 points following a 2-1 triumph over Atalanta.

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Preseason results : ManYoo, Arsenal, Newcastle, Man City

Manchester United were frustrated in their final pre-season friendly of the summer as they played out a goalless draw with Juventus.

Sir Alex Ferguson sent out a strong side with the Community Shield against Portsmouth just four days away.

Juve will not start their Serie A campaign until the end of the month but they matched United in a tight first half, with neither goalkeeper seriously tested.

Lee Martin was perhaps unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after being brought down by Zdenek Grygera, while Darren Fletcher blazed over from a tight angle on the left.

There were few chances after the break either, although Paul Scholes spurned one glorious opportunity as he headed wide from point-blank range.

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Newcastle had to settle for a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven at St James' Park despite scoring twice in the first 10 minutes.

Steven Taylor put the hosts ahead after only three minutes, heading in Geremi's outswinging corner, and debutant Danny Guthrie made it two five minutes later from James Milner's through ball.

Newcastle were pegged back on the half-hour mark as Ibrahim Afellay fired in after Shay Given parried a shot from Nordin Amrabat.

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson prevented the Magpies from extending their lead and it was Amrabat who drew PSV level 20 minutes from time with a snapshot from 12 yards.

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Arsenal's youngsters took home the Herbert Chapman Trophy after two goals in the last 15 minutes gave them a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the Galpharm Stadium.

The match was held to celebrate Huddersfield's centenary, with the cup named after the legendary manager of both clubs in the 1920s and 30s.

James Berrett gave the hosts the lead after 75 minutes but Sanchez Watt quickly equalised and Nacer Barazite grabbed the winner three minutes from time.

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Celtic finalised their Clydesdale Bank Premier League preparations with a 1-1 draw against Manchester City in their friendly encounter at Parkhead.

Martin Petrov's 54th-minute strike gave City a deserved lead before youngster Paul McGowan equalised with 10 minutes remaining with his first goal for the first team.

McGowan missed the chance to become the hero when he hit the bar from 10 yards out in the final seconds as Celtic pressed for the winner.

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Champions League 3rd Round Draw

Arsenal were handed an tie against former England boss Steve McClaren's new side FC Twente in the Champions League third qualifying round.

McClaren was appointed by the Dutch side in June this year, taking his first job since he was sacked by England in November 2007.

Liverpool have been drawn against Belgium's Standard Liege. Liverpool, who were beaten by Chelsea in the semi-finals last year, will fancy their chances of getting past Standard Liege.

The Reds will play their first leg away from home - as will Arsenal and Rangers, too, provided the Glasgow side make it through.

Elsewhere in the draw, highly-fancied Barcelona will play either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow and Italian giants Juventus face Tampere United or Artmedia Bratislava.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - Full draw:
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Aalborg/Modrica v RANGERS/Kaunas
Standard Liege v LIVERPOOL
FC Twente v ARSENAL
JUVENTUS v Tampere/Artmedia
BARCELONA v Beitar Jerusalem/Wisla Krakow
Schalke 04 v Atletico Madrid
Spartak Moscow v Drogheda/Dinamo Kiev
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague
Galatasaray v Steaua Bucharest
Anorthosis/Rapid Vienna v Olympiakos
Vitoria Guimaraes v IFK Gothenburg/Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Domzale/Dinamo Zagreb
Levski Sofia v Anderlecht/BATE
Inter Baku/Partizan v Fenerbahce/MTK Budapest
SK Brann/Ventspils v Marseille
Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi v Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta Prague

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Thursday's Transfer Rumours

It looks like being another month or so until "REAL" football kicks off - so I'm going to continue the football transfers rumours series.

ARSENAL lead off today with a whole lot of talk ..

Arsenal midfielder Alex Hleb has agreed a four-year-deal with Barcelona and is set to sign for £15m - or perhaps €15m. No-one seems quite sure.
(Source = The Sun)

Arsenal are also likely to waive goodbye to Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva to Greek side Panathinaikos.
(Source = Blog Arsenal Analysis - but now picked up by a lot of papers)

On the positive side Arsenal will complete a £11.5m deal for Marseille's Samir Nasri now that the new French tax year has begun.
(Source = The Sun)

Newspapers then start totally making it up when claiming that Arsenal have bid £19m for Andrei Arshavin but his club Zenit St Petersburg want £24m.
(Source = Star)

The Gooners are also rumoured interested in 22-year-old Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, who is rated at £8m by his club River Plate - and this sounds more like Wenger to me.
(Source = The Sun)

Chelsea are also well covered in the rumour market ..

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has personally blocked Inter Milan's attempts to buy midfielder Frank Lampard.
(Source = half a dozen sites)

While on paper says that Lampard has told friends he is determined to leave Chelsea and says it is time for him to go.
(Source = Daily Express)

Didier Drogba still wants to leave Stamford Bridge, even though there hasn't been much interest - with Milan keeping very quiet ...
(Source = Daily Star)

And Chelsea were interested in Brazil forward Robinho but have been told by Real Madrid that it will cost £30m to sign .
(Source = Daily Star)

Liverpool fans are also kept informed - although the news is not so positive ..

Liverpool were interested in signing Valencia's David Villa but have been put off by the massive £32m price tag and instead are looking at Spanish international winger David Silva.
(Source = The Sun)

Benitez's transfer funds are also in doubt after Juventus said that they will not pay £15m for midfielder Xabi Alonso. That could affect Liverpool's chances of raising the cash to sign Aston Villa's Gareth Barry.
(Source = The Sun again)

Finally two snippets from mighty ManYoo ..

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has pontificated again about "player slavery" and said Manchester United they should let winger Cristiano Ronaldo join Real Madrid.
(Source = FIFA website)

Manchester United look to have lost another Portuguese employee in the form of assistant boss Carlos Queiroz, who took over as Portugal manager on Wednesday evening.
(Source = Daily Star)

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Aussie Keeper prefers Fulham over Bayern Munich or Juventus?

Australian Mark Schwarzer has rejected offers from Bayern Munich and Juventus ... to join Fulham ?

WTF? Are we in the twilight zone? I have nothing more to say on this ...

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2008-9 Pre-season : Real Madrid and Juventus

Arsenal will host European heavyweights Real Madrid, Juventus and Hamburg in the pre-season Emirates Cup in August.

The Emirates Cup - which is being staged for the second year - will be held on August 2nd and 3rd at the Emirates Stadium. The trophy is decided on a league basis - with three points for a win plus an extra point for every goal scored.

"We are delighted at the calibre of the three visiting teams to this year's Emirates Cup" said Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman.

In the first season Arsenal won the pre-season trophy playing against Valencia, Inter Milan and Paris St Germain.

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