Bresciano's Juve move off
AUSTRALIA midfield player Marco Bresciano fears the match-fixing and betting scandal that is devouring Italian football has wrecked his chances of a big-money move to Juventus.
The Serie A champion is at the centre of criminal investigations into rigging results with the aid of "friendly" referees. If found guilty, The Old Lady could be demoted to the second division.
The whole mess has left Bresciano, 26, cursing his luck after he was tipped to be on his way to Juve after an eye-catching season with Parma.
"
The scandal has stuffed a lot of things for a lot of people, not just me," Bresciano said.
"
The market in Italy will be in a bad way and a lot of players will end up having their plans ruined."
But Bresciano, who was married last weekend, said he was in no hurry to flee Italy's scandal-scarred championship.
"I'd like to bide my time for a couple more years and see what happens," he said. "
All these match-fixing allegations are very serious and it's worrying."
Bresciano doesn't dare take a starting place for granted in Guus Hiddink's continually shifting landscape, despite being a Socceroos linchpin for the past two years.
"We have a big squad and everybody has to be ready to play," he said.
"There are no guarantees under Guus. We have a team full of potential match-winners.
"We are a team, not a side that depends on any one individual."
Bresciano sampled Guus' guillotine first-hand when he was left out of the Dutchman's first match in charge, against the Solomon Islands in Sydney last year.
"It was a shock. I didn't know what to think," he said.
"But it shows that nobody's position is guaranteed and you have to earn your spot. Guus knew I was angry. I didn't approach him. I just showed him on the park at training.
"Maybe it was deliberate. Guus is good at that and knows how to get the best out of his players. It could all have been a mind game."
http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19273507%5E23209,00.html