[ITA] Serie A 2008/2009 (46 Viewers)

[HelterSkelter]

Cassano To Stay On Loan At Sampdoria

Antonio Cassano is set to spend another season on loan at Sampdoria rather than be sold on a permanent basis it was decided in a meeting between the player's agent and Real Madrid.

The 25-year-old was keen to stay with the Blucerchiati and his desire was transmitted to the Spanish giants by his representative, Giuseppe Bozzo, this week.

La Gazzetta dello Sport believe that an agreement has been reached that suits all three parties and ends all the speculation surrounding the player's future.

Madrid had been tipped to include Cassano in a deal that would have seen Fabio Cannavaro and Javier Saviola move to Napoli, but that has now been dismissed.

A fresh loan deal will see Sampdoria continue to pay a third of the player's wages, but the agreement suits Madrid because they did not want him back.

Los Merengues' sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, was also fearful that if Sampdoria took up their purchase option then Cassano could be sold on immediately to Juventus or Inter for a large profit.

After an impressive first season at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Cassano was named in Italy's Euro 2008 squad and could see his stock rise with a strong performance.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[JCK]

And the hypocrite claims to be a communist.

 

[HelterSkelter]

Mancini?

 

[chester]

This thing with Mancini is really strange. If he still has 5 years of his contract then i guess he signed his contract recently (was it after the Liverpool humiliation ? ).
If he did, what was Moratti thinking ? Giving him a rich contract and then terminating it, for absolutely no reason, and now he'll have to pay him 30m eur in compensation.
This is really bad business but it also shows the others how strong they are financially.
Our directors aren't ready to pay 30m eur even for some world class player while Inter are paying these money only to terminate a contract with a coach that won them the league twice in a row.

If I am not wrong, a club only needs to pay a coach until he finds a new job so assume Mancini can start as the new Chelsea coach, Moratti doesn't need to pay the rest of Mancini's contract.
So unless Mancini demanded a farewell sum of 30M, I don't think Inter need to pay Mancini that money.

Assuming he will pay Mancini the full extend of the contract, then Moratti is even more stupid then I already thought.

 

[JCK]

Mancini?

Moratti

 

[Cuti]

Mancio out, Mourinho in
Wednesday 28 May, 2008

Roberto Mancini has been axed by Inter and his agent has confirmed that the path is clear for Jose Mourinho to take his place.

Mancio’s dramatic departure unfolded yesterday afternoon when he met with President Massimo Moratti at a private residence in Milan.

The appointment lasted just 25 minutes before the Nerazzurri tactician stormed out after seemingly being told that his contract had been rescinded.

Mancini’s agent Giorgio De Giorgis has admitted that his client was disappointed to have to leave the Beneamata bench.

“Roberto didn’t think that it would end like this,” he told Sportitalia.

“Rationally speaking from the outside I understood that something wasn’t working.

“But Mancini is very disappointed because his job wasn’t done and he could have won more Scudetti and maybe the Champions League.

“Now Mourinho will arrive and he will just have to repeat what Mancini has achieved in the last few years.

“Looking at Inter’s form since January, I believe the pressure from above began to take its toll,” he continued.

“And then after the Liverpool game there was an outburst, which maybe Roberto could have avoided.

“I think he made a mistake then, he shouldn’t have told anyone that he was leaving.

“Will he go to Chelsea? Roberto has a great pedigree and there are lots of teams who want his services.

“Maybe he will take a holiday, but I hope that he will call me tomorrow because it isn’t good for a Coach to be out for too long.”

According to Rai Sport, Moratti offered Mancio a settlement of around £6m – around 18 months’ wages – but the angry Coach turned that down.

Now Moratti buy out the remainder of Mancini’s contract, as well as those of his entire staff, including assistant Sinisa Mihajlovic, technical assistants Fausto Salsano and Dario Marcolin, goalkeeper Coach Giulio Nuciari and fitness guru Ivan Carminati – all of whom were on four-year deals.

The total expense of getting rid of Mancini is expected to reach the £24m mark.

Reports state that Mourinho was in Milan last night to discuss a deal that will earn him around £7m for three years.

We are still waiting for an official statement from the former Chelsea boss.

 

[Martin]

According to Rai Sport, Moratti offered Mancio a settlement of around £6m – around 18 months’ wages – but the angry Coach turned that down.

No wonder, I would have thrown a fake tantrum myself if I knew I could get a payout like that.

 

[The Curr]

Barzagli moves to Wolfsburg
Wednesday 28 May, 2008

Palermo defender Andrea Barzagli has astonishingly snubbed hometown team Fiorentina to join Cristian Zaccardo at German side Wolfsburg.

The talented stopper had made it clear that he would leave the Stadio Renzo Barbera this summer and had been in talks with Fiorentina – the team he supported in his childhood.

However, the Viola didn’t match his financial demands and he has been lured to join fellow stopper Zaccardo at Wolfsburg.

'I am happy with my choice,” he said on Fiorentina.it.

“I will talk about my negotiations with Fiorentina a little further down the line when everything is calm.”

Barzagli’s agent Claudio Orlandini insists that Fiorentina were at fault for the breakdown in negotiations with Barzagli.

“Only a Florentine native like Andrea would have offered to accept half the offer that Wolfsburg made in order to wear the Gigliati shirt.

“He sent a clear message, but Fiorentina didn’t respond to that. Obviously I respect the club’s point of view and I wish them all the best.

“The difference between what we were asking and what they offered was minimal – it amounted to £100,000.

“Andrea was willing to give up a lot of money to play for Fiorentina, but they didn’t take our requests into consideration.”
channel 4

 

[Dostoevsky]

UFFICIALE: Gilardino alla Fiorentina

 

[Agon]

http://www.acffiorentina.it/it/Articolo.aspx?Ctn=290638

 

[Alen]

http://www.acffiorentina.it/it/Articolo.aspx?Ctn=290638

I hope next year he'll do what Osvaldo did to Milan this year. He'll score the goal that will eliminate Milan from top4 and put them in UEFA again.
And of course, a hat-trick against Milan will be orgasmic.
:xfinger:

 

[Dostoevsky]

Calcio Debate: How Will Mancini Be Remembered?

Following Roberto Mancini’s sacking, Carlo Garganese asks how the tactician’s tenure at Inter should be remembered…

So a new era is on the horizon for Inter after Roberto Mancini was given his marching orders yesterday, in order to make way for Jose Mourinho.

Many outsiders will find it hard to understand how a coach can be sacked after winning three league championships in a row, especially at a team who had, until then, failed to lift the Scudetto for 17 years. The history books will suggest that Mancini is a legend, as even Helenio Herrera, the club’s most famous coach from the golden period of the 1960s, failed to win three titles on the bounce.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take Einstein to realise that Mancini has received very little credit for these achievements. This may be a little harsh but there will always be those who remind him that the 2006 Scudetto was handed on a silver platter to Inter by the courts, and that the following year there was virtually no competition due to Calciopoli.

Critics will also point to President Massimo Moratti’s open cheque book, which has allowed Mancini to virtually pick and choose which players he wanted to buy. Money doesn’t guarantee success, but it certainly helps a great deal, as proved in England by Chelsea. Nevertheless the 43-year-old probably deserves great credit in this area, as many of his acquisitions over the past four years have certainly been successes. In Italy you can never be sure whether it is the coach, the sporting director or the chairman making the signings, but most of those who have come in, such as Maxwell, Maicon, Ibrahimovic, and Luis Figo, have all excelled. You also only have to look at the hundreds of millions of pounds that were thrown down the drain in the pre-Mancini circus years to realise that he did well on the transfer front.

Let’s now talk tactics. The feeling among many people is that when Mancini has come up against real competition, such as in the Champions League, he has failed miserably. I completely agree with this viewpoint. His strategic decision-making in both legs of this year’s exit against Liverpool was so poor it beggared belief, and although the referees were largely at fault, Mancini must take a great deal of the blame for the defeat. He was also culpable in the quarter final exit to Villarreal a couple of years ago, while he was uninspiring during the loss to Valencia in 2006/07. When it came to pitting his wits against the best tacticians, Mancini simply wasn’t up to the task. Mourinho certainly won’t fail in this regard.

Mancini’s man-management skills have also led to falling-outs with half of his squad. Leggo today stated that his own players demanded that he be sacked, while Mancio himself seems to have supported these claims by admitting Moratti showed him the door because of unrest within the dressing room. Mancini’s tantrums with the press, with whom he often refused to talk to at various points during this campaign, have also not helped his case. His dramatic resignation u-turn after the Liverpool game proves that he is a coach who can crack when under pressure.

All in all it is not really too much of a surprise to see Moratti sack Mancini. In Jose Mourinho they will have someone who has the ability to mould Inter into an invincible force both at home and in Europe.

My personal opinion is that Mancini’s success at Inter can be largely attributed to him just happening to be in the right place at the right time. The coach was probably going to be sacked at the end of 2005/06 following two seasons Scudetto-less seasons, before the Calciopoli scandal then erupted, and he was given a second chance.

His accomplishments were certainly more down to circumstances than to him being a great coach, but having said this he will always go down in the record books as the Inter boss who won three Scudetti in a row, something that can never be taken away from him

goal.com

 

[Roman]

So it's Mourinho for Inter...He will probably find something to fight on the media vs Juve...or maybe in Italy he will be different...

let's wait and see...i see Lampard or/and Drogba coming.

I still think we can fuck them.as we always do.

 

[GordoDeCentral]

Calcio Debate: How Will Mancini Be Remembered?

Following Roberto Mancini’s sacking, Carlo Garganese asks how the tactician’s tenure at Inter should be remembered…

So a new era is on the horizon for Inter after Roberto Mancini was given his marching orders yesterday, in order to make way for Jose Mourinho.

Many outsiders will find it hard to understand how a coach can be sacked after winning three league championships in a row, especially at a team who had, until then, failed to lift the Scudetto for 17 years. The history books will suggest that Mancini is a legend, as even Helenio Herrera, the club’s most famous coach from the golden period of the 1960s, failed to win three titles on the bounce.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take Einstein to realise that Mancini has received very little credit for these achievements. This may be a little harsh but there will always be those who remind him that the 2006 Scudetto was handed on a silver platter to Inter by the courts, and that the following year there was virtually no competition due to Calciopoli.

Critics will also point to President Massimo Moratti’s open cheque book, which has allowed Mancini to virtually pick and choose which players he wanted to buy. Money doesn’t guarantee success, but it certainly helps a great deal, as proved in England by Chelsea. Nevertheless the 43-year-old probably deserves great credit in this area, as many of his acquisitions over the past four years have certainly been successes. In Italy you can never be sure whether it is the coach, the sporting director or the chairman making the signings, but most of those who have come in, such as Maxwell, Maicon, Ibrahimovic, and Luis Figo, have all excelled. You also only have to look at the hundreds of millions of pounds that were thrown down the drain in the pre-Mancini circus years to realise that he did well on the transfer front.

Let’s now talk tactics. The feeling among many people is that when Mancini has come up against real competition, such as in the Champions League, he has failed miserably. I completely agree with this viewpoint. His strategic decision-making in both legs of this year’s exit against Liverpool was so poor it beggared belief, and although the referees were largely at fault, Mancini must take a great deal of the blame for the defeat. He was also culpable in the quarter final exit to Villarreal a couple of years ago, while he was uninspiring during the loss to Valencia in 2006/07. When it came to pitting his wits against the best tacticians, Mancini simply wasn’t up to the task. Mourinho certainly won’t fail in this regard.

Mancini’s man-management skills have also led to falling-outs with half of his squad. Leggo today stated that his own players demanded that he be sacked, while Mancio himself seems to have supported these claims by admitting Moratti showed him the door because of unrest within the dressing room. Mancini’s tantrums with the press, with whom he often refused to talk to at various points during this campaign, have also not helped his case. His dramatic resignation u-turn after the Liverpool game proves that he is a coach who can crack when under pressure.

All in all it is not really too much of a surprise to see Moratti sack Mancini. In Jose Mourinho they will have someone who has the ability to mould Inter into an invincible force both at home and in Europe.

My personal opinion is that Mancini’s success at Inter can be largely attributed to him just happening to be in the right place at the right time. The coach was probably going to be sacked at the end of 2005/06 following two seasons Scudetto-less seasons, before the Calciopoli scandal then erupted, and he was given a second chance.

His accomplishments were certainly more down to circumstances than to him being a great coach, but having said this he will always go down in the record books as the Inter boss who won three Scudetti in a row, something that can never be taken away from him

goal.com

assuming he is remembered in the first placel

 

[The Curr]

Mancini's tenure at Inter finished; Mourinho tapped as probable replacement

The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

MILAN, Italy: Roberto Mancini is through coaching Inter Milan — 10 days after leading the club to its third consecutive Serie A title.

While neither Mancini nor Inter has announced an official move, Mancini's agent Giorgio De Giorgis confirmed the coach's departure.

"Unfortunately it has happened," De Giorgis told Italy's Sky TV on Wednesday. "The president had this idea to change, I don't know what the reason was, but it's over now and there's no going back. Did Mancini expect it? No, certainly not."

Mancini and Inter president Massimo Moratti met for 25 minutes Tuesday afternoon, but neither one spoke to the press after the encounter.

Reached by telephone Wednesday afternoon, Inter's press office said it had no official announcement to make — for now.

Former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is being tapped to replace Mancini, with rumors also swirling that Mancini could fill Chelsea's coaching void, although De Giorgis denied that possibility.

"There has never been any (contact) between him and Chelsea," De Giorgis said.

Mourinho left Chelsea suddenly in September, having led the club to two Premier League titles in a row after the Blues had gone without the domestic title for half a century.

The self-proclaimed "Special One" has reportedly been studying Italian for months.

"I can't wait to start," Mourinho was quoted as saying in Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport, which speculated that the Portuguese coach could help Inter land Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, with Portugal players Deco and Ricardo Quaresma other market targets.

Mancini's contract with Inter lasts through 2012, and De Giorgis said the club would have to keep paying him.

"There are no (escape) clauses," the agent said. "When you have a contract, it has to be respected until it terminates. When a president turns first to Roberto Mancini and then to Mourinho, he knows what the costs are."

It was unclear what problems arose between Moratti and Mancini, who is known for his arrogance.

Mancini was the most successful Inter coach in the last 40 years, winning the "scudetto" in three of his four seasons in charge.

However, the 2006 title was only awarded to Inter after Juventus was stripped of the honor for the Italian match-fixing scandal. Last year's title also came with some help, with Juventus relegated to Serie B and AC Milan penalized eight points. And Inter had trouble closing out this year's league, opening up an 11-point lead over AS Roma in February but then having to clinch on the final day of the season.

In March, when Inter was eliminated from the Champions League by Liverpool, Mancini announced he would resign at the end of the season. But he changed his mind a few days later.

The 43-year-old Mancini joined Inter in 2004 and led the Nerazzurri to a third-place finish in Serie A and an Italian Cup title in his first season in charge.

After a distinguished playing career with Sampdoria and Lazio, Mancini began his coaching career with Fiorentina in 2000-01 and 2001-02, then took over Lazio for two seasons before moving to Inter.

Mancini is the ninth coaching casualty under Moratti, following Ottavio Bianchi, Roy Hodgson, Luigi Simoni, Mircea Lucescu, Marcello Lippi, Marco Tardelli, Hector Cuper and Alberto Zaccheroni.

Former Inter greats Sandro Mazzola and Alessandro Altobelli had mixed feelings over Mancini's departure.

"I'm perplexed. I would have kept him," Mazzola told the Gazzetta. "Inter has never won three titles in a row."

Altobelli called Mancini Inter's best coach since Helenio Herrera, who guided the club to two European Cups in the 1960s, when the Nerazzurri were owned by Moratti's father Angelo.

"He won and he had character, and when he got into squabbles, it was for the good of the club," Altobelli said. "Mourinho? They said Mancini was unpleasant, but Mourinho is the most unpleasant guy in the world."

 

[tassard]

I've heared that Mourinho learns the Italian language...
Why doesn't he learn spanish?

 

[Lion]

 

[swag]

I've heared that Mourinho learns the Italian language...
Why doesn't he learn spanish?

Though he already knows Spanish...

 

[tassard]

Though he already knows Spanish...

Better then.Italian is not needed for Inter's coach

 

[swag]

Better then.Italian is not needed for Inter's coach

Definitely got your joke there (good one). But even better: he already knows Spanish from working as an assistant coach in Spain. So the guy is a shoe-in!

I just hope he takes Scolari's job instead this summer...