Juventus assistant Giovanni Martusciello said Maurizio Sarri was very happy with Saturday s win over Parma after speaking to the absent head coach before, during and after the Serie A opener.
Sarri was not in the dugout as eight-time reigning Serie A champions Juventus kicked off their title defence with a 1-0 victory at Parma thanks to Giorgio Chiellini.
Martusciello took charge of the match as Sarri recovers from pneumonia – the former Chelsea boss also set to miss the clash against Napoli.
After the match, Martusciello told reporters: We spoke to Sarri many times in the morning.
Clearly for him it s quite difficult to stay away from the team and therefore he wanted to know whatever was happening, the conditions of the lads, how they were living the …
Fabio Capello s England will face old rivals Wales in their Euro 2012 qualification campaign after the draw was made here on Sunday for the tournament to be held in the Ukraine and Poland.
England have drawn John Toshack s Wales side in Group G as well as Montenegro, Bulgaria and Switzerland for a place at Euro 2012 with the qualifiers set to begin this September and finish in November 2011.
Wales is a really good team, very young and a derby is never a normal game, said Capello whose side are ranked 9th in the world according to FIFA with Toshack s Wales team listed as 77th.
The Welsh failed to qualify for this summer s World Cup in South Africa, but the Italian will not be taking the Welsh lightly with plenty of sporting rivallry between the two British natio…
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the growing influence of Wayne Rooney on his team ahead of Tuesday s crucial Champions League clash against AC Milan at the San Siro here.
Ferguson admitted that his team had felt the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 2008 world player of the year, to Real Madrid last summer but hailed Rooney as his club s new talisman.
I think Manchester United build up heroes very quickly and players like Rooney will be that kind of player, he said.
I know he came to us as a young player from another club (Everton) but fans will always look at Rooney as one of their own.
He was developed in our club and came at 18 years of age. We re a peculiar club in that respect with players who come through the club, they ll alway…
Two goals from Philippe Coutinho saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and pile further pressure on Jose Mourinho.
A Ramires header gave the Premier League champions the lead after just four minutes, but compatriot Coutinho fired Liverpool level in some style just before half-time.
Oscar came close with a long-range chip, but chances were few and far between in the second half until another Coutinho effort clipped John Terry and flew past Asmir Begovic.
Christian Benteke made sure of the points with a composed finish in the closing minutes as Jurgen Klopp secured his first league win since taking charge of Liverpool.
The result leaves Mourinho feeling the heat as Chelsea slumped to a sixth Premier League defeat of the se…
Juventus join race for Gundogan
Italian champions Juventus are the latest high-profile side to have joined the chase for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, .
The Germany hotshot has a contract until June 2017 at Signal-Iduna Park, but it is believed that he is considering his options.
And while it is no secret that Barcelona and Manchester United are keen on his services, Kicker claims that Juventus are in the mix as well.
The Bianconeri have experienced problems in midfield since both Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal left, and they have apparently made Gundogan one of their primary targets.
The 24-year-old has successfully rediscovered his form after a lengthy injury lay-off, and even scored two goals for Die Mannschaft in the Euro 2016 q…
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised Dean Henderson after the goalkeeper kept another clean sheet as the Red Devils eliminated Milan in the Europa League.
Paul Pogba returned from a 10-game injury absence to lead United into the quarter-finals on Thursday, his goal within three minutes of being introduced at half-time securing a 1-0 win over Milan at San Siro.
Henderson s late error gifted Milan an away goal and 1-1 draw in last week s opening leg in Manchester but the Englishman – deputising in the absence of regular number one David de Gea – redeemed himself in the return fixture, producing a close-range save to thwart Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Vying with De Gea for a starting berth, Henderson has now kept 11 clean sheets in just 18 appearances …
Gonzalo Higuain scored the winner as resurgent Inter Miami continued their excellent run of form with a fifth straight home win beating Columbus Crew 1-0 in the MLS on Saturday.
Higuain struck the winner in the 16th minute for Inter who have claimed 13 points from their past five matches to surge up to ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Inter had endured a six-game losing span in May and June but Phil Neville s side have bounced back, losing only once in their past 10.
The former Real Madrid forward swooped on a wayward back pass from Josh Williams, taking a touch inside the box and dinking a shot over Crew keeper Eloy Room, with Vito Wormgoor unable to clear it on the line.
Nueve del 9
Gonzalo Higuain gives the lead here at with his 9th goal this…
West Bromwich Albion are close to securing a deal for out-of-favour Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair, .
Southampton have registered a late interest in the player, who has also been linked with Everton and Newcastle United, though he looks almost to certain to move to the Baggies on an initial season-long loan with a view to a permanent move.
Sinclair began his career at Bristol Rovers before moving to Chelsea in 2006, though he spent most of his four years at Stamford Bridge out on loan with no less than six clubs.
A move to Swansea City came in 2010, and he helped the side to secure promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in his first season with the club.
He has represented England at every level from under 17’s to under 21’s, …
Rubin Kazan are set to make a move on PSV Eindhoven striker Tim Matavz, .
The Russian giants have until 27th February to try and find a new centre forward having just sold Jose Salomon Rondon to league rivals Zenit.
Algemeen Dagblad reports that Rubin have made Slovenian striker Tim Matavz their number one target and already notified the player s employers of their interest.
The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the club and it appears PSV are ready to cash in on him after recruiting Bryan Ruiz on loan from Fulham.
Tim Matavz joined the Philips Stadium outfit from Groningen in the summer of 2011 and went on to score 24 goals in 64 Eredivisie outings for the Dutch giants.
PSV Eindhoven face Cambuur away tomorrow evening as …
Lucien Favre has made it clear Mario Gotze faces a fight for first-team football at Borussia Dortmund this season.
The Germany international was taken off after 64 minutes of the 2-1 DFB-Pokal win at Greuther Furth last month and then failed to get off the bench in his side s opening two Bundesliga games of the season.
Favre used a 4-3-3 system in those matches, a 0-0 draw at Hannover and a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, with Mahmoud Dahoud, Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney preferred in midfield.
And the Dortmund head coach admits it is difficult to fit Gotze into his side given his other options for the central roles.
I think it depends on our system, he told a news conference. I said that it would take time for us to find our best team and our best system. The…