TheDailySoccerNews.com

There might never have been a coach more intent on turning his teams into a sideshow to his own performance than José Mourinho. Yet he is not the pretty sight he imagines.
On Saturday night in the San Siro, his Inter Milan was reduced by foul play and gamesmanship to nine men before halftime for the second match running. No matter, Mourinho applauded them, mocked the referee, and boasted that a team of his would have to be reduced to six players to lose a home game.

He is a bitter and twisted man — and a successful one.

Saturday was the 130th consecutive time a team coached by Mourinho — from Porto to Chelsea to Inter — has remained unbeaten at home in league play. It is a run built on stubbornness and good organization, yet scarred by an attitude that is inimical to the game.

What Mourinho was applauding from the touchline Saturday was a match without goals or grace. It was anti-soccer at its worst, aided by Sampdoria’s failure to make numerical advantage count, or even threaten to score.

Mourinho’s mind games included prolonging the halftime interval by almost five minutes, leaving the opponents cold on the pitch and the match officials jogging nervously in the tunnel. Mourinho challenged officialdom by demonstrating, not for the first time, that his men will come out to play when it suits him.

We have seen all this before. It is unlikely to be coincidence that this display came as Inter was preparing to face its next visitor to the San Siro, Chelsea — the team that he built and the club that fired him — in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Before that, Europe’s true champion, Barcelona, will play at Stuttgart on Tuesday. If the weekend is any guide, there should be goals and an emphasis on the more pleasant arts of the game.

Barcelona, although depleted by injuries to Xavi Hernández, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Seydou Keita, Eric Abidal and others, overran Santander with a 4-0 victory in the Camp Nou. It answered questions after Barça’s first defeat of the Spanish season, against Atlético Madrid the previous week — and Thierry Henry, Andrés Iniesta and Rafael Márquez all scored goals for the first time in months. Read more…

Bari were no match for an efficient AC Milan side who bagged three important Serie A points to erase the recent memory of Champions League defeat.

Milan were hoping to use the game as a chance to recover from the recent loss to Manchester United in the Champions League. For Bari the task was simple, make the misery worse and bag a vital three points.

The first half was a frustrating one to watch. Milan had plenty of the ball but were not doing enough to convert this into a good lead. However, they stuck to their task and stretched the advantage in the second 45, never looking back.

Bari made the slightly better start as Barreto went racing down the wing in the fourth minute. Gattuso was having none of it and raced over to clear the danger and any early chance of a threat against Milan.

Milan struggled in the early moments to find their feet. Passes were going out of play and either too long or short. If Bari could get an early goal then it could help them when Milan improved later in the game.

Ambrosini missed a great chance just before the quarter of an hour mark when he fired over. Pato did well to beat the full back, progress along the by line and cut the ball back before it was sent into row z.

Bari were not to be outdone and a good little move nearly put them ahead. Meggiorini found a little space on the edge of the area but couldn’t get enough power behind his shot as a Milan defender came across to clear. Read more…

DAVID BECKHAM still wishes he was a Manchester United player.

That is why he will not be celebrating if he scores against his old club in the second round of the Champions League.

The former England skipper faces United next Tuesday for the first time since his acrimonious departure to Real Madrid seven years ago.

Becks, on loan at AC Milan, is looking forward to his reunion but clearly he would still like Old Trafford to be his permanent home.

He said: “I always wish I was part of Manchester United, it is just in me.

“Even though I am not there any more, I am still a huge fan.

“Coming to terms with not being a United player was certainly the toughest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.

“When you are a Manchester United player and a Manchester United fan you never want to play for any other club.

“I always want them to do well and ]be successful because the club still means so much to me. Read more…

The Italian media had claimed there was already a verbal agreement between the Spaniard and his would-be new employers and a meeting had taken place today with Benitez’s lawyers to finalise details of the contract.

There were even reports Benitez would make Liverpool trio Dirk Kuyt, Martin Skrtel and, somewhat oddly considering their fractious relationship, Ryan Babel his first signings.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez last night released a statement claiming he has no agreement with Juventus and will not be meeting the Italian club or their representatives, or any other club.

However, similar sources had suggested on Thursday a Juve delegation was in Liverpool only for that to prove to be false.

When asked about the manager’s future Kuyt said he did not believe there would be any change at the top.

‘As far as I know there is no doubt,’ said the Holland international.

‘I’ve not heard there is any trouble or indication the manager could leave so if that is not happening we just want to play football.’

Benitez did not help all the conjecture about his future on Friday when he said he was proud to be linked with one of Europe’s top clubs.

But he did also say he had a job to do an Anfield and was committed to that. Co-owner Tom Hicks’ surprise visit to watch yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Bolton also posed a few questions as to why he had attended a relatively low-key fixture when there was a Merseyside derby next weekend.

He was not, however, bringing a last-minute transfer window war chest for the Spaniard to spend to help Liverpool secure the Champions League football which is so vital to their future. Read more…

Benitez said he was “proud” to be linked as they are a “top side in Europe” but added: “I’m happy here and want to do a job as best I can.”

The Spaniard has come under-fire for a spluttering season and doubts over his future intensified on Friday with Ciro Ferrara’s sacking at the Serie A club.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has rejected talk of an imminent move to become the new Juventus coach.

Alberto Zaccheroni has been handed the role until the end of the season.

The Reds manager signed a new deal in March 2009 to keep him at the Merseyside club until 2014, but an early exit in the Champions League and FA Cup, along with poor Premier League form, has not helped to quash reports of a premature departure.

Benitez’s agent Manuel Garcia Quilon revealed on 26 January there was “no truth” in the media speculation linking his client to a move to the Turin club.

And although some reports in Italy suggested a Juventus delegation had flown to Merseyside this week attempting to secure a new long-term manager, Benitez was not prepared to discuss his future.

“I am not here to talk about speculation because people talk too much,” said the 50-year-old.

“I am focused on preparing my team for the game against Bolton (on Saturday). I know they (Juventus) were interested, that is part of the game now in football, but I am not ready to talk too much because I don’t want to lose my focus.” Read more…

A statement said traces of anti-obesity drug sibutramine were found in a sample after a Serie A match between his Fiorentina side and Bari on 10 January.

Romania international striker Adrian Mutu has tested positive for a banned substance, according to the Italian Olympic Committee.

The 31-year-old tested positive for cocaine in 2004 while at Chelsea.

Mutu was banned for seven months by the Football Association, but he could face a four-year ban for a second offence.

Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant drug used for obese people, although it was recently banned in the UK amid fears over the increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.

Mutu has been in excellent form for the Florence-based club, scoring seven times this season - including a goal in the 2-1 win over Bari.

But away from the pitch a Swiss Federal Court is nearing a ruling on his appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said he must pay Chelsea 17m Euros (£14.62m) for breach of contract. Read more…

The Juventus coach tried to relieve the tension by creating as normal an atmosphere as possible: “At this time, I don’t need to be any braver than usual, I just need to appreciate the difficult nature of the situation and I am not ashamed to discuss it. After all, taking criticism and handling controversy is part of this job. Rather than shunning it, you have to take it on the chin, at both the good times and the bad. I’ll say it again with absolutely no embarassment as I have nothing to be embarassed about. Results are not coming my way, but I have always acted professionally, honestly and with principle, doing everything I can to make things better. And I will keep on doing this until the club tells me that it has decided differently.”

Respect — “If that should happen” Ferrara continued, “I will accept the club’s decision with total respect, reassured that I gave a lot and received a lot from the club, first as a player then as a manager, and now also the chance to steer the team from the bench. For my part, I have always behaved seriously and professionally, which is why I am not ashamed at the moment and have never thought of resigning. I haven’t even asked to talk it over, because I know what I have to do, which is to keep on doing it, i.e. try to turn things around and get some important results.” Read more…

“Without doubt, I saw some bad signs, and they made it very clear to see” said Moratti when leaving the stadium. “The referee was wrong. You could see I wasn’t happy in the stands (after Sneijder’s dismissal), and I’m still not happy.

Inter president Massimo Moratti is extremely satisfied with his team’s derby victory, but the same can’t be said for the refereeing decisions which add to the midweek controversy surrounding the rescheduling of fixtures.

“We were wrongfully in numerical inferiority for most of the game, but we controlled it well and we won. This shows what great character and playing ability the team has.”

“It was a great joy, it was a very important goal,” said Pandev. “We were suffering but we reacted and confirmed our strength with a goal that is important for everybody.

Goran Pandev won’t forget his first Milan derby. The Macedonian striker was set to be substituted, but with one last kick of the ball he sent a curling free kick beyond Dida to stun the Rossoneri.

“I should have scored before but I hit the post. I was a bit unlucky, but it went better for Milito’s goal. We had worked on these schemes all week. We deserved to win.

“I haven’t scored many goals from free kicks. Do I follow the advice of Wesley? I can only learn from him. He is very important for our team, and not just for his free kicks. Read more…