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Milan starlet Alexandre Pato has reiterated his desire to follow his former Coach Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea.

The explosive striker, who is currently in South Africa with the Brazilian national team for the Confederations Cup, had previously expressed his attachment to the Rossoneri shirt.

“Ancelotti is very important to me,” said the youngster.

“He was the one who wanted me in Milan and gave me the chance to grow up as a player.”

Pato is currently tied to Milan by a long term contract and the Rossoneri want to hold on to him for the time being.

“I have a contract with Milan but I would be seriously interested if Chelsea called me,” confessed the striker. Read the rest of this entry »

Real Madrid star Kaka has admitted it won’t be easy for Brazil to face Italy, especially as he is set to challenge several of his former Milan teammates.

Following their 3-0 win over the US, the Seleçao can approach the next game against the World Champions with ease but still it represents for them an important occasion.

“The Azzurri lost their last game and cannot afford to lose another one,” said the former Rossoneri ace.

“We will fight for the first spot in the table and it won’t be easy. Personally it will be a special game considering how much Italy means to me.” Read the rest of this entry »

Ten-man Italy grabbed a much needed win against hosts Sweden in an entertaining but tense European Under-21 Championship game.

The Azzurrini, who drew their opening match against Serbia, are now leading the group and can comfortably approach their next fixture against Belarus.

It wasn’t all easy for them though considering that the locals fought hard and could have caught them on more than one occasion.

Italy tried to impose their supremacy from the very start but it took them a while to come out of their shell.

Robert Acquafresca could have put them ahead but failed to hit the back of the net following an inspired touch from Sebastian Giovinco. Read the rest of this entry »

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is worth more than Kaka but less than Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Inter Milan club administrator Ernesto Paolillo.

The Inter striker has been strongly linked with a move away from the San Siro with European giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea reportedly interested in him and he could become another high-profile signing of the summer, following Real Madrid’s purchase of Kaka and likely deal to capture Ronaldo.

Paolillo told Gazzetta dello Sport: “The player knows that for the time being we have had no offers that are deemed suitable for his market value, which is superior to Kaka and slightly inferior to Cristiano Ronaldo in our estimation.”

Paolillo has not ruled out Ibrahimovic remaining at Inter, where he is under contract until June 2013.

“The situation is being evaluated constantly by (Inter sporting director Marco) Branca,” said Paolillo. “Regardless of the rumours that are coming from England and Spain, we find ourselves faced with an impasse that could be Read the rest of this entry »

AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has urged Carlo Ancelotti to take him to Chelsea, admitting that he would love to link up with his former boss at Stamford Bridge.

The youngster arrived at the San Siro from Brazilian club Internacional in 2007 and was thrown straight into first-team action by Ancelotti. Scoring 18 goals last season, Pato has become a sensation in Serie A and, although under contract until 2012, made it clear that he would be willing to follow his former employer to England.

He told the Daily Mail: ”Carlo Ancelotti is very important to me, both as a coach and a person. It was him who wanted Milan to sign me, and he has developed me as a player. I feel a sense of owing him a great deal.

”I have a contract with Milan, and it is down to them to decide about my future. But I would be interested if Ancelotti were to call on me to join Chelsea.”

Pato is reportedly keen to leave the San Siro having seen his Brazilian team-mate Kaka depart for Real Madrid last week and the 19-year-old would command a fee of around £45m after his impressive performances for the Rossoneri. Read the rest of this entry »

Bayern Munich have reacted angrily to a report that stated that the club could be prepared to sell Franck Ribery should they receive a high enough bid.

The Bundesliga giants were incensed that Sport BILD magazine ran a cover story that quoted the chairman of the club’s Supervisory Board, Franz Beckenbauer, as claiming a decision had been made that could see the Frenchman be sold.

With Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United linked with the Frenchman, Bayern have stated that he is not for sale, but the latest report has caused them to go one step further.

On the club’s official website, a list has been drawn up to indicate the current position of the club and the player and a formal request for the media to follow the guidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

Goals from Felipe Melo, Robinho and Maicon helped ease Brazil past the United States in a largely one-sided Confederations Cup Group B encounter. There were fine performances too from Ramires and Kaka, but in truth, Dunga’s team did not have to hit full stride to overcome a poor North American challenge. Sacha Kljestan was sent-off midway through the second half to make Brazil’s task even easier, and they march relentlessly towards the semi-finals.

First Half

If there was one moment that served to highlight the disparity between the champions of CONMEBOL and the champions of CONCACAF, it came in the 20th minute of this Confederations Cup clash.

The United States were granted their first corner and the captain, Landon Dovovan, opted to take it quickly and aimed a short pass to DaMarcus Beasley. Read the rest of this entry »

Italy’s Confederations Cup hopes now rest on beating Brazil after they fell to a shock 1-0 loss to Egypt.

The result means Italy lie level on points with Egypt going in to the final round, but they will face Brazil while Egypt face the United States. The Azzurri had the chance to reach the semi-final with a win but found their advances blocked by Egypt at every turn.

The first real moment of danger for Italy saw Mohamed Zidan recive the ball in the penalty area but before he could get a shot in Giorgio Chiellini and Fabio Cannavaro combined to shut him down and eliminate the threat. Read the rest of this entry »

Pepe Reina has revealed how he and Chelsea’s Petr Cech were involved in a personal duel to see which of the two goalkeepers could keep the most clean sheets last season.
The Liverpool custodian eventually came out on top, racking up a total of 20 shut-outs in the Barclays Premier League, compared to Cech’s 19.

However, Reina has disclosed that he informed the Stamford Bridge stopper he would gladly swap all of his personal accolades for a league title winners’ medal with the Reds.

“Of course I’d swap the lot,” Reina told LFC Magazine.

“I had a little challenge going with Petr Cech last season where we’d see who could concede the least goals.

“Despite our club rivalries we’re both in the goalkeeper’s union!

“We’d send text messages to each other about the clean sheets as well. I told him I would swap all my clean sheets for his league titles. Read the rest of this entry »