Milan striker Giampaolo Pazzini feels he and Mario Balotelli can form a strong partnership during Filippo Inzaghi s maiden season in charge.
Pazzini made the move to Milan from city rivals Inter in 2012 but endured a difficult campaign last time out as he suffered with injury and fell out of favour when Massimiliano Allegri was replaced by Clarence Seedorf in January.
Limited to just seven Serie A starts and two league goals, Pazzini struggled for form as Milan stuttered to an eighth-place finish.
With Seedorf s former Milan team-mate Inzaghi now at the helm, Pazzini believes he and Balotelli can prove the ideal combination up front.
Mario and I can work together fine. He likes to move around the area, I like to stay inside to finish. So we are complem…
Bundesliga leaders Hoffenheim may be without ex-Germany goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand for the next few games after he went off injured during their 2-0 win over Energie Cottbus on his club debut.
Hoffenheim took over from Hamburg at the top of the table on Saturday with goals by strikers Demba Ba and Boubacar Sanogo, but lost Hildebrand after 60 minutes with a pubic bone injury.
Hildebrand was making his debut having returned to Germany from Spanish side Valencia in January and this was the first time in 221 Bundesliga matches he has been forced to leave the field through injury.
Hoffenheim coach Ralph Rangnick says he will only know exactly how long his shot-stopper is out for once Hildebrand has a scan on Sunday.
It is a very painful injury and it will d…
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Marco Silva have issued apologies over their dismissals during Fulham s FA Cup loss to Manchester United earlier this month.
The pair were both shown red cards by referee Chris Kavanagh during a seismic passage of play in the Cottagers 3-1 quarter-final exit at Old Trafford.
Having been called over to the pitchside monitor to check for a handball offence by Willian, who was subsequently sent off, the match official also dismissed Silva for dissent before showing red to Mitrovic after the forward pushed him, reducing them to nine men.
Bruno Fernandes then scored the resulting penalty as Fulham swiftly collapsed from holding a 1-0 lead going into the closing stages.
On Wednesday, both player and manager revealed they had spoken to Ka…
Napoli head coach Gennaro Gattuso admitted only a crazy person like me would keep going after revealing he is suffering with a flare-up of an auto-immune disease.
Gattuso wore an eye patch on the touchline during Napoli s 2-0 defeat to Lazio in Rome on Sunday, and also sported specialised glasses as his team drew 1-1 with Torino in their final game of 2020 on Wednesday.
The former Milan and Italy midfielder suffers from an auto-immune disease known as ocular myasthenia.
It is a condition that causes the muscles that control the eyes to weaken and the eyelids to droop, while it can also lead to severe fatigue and double vision.
Nevertheless, Gattuso has carried on, but the Napoli boss conceded he has been suffering.
I admit I ve not been my…
Giorgio Chiellini has been named in the Juventus squad for their Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio despite continuing his recovery from a knee operation.
The veteran centre-back injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a training session in August and was ruled out for six months after undergoing surgery.
Maurizio Sarri, though, has included Chiellini in a 24-man group for Sunday s game in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The club clarified he would not be available to play, with a statement saying: Giorgio Chiellini appears on the squad list, although the defender is still not yet available. However, the captain joins his team-mates during the competition as Juve vie for their first trophy of the season.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny an…
Barcelona vice-president Carles Vilarrubi has voiced his surprise at the support Real and Atletico Madrid have received following their transfer bans and claimed there was an entirely different reaction when the Catalans were handed a similar sanction two years ago.
FIFA on Thursday rejected Real and Atletico s appeals against the two-window ban on registering new players handed down due to breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18, a punishment similar to the one imposed on Barcelona in 2015.
Several columnists in Spain have suggested both capital clubs have been unfairly punished, but Vilarrubi was quick to stress Barcelona did not receive such backing.
Two years ago we didn t have any support, quite …
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane labelled his team s Champions League dominance as not normal after they reached a third successive European final.
An entertaining 2-2 draw at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday was enough for Madrid to reach the final for the fourth time in five seasons with a 4-3 aggregate win.
Zidane, who has not been knocked out of the competition since taking over at Madrid in 2016, said his side s European dominance was incredible.
We are still only in the final. We must be happy. It s not usual to be in a final for the third time in a row. That s not normal, he told a news conference.
Now, what we have to do is try to win. We will do everything possible, to fight, to defend our title at any cost, but it s nice to get to the final f…
Kalidou Koulibaly intends to leave Napoli and is still a target for both Chelsea and Everton, according to the defender s agent.
The 25-year-old has reportedly been the subject of transfer offers of close to €55million in recent weeks, though Maurizio Sarri s side have remained steadfast in their desire to keep him.
However, Koulibaly s agent has now claimed that the club are unwilling to match his contract demands, meaning he is likely to move on during the transfer window.
I was in Dimaro last Saturday, we took stock of the situation and, as far as I m aware, we re not at a point of agreement, Bruno Satin told Radio CRC.
The desire of the player is still to go, not to renew. The signs from Napoli are not exactly pressing him to do otherwise. They te…
Spanish striker Raul believes former Schalke team-mate Julian Draxler should stay at the Veltins Arena rather than seek a move.
The 19-year-old Germany international is one of the Bundesliga s hottest properties, having scored 10 times in 30 league appearances last season.
After what was his third season with the senior squad, Draxler has been linked with moves to a number of big European clubs, but Raul believes he should continue his development at Schalke.
Speaking after the German side beat Raul s current club Al Sadd 9-0 in a friendly, the 36-year-old said: Jule would be well-advised to stay here for one or two more years.
Then I trust him to make the switch to a big club, be it England or Spain. My preference, of course, is Real Madrid.
Draxler, wh…
Alex Song is hoping to extend his stay at West Ham United beyond his loan deal, .
The midfielder has had an impressive start to life with the Hammers, with the side having lost just once in his six appearances since leaving Barcelona on a temporary basis.
He was a stand-out performer in Saturday’s shock 2-1 victory over champions Manchester City – a result which kept Sam Allardyce’s side fourth in the division.
The 27 year old spent seven seasons in the Premier League with Arsenal before securing a big money move to the Nou Camp in 2012.
However, he has so far underwhelmed for the Catalan club, making just thirty-nine league starts in two seasons, while his only goal coming in a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza early into his spell in the Spanish top…