Jumat, 23 November 2007

Italian veteran coach



ROME (AFP) - Italian veteran coach Fabio Capello has confirmed he is "very interested" in taking over as England manager following the sacking of Steve McClaren on Thursday.
Capello is currently one of the few candidates keen on the post, made available following England's humiliating failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
"It would be a very interesting challenge, and difficult challenges have always interested me," Capello told Italian television station Rai2 in an interview to be broadcast Friday.
"I was convinced (Jose) Mourinho would have accepted the job. He has another objective but I am not the same age as him," the 61-year-old said of the 44-year-old former Chelsea manager.
The English FA are reportedly trying to find a home-grown replacement but Aston Villa's Northern Irish manager Martin O'Neill and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce have already distanced themselves from the post.
While Mourinho has yet to officially reject the job, most reports have said the former Chelsea boss is more interested in a top European club position.
Capello would become the second foreign manager of England if he were appointed following the reign of Sweden's Sven-Goran Eriksson who stepped down following England's quarter-final exit at the 2006 World Cup.
McClaren, who was assistant to Eriksson, was then put in the hot seat only to end his brief campaign in disappointment as England crashed out of Euro 2008 with a dire 3-2 home defeat to Croatia on Wednesday.
Capello led Real Madrid to the Spanish title last season but was fired by the club after a tumultuous season and replaced by Germany's Bernd Schuster.
Recognised as a no-nonsense coach and a strict taskmaster, Capello also led AC Milan to four Serie A crowns (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996) and guided AS Roma to only their third ever title in 2001.
He won the Champions League crown in 1994 when AC Milan thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in Athens and in his first stint as Real Madrid coach, helped the Spanish giants lift the 1997 La Liga crown, 10 years before he repeated the achievent only to be controversially fired.
Capello is also a former international player and scored the winning goal when Italy defeated England for the first time at Wembley in a 1973 friendly.

Selasa, 20 November 2007

Dainelli eyeing Champions League



FLORENCE, Italy (AFP) - Fiorentina are allowing themselves to dream about finishing in the top four and qualifying for next season's Champions League, according to captain Dario Dainelli on Tuesday.
The Viola have had a fantastic start to the season, sitting second in the table, just two points behind champions Inter Milan, and having gone unbeaten in the first 11 games before their shock home defeat to Udinese 10 days ago.
Dainelli is guarded against premature talk of winning Serie A, but he believes that a top four finish is a realistic posibility.
"Our aim is to stay in the top four until the end of the season, that's what the whole squad wants," he said.
"It can be difficult to recover after a long unbeaten and intense period. We need to get back on track."
Dainelli has twin hopes for this season: leading Fiorentina to the Champions League and forcing his way back into the Italy set-up.
"I would love to take part in Euro 2008 even though the national team is very strong and getting stronger, however, for the moment, I'm concentrating on Fiorentina," he added