Controversy-Free(ish) News Roundup

By: Martha | January 21st, 2008

Olof n Freddie •Cagliari sporting director Nicola Salerno is reasonably confident his team will stay up. (Feel better, Jeremy?) To help with that effort, Cagliari have added Portuguese youth international Vitor Gomes on loan from Rio Ave, a second division side in Portugal, with the option to buy at the end of the season. Maybe he can bring them some goals.

•It’s finally official: Fiorentina’s Arturo Lupoli is going to Serie B side Treviso on loan. One assumes the boy will be able to works his way into the team and get some much-needed experience.

•Either Lyon are really desperate or Juve are really smooth talkers, because they’ve somehow conned the French side into thinking Jean-Alain Boumsong is a good defender, and it’s reported a deal sending him back to France will be finalized later this week.

•Speaking of the Juve defense, they’re pushing for Olof Mellberg now rather than is June, and a decision on him will theoretically be made today. Juve have supposedly offered Aston Villia €1 million for the Swede (he’s move on a free this summer), and if the English club say no, the Bianconeri will begin working their way down the rest of their List of Possible Defensive Saviors, which allegedly contains names such as Lugano and Jonathan Maidana.

•Everyone and his brother (apart from the brother-agent) is insisting that Inter are pursing Ronaldinho. I still think it’s all just a big joke on the media, but there you go. (Massimo Moratti says it’s crap, but who’s going to believe him?)

•Because of the trouble outside the Olimpico before yesterday’s match, Roma fans won’t be allowed to travel to Genoa for their team’s Coppa Italia match against Samp this week. Also having their travel limited for this week’s Coppa match are Juve supporters, who will only get to buy single tickets for the game at Inter.

•Everyone is pissed off about the refereeing from this round of matches, not just Parma.

•Crazy Zampa is talking but, get this, he’s blaming the players for Palermo’s dismal performance, rather than Francesco Giudolin. Whether he actually believes what he’s saying or has simply finally realized that, as PalermoSteven said in his match report, the club will be a laughingstock if Zampa fires Guidolin again is anyone’s guess, but whatever the reason, it’s nice to see him switch it up a little bit.

•Here’s a new one on Zampa’s team: He’s supposedly “only” a few million from an agreement with Livorno — the offer is €8 million, Livorno want €11 million — on Marco Amelia. If a deal were to be worked out, Livorno would get cash, as well as the loan of young midfielder Bosko Jankovic, and would supposedly bring Gianluca Pagliuca out of retirement to keep goal for them for the rest of the season. Which would be AWESOME.