Massive, Bless You My Child News Roundup

By: Martha | January 9th, 2008

Il Papa •The Pope loves football. Stay in school, kids.

•Via something that’s not their official website, Atletico Madrid have reportedly confirmed the loan of Maniche to Inter. If he passes his medical, the midfielder will be join the Nerazzuri tomorrow and stay until June, when they’ll have the option of making the move permanent for €6 million.

•Olof Mellberg is supposedly in Turin for a medical, ahead of finalizing his long-rumored move from Aston Villa to Juve.

•The French press are reporting with increasing frequency that Tiago could be heading back to Lyon on loan for the rest of the season. (LyonInara, who knows her team, says there’s no room for him there, but the papers clearly aren’t bothered with details like that.) The English press, meanwhile, think he’s going to Spurs.

•Or there’s always Fiorentina for Tiago. Looking to reinforce their midfield, the Viola are supposedly keeping an eye on the Portuguese, as well as Juve target (and possible pending signee) Momo Sissoko, and Porto’s wonderful Lucho Gonzalez. According to the Italian media, there’s already an €8 million offer on the table for Gonzalez, and if Porto will allow the Viola to negotiate directly with the player, it’s thought their offer of a raise on his less than €1 million/season salary would be enough to convince him to move.

•Pippo Inzaghi is ready to go to the Olympics, if Pierluigi Casiraghi wants him. Bless ancient Pippo.

•There’s a story making its way around unofficial sites that Chievo’s forever-want-away striker Victor Obinna could be a transfer target for Napoli, which seems like it would be nothing short of an amazing buy, based on his age (Only 20! Still!) and ability. I have no idea what sort of price Chievo would ask for him, though, and since Obinna is currently busy with the Super Eagles in the African Cup of Nations, he won’t be doing any playing for either team in the near future.

•The Andrea Caracciolo hilarity continues, as he reportedly just turned down a move to Rangers because he doesn’t want to leave Italy. Dude! You’re an annoying, unproductive pain in the ass! You need to go anywhere they don’t know that yet!

•Bruno Cirillo has joined the Italians fleeing non-paying, always-losing Levante for the peninsula. While Levante teammate Marco Storari has now officially joined Cagliari on loan from owners Milan, Cirillo has returned to Reggina, the club with which he started his career almost 15 years ago. The move is a loan until the end of the season.

•And, just because I’ve not mentioned Arturo Lupoli and his desperate desire for a loan away from Fiorentina in at least 24 hours, Reggina want him.

•At Lazio, talks are underway with representatives of Norwegian striker Steffen Iversen. Iversen himself is the one who’s told the press about the negotiations but, given that he reportedly agreed to join Genk last winter and then changed his mind just hours later, he’s probably not the most reliable source on his own destination, even if what he says is true. Possibly heading out of Lazio, meanwhile, is unhappy defender Guglielmo Stendardo; he’s reportedly a target for club including Fulham, Birmingham and Celtic.

•Adrian Pit might finally be going out on that loan RomaChris keeps talking about: Word on the street is that an agreement with Livorno is on the horizon.

•Another day, another Bobo Vieri refusal to talk about an extension. Attay boy, Bobo. Don’t let them push you into anything.