The press in both Italy and Britain are speculating that Juventus want Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez to replace Claudio Ranieri.

On face value the rumour looks plausible.

Juve have not won in four games and there is talk of dressing room unrest while Benitez has obviously had his run-ins with the bosses at Anfield, which is looking no nearer to demolition and a nearby stadium built.

Looking at the situation closely, however, and the story seems like a tabloid tale on a quiet day.

Yes Juve have not had a great start but Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat by Palermo was only their first loss of the season. The Turin side are also struggling with injuries.

The club hierarchy have fully backed Ranieri while it is an interesting fact that Juve have not sacked any coach since Luis Carniglia back in 1969. Lippi, Deschamps, Capello etc all resigned.

There also seems less reason at the moment for Benitez to quit or be forced out at Liverpool. Fans are actually beginning to believe that this could finally be their year in the Premier League after an exciting start.

Rafa wouldn’t want to drag his Spanish contingent off to Italy just yet.

Having seen replays of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s remarkable backheel goal for Inter Milan on Saturday, I reckon it’s one of those rare moments when football reaches the realm of art.

I realise you risk sounding like a wally by comparing something frivolous like football to such a serious business. (more…)

 

Italians haven’t quite cottoned on yet to Jose Mourinho’s sense of humour.

Inter Milan have put out a statement pointing out that their new coach was joking when he told a journalist he earned 14 million euros a year.

The excesses of soccer have reached the point where any amount of money sounds plausible to some. (more…)

Ronaldinho’s great bullet header in AC Milan’s 1-0 win over derby rivals Inter on Sunday surprised the Brazilian as much as everybody else.

The former Barcelona player was so shocked at scoring such a goal that he ran around the San Siro pitch like a headless chicken before being hugged by his team mates and performing his customary dance. (more…)

Families will be divided and bars will be filled with talk of nothing else this weekend when Everton host Liverpool on Saturday and the Milan derby takes place a day later.

Despite the plethora of foreign players on show at Goodison and the San Siro, as well as Spanish, Scottish and Portuguese managers, the two derbies will still sum up what is great about being a football fan.

Two packed stadiums will have fans singing their hearts out and every tackle will mean so much more. (more…)

When Jose Mourinho first arrived at Inter Milan, I was expecting fireworks.

His sharp wit and tongue while at Chelsea won him fans and enemies in equal measure but no one could say the ’Special One’ was dull. 

However, in his first couple of months at the Italian champions, the Portuguese seemed somewhat withdrawn. Was this a new, more measured Mourinho? Would he just do the day job and then hide away in his new surroundings?

Not a chance. Mourinho was just sussing out Italian soccer and the media. Once he felt comfortable, his ego and cheeky character blew a hole in Serie A.

Last week he said Inter deserved to beat Catania 5-1 despite only winning 2-1 with two own goals. Catania’s chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco replied by saying Mourinho had insulted the whole of the Sicilian city and that he risked ‘having his teeth smashed in”.

Lo Monaco, who has been charged by the soccer federation for inciting violence, quickly apologised and said the comment was “a Sicilian turn of phrase”. Mourinho laughed off the whole episode, saying the only Monaco he had heard of was the Monaco Grand Prix.

From that point on the whole of Italy knew what it was in for. Not even Mourinho’s comical Portuguese accent when speaking Italian can diminish the admiration he is quickly gleaning.

Mourinho’s charisma has also begun to rub off on his players. Inter were efficient in winning the scudetto under Roberto Mancini last season but rarely exciting.

Back-to-back wins over Panathinaikos in the Champions League and Torino on Sunday showed a new side to Inter, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic acquiring the swagger of a manager he has already labelled ‘great’.  

PHOTO: Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho watches his team play their against Ajax at the Amsterdam Tournament, Aug 9, 2008 REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos (NETHERLANDS)

Anyone underestimating Champions League debutants CFR Cluj will now have to think again after the Romanians beat AS Roma 2-1 away in their Group A opener.

Having a smaller club make an impact is great for the competition after years of domination by the big sides. BATE Borisov of Belarus and Denmark’s Aalborg are two other little-known teams in this season’s group stages and they can only be spurred on by Cluj’s heroics in Rome.

Can any of these three sides make it through to the knockout stages? If Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco made the final some years back then why can’t an even smaller side reach the last 16?

Zenit St Petersburg, once unheard of in European circles, are UEFA Cup and Super Cup champions remember.

Roma will struggle to beat Cluj away given their stuttering form and no side, not even Real Madrid, will fancy the trip to Belarus.

I’d love to think the gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting smaller. But it might just be a one-off. Cluj host rampaging Chelsea next.

PHOTO: CFR Cluj’s Juan Culio (C) celebrates with his team mates Yssouf Kone (L) and Sebastian Dubarbier after scoring against AS Roma during their Champions League Group A soccer match at the Olympic stadium in Rome September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was told his position was secure after the 2007 European champions finished fifth in Serie A last term and missed out on this season’s Champions League.

However, two defeats in their opening two league matches have put him under pressure again. The arrivals of Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko were designed to help stop the rot but Milan’s main problem last season was a static midfield and the issue remains unresolved.

Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini have a habit of standing together in a line near the centre circle and rarely does one of them break forward. This means the front three have to do all the running.

Ancelotti may have to reconsider his tactics if he wants to stay in a job, especially with a much-loved former Milan player looking freely available to take over.

Frank Rijkaard left Barcelona after things went sour at the Nou Camp but his 2006 Champions League-winning side played the sort of wonderfully attacking football the San Siro now craves.

The Dutchman would have to bury the hatchet with Ronaldinho and re-energise an ageing defence but Italian media see him as the ideal candidate.

Ancelotti needs to act fast, or hope Rijkaard is snapped up by another team.

PHOTO: Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti gives instructions to his players during the game at Genoa, Sept. 14 REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

Real Madrid and Barcelona lose their opening matches in Spain, Bayern Munich have to wait until their third game to taste victory under Juergen Klinsmann, AC Milan lose while Juve and Inter can only draw in Italy and three games in, not one of the big four in England’s Premier League can muster a 100 percent record…

It would be nice, wouldn’t it, to read something in to all this.

Smaller clubs that are nimbler in the transfer market have made a series of astute buys while we were watching the Olympics and the soccer superpowers were trying to prise away each other’s big stars, you might say. Once great names like Atletico Madrid, Schalke 04, Lazio and Manchester City are at or near the top of their leagues and are ready to rise again!

We’re all too wise to fall for any of that, though, aren’t we? After all, the big leagues are just three games in at the most and none of us really doubts that normal service will be resumed once the international week is out of the way.

But at the risk of sounding hopelessly naive, perhaps this year will see a bit of a shake up.

Don’t Liverpool and Arsenal look a bit more vulnerable to challenges for top-four places in the Premier League? Might Juergen Klinsmann and Pep Guardiola find it tough in their first seasons in charge of big clubs?

Doesn’t Real Madrid’s failure to get Cristiano Ronaldo mean they’ll be short of a touch of inspiration? And, given all that’s happened, is there much chance of the Portuguese forward producing another season of such sustained brilliance for United?

I’m as resigned as anyone to the idea of the big league titles going to the usual suspects, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they face a few more bumps in the road this time.

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Ruud Van Nistelrooy reacts after their Spanish first division soccer match against Deportivo Coruna in Coruna August 31, 2008. REUTERS/Miguel Vidal

If you had told Rivaldo a few years ago that he would end up playing in Uzbekistan, it is doubtful he would have believed you.

Playing in Greece with Olimpiakos and AEK Athens was already an unusual place for the ageing former World Cup winner to wind down his career. Gary Lineker went to Japan, David Beckham to the U.S. but the Brazilian signing for Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor is something else.

At least Rivaldo has been totally open about his reason for going: Money. Uzbek clubs obviously have a lot of it. Kuruvchi managed to persuade Samuel Eto’o to go there last month to discuss a move before he ended up staying at Barcelona.

The Times has found another place where players who are probably past their best tend to head — Serie A. Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko are on the list but the proud Italians will point out that AC Milan shipped out Rivaldo long ago.

If former Milan striker and fallen idol Ronaldo appears at Manchester City, the (English-based) Times may have to eat some humble pie.

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AEK Athens forward Rivaldo heads the ball against Getafe during a UEFA Cup match, Feb 21 REUTERS/Susana Vera