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| 28 MARCH
2002 Voice Of Football Dies Former BBC commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme, died today aged 79? Wolstenholme uttered the immortal words during England's 4-2 victory over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final : "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over (that instant Geoff Hurst ran downfield and scored England's fourth goal), it is now." Most recently Wolstenholme could be heard commentated on brief match highlights for Channel 4's Football Italia program. 25 MARCH 2002 Pires Out For The Season, Out Of The World Cup Robert Pires is out for the rest of the season and will miss this years World Cup after damaging cruciate knee ligaments during Saturday's FA Cup victory over Newcastle. Pires landed awkwardly after jumping to avoid a tackle from Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas. According to a journalist from respected French magazine L'equipe France are not likely to call up Newcastle's Laurent Robert or Inter's Stephane Dalmat, the obvious replacements and may recall geriatric Youri Djorkaeff. Capello Takes Credit For Eriksson Appointment "I met Eriksson at the Stadio Olimpico for the sporting jubilee (October 2000) and we spoke a while about England. He was having doubts but I told him to go for it because it was a national side and more importantly it was a great nation to take control of. The results have proved him right and in a way they've proved me right too." - Fabio Capello Serie A Post Match Comments Inter vs Roma "I've had a good night. We won a very important game and I think Inter have taken a step forward. We'll see how decisive it is at the end of the season if I don't think that it will be easy from now on." - Hector Cuper "I'm not interested in becoming the League's top scorer all that I'm bothered about is winning the Scudetto. All of the side played well. Recoba and I do grab the headlines but our team-mates help us to play that way." Christian Vieri "Tonight we played an excellent game but at Liverpool we did not. There were also certain events which determined the result here but we must accept what happened on the field." - Fabio Capello "We hit the upright when the score-line was still 1-0 and Vincenzo Montella had a great chance in the first minute. Some refereeing decisions were not in our favour and all this must be considered when judging our performance." Fabio Capello Bologna vs Lecce "We almost gave everyone heart attacks with this match. It was a stunning game but we never gave up. Our main error was believing it would be easy. I am pleased for Beppe Signori as he is finding his form again and scored a very important goal but man of the match was Massimo Tarantino." Francesco Guidolin "We scored three goals but Bologna got four. I don't know how many you need before taking points away from the Dall'Ara. The more time goes on, the less likely it is we will avoid relegation. In the last few weeks we deserved more but when winning 3-2 with 20 minutes to go, don't you usually take home a result?" - Delio Rossi Brescia vs Perugia "The team had a strong start just as I had asked, while we maintained the pace without stopping to make calculations." - Carlo Mazzone "I am disappointed and surprised. I certainly did not expect to lose a game like this within the first 45 minutes. Without taking anything away from Brescia's performance I'd say we made life difficult for ourselves and I cannot honestly explain why." - Serse Cosmi Chievo vs Verona "Chievo brought out their pride in front of a fantastic crowd and fully deserved this victory. The idea is to continue along these lines with a good performance and faith in our abilities. It is a real battle for the final Champions League spot." - Luigi Del Neri "We must be close to our fans in the good times and the bad just as they have with us throughout the year. Over the 90 minutes I'd say Chievo deserved the win although we could have sealed the result in the first half." Alberto Malesani Lazio vs Udinese "At this moment in time Udinese would be in Serie B but I am convinced that by the end of the season they will be safe. It was not a very attractive match, but all we needed were points." - Alberto Zaccheroni "Next week we will play all our cards to avoid the drop by welcoming Brescia to the Stadio Friuli. I am relaxed as our fixture list could be useful. We were unfortunate to concede the first goal here with Lazio's first cross into the box. A real shame." - Giampiero Ventura Piacenza vs Milan "We must keep going despite the fact this result is very unfair considering the performance. If a team had to win in then it should have been Piacenza. In any case, we must look to the future and if we continue to play like this then we'll avoid the drop for sure." - Walter Novellino "We really needed to notch up a string of results that would allow us to work in a more relaxed manner. The team is growing and it shows. It was a careful performance and we dropped off a bit after the goal. We really could have done without the new injuries." - Carlo Ancelotti Torino vs Fiorentina "It wasn't an easy game and absolutely had to win. It was a good first half performance but we were unable to extend our lead. It could have gone better but the points are all that matter at this stage." - Giancarlo Camolese "It was a good performance but we lost yet again. It's not enough to avoid relegation." - Luciano Chiarugi (coach Ottavio Bianchi was sent off) Venezia vs Atalanta "We were denied a clear penalty on Pippo Maniero. We will continue to honour this season until the bitter end and will not give anyone an easy ride. We have no intention of giving in." - Alfredo Magni "We knew it would be difficult but we were fortunate to take advantage of the few chances we were given. These points are not enough to ensure safety and we still need more in these remaining games." - Giovanni Vavassori 22 MARCH 2002 Champions League Draw Quarter-Finals. 2-3 April & 9-10 April A. Panathinaikos vs Barcelona B. Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid C. Deportivo vs Man United D. Liverpool vs Leverkusen Semi-Finals. 23-24 April & 30 April-1 May E. Winner of A V Winner of B F. Winner of C V Winner of D Final. 15 May 2002 Winner of E vs Winner of F UEFA Cup Semi-Finals Draw. 4 April & 11 April Inter vs Feyenoord Dortmund vs Milan 20 MARCH 2002 Champions League Potential Quarter-Final Draw Man United vs Liverpool/Panathinaikos/Deportivo Barcelona vs Bayern Munich/Panathinaikos/Deportivo Real Madrid vs Liverpool/Bayern Munich/Deportivo Leverkusen vs Liverpool/Panathinaikos/Bayern Munich The draw takes place on Friday morning. 17 MARCH 2002 Serie A 2001-2002 Season Round 27 Post Match Comments Brescia vs Lazio "The final weeks of this season will be very tense. I think the draw is correct as we did far more than Lazio throughout the 90 minutes. Zaccheroni and me had our own match to see who could complain the most, I think that ended in a draw as well!" - Carlo Mazzone "It is difficult to understand the kind of fans that attacked our staff yesterday. I understand they are critical after the derby but they must not use violence to make a point. I will not accept it. We showed character in this match against a team that had to win at all costs." - Alberto Zaccheroni Chievo vs Venezia "It was a strange performance against a team that had nothing to lose. We were also unlucky but now need to recover our strength. The Champions League will never be ours if we keep playing this badly." - Luigi Del Neri "It was a great game from our lads. I wanted to end the season with dignity and I think we are doing just that." - Alfredo Magni Fiorentina vs Bologna "It was not a bad performance but we made the usual mistakes. I don't think there is such a difference in quality between Fiorentina and Bologna." Ottavio Bianchi "This was a bad day for us and having earned a point anyway is certainly a positive factor. I liked the reaction of the team after we went a goal down. After the break it went decidedly better." - Francesco Guidolin Juventus vs Verona "It wasn't an easy game as we need to recapture our calm and faith in our abilities. Verona are a dangerous and unusual squad so the result is even more important. After the elimination from the Champions' League we dived back into the Scudetto race." - Marcello Lippi "At this point we must beat Chievo in next week's derby or we could slip into the danger zone of the table. We could have equalised in the second half but it wasn't to be." - Alberto Malesani Lecce vs Inter "We must accept the result. We lost to a superior team although looking at this match you wouldn't have realised. We had four opportunities to score and allowed Alvaro Recoba to run 70 metres undisturbed." - Delio Rossi "Now we must look forward to next Sunday's match with Roma and hope Vincenzo Montella does not continue this amazing form. When a team is in trouble they can rely on individual talents to rescue the situation and I think Recoba and Toldo had a fantastic game." - Hector Cuper T-Shirt Celebrations Banned FIFA have banned players from wearing T-Shirts underneath their jerseys when celebrating goals. Starting from the World Cup players will only be allowed to wear vests of a single colour and shirts must have full sleeves. Lazio Fans Attack Players Lucas Castroman, Dino Baggio a physiotherapist and member of staff were attacked outside their hotel rooms by twp 'Lazio fans'. The fans shouted insults, struck the member of staff with a belt then set off a smoke bomb before running away. No one was seriously injured. 16 MARCH 2002 Stam Ready For Comeback Jaap Stam will make his return to first team action this weekend having served a four month ban after testing positive for nandrolone : "I am very happy to be back on the pitch. It is like emerging from a long and dark night. Like waking from a nightmare. It was an incredible situation, to be forced out of helping your team and sitting there unable to do anything for all those months. I lived through all of that for four long months. Add the fact I was paying for something that was not my fault." Frey Out For A Month Parma's Sebastien Frey will be out of action for up to 40 days after knee surgery. Brazil's Claudio Taffarel will be first choice until the Frenchman's expected return in April. 14 MARCH 2002 Smith Out, Moyes In Everton have appointed David Moyes as their new coach in succession to Walter Smith who was sacked on Thursday after three years of relegation struggles. Moyes, considered one of the best young coaches in the country, arrives from first Division Preston North End and is confident of saving the from relegation : "We are under no illusions about the difficult task we have here and I can't afford to look past the next nine games but at Preston I worked with a team of winners and took a team from the lower reaches of a division to get promotion. Obviously that was a lower division but I have spent my career with winners and I intend to continue that. I want the players to know what it is like to win again and we will try and play a brand of football people will enjoy." Walter Smith enjoyed great success with Rangers, in a team two league in Scotland, and Everton's lack of funds were continually used as an excuse for his failings. Fans became annoyed at the poor quality of football and perplexing squad selections, Smith was notorious for playing players out of position, and the clubs embarrassing failure in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Middlesbrough spelled the end for media favourite Walter Smith. 12 MARCH 2002 Rumoured Transfers For Next Season Crespo from Lazio to Juventus Dellas from Perugia to Milan/Roma Di Vaio from Parma to Milan Montella from Roma to Arsenal Hofland from PSV to Man United Nesta from Lazio to Man United Phillips from Sunderland to Tottenham Shevchenko from Milan to Real Madrid Van Bommel from PSV to Arsenal Veron from Manchester United to Lazio Vieira from Arsenal to Real Madrid Ronaldo Gets Brazil Call Up Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has included Ronaldo in the squad for the friendly match against Yugoslavia on the 27th of March despite the fact that he hasn't played this year. Lazio Supporters Confront Nesta Lazio suspended training after 400 fans stormed the field. Coach Alberto Zaccheroni and Alessandro Nesta were singled out after Sunday's 1-5 defeat in the Rome derby. Nesta held talks with a tifosi leader before calm was restored. The fans called for the resignation of Zaccheroni and demanded Diego Simeone, who is recovering from knee surgery, be handed the captain's armband. Roberto 'Henry' Mancini is favourite to succeed Zaccheroni as coach at the end of the season. Roma President, Franco Sensi, stuck the boot in saying "Lazio have a very good squad, their problems lie in the club infrastructure." 11 MARCH 2002 Nesta Apologises Lazio captain target Alessandro Nesta has apologised for his performances in Sunday's Rome derby : "I want to apologise to all of Lazio's fans. This evening my mind was just not on the job. I was all over the place and this was the worst game of my life. It was good that I was taken off. We decided it together, myself and the coach but let's not make a drama of it, it won't happen again." - Coach Alberto Zaccheroni claimed the player was unsettled by speculation that he could leave at the end of the season for Manchester United : "The transfer rumours did not do Nesta any good even though it is something he will have to get used to." 8 MARCH 2002 Henry Hit With Three Match Ban Arsenal striker Theirry Henry has been found guilty of misconduct at a Football Association disciplinary hearing and been handed a three match ban. Henry hurled abuse at referee Graham Poll during Arsenal's 2-3 home defeat against Newcastle in December and had to be restrained by team-mates. Henry will miss this Saturday's FA Cup tie against Newcastle and the league matches away to Aston Villa and home to West Ham. Doni Denies Juve Deal Atalanta midfielder Christian Doni has denied claims that he will join Juventus next season : "I don't have any personal preferences and the situation at the minute is very uncertain. Roma and Juventus are interested but other sides are too. I'll have many things to weigh up, especially on the tactical side on things but I haven't made up my mind yet. I don't know whether Juventus have an advantage over the others. I just know that they are tracking me." Dacourt - Leeds Need To Sell "Joining Juve would be a dream for me. When a great club like that shows an interest in you, you do not close the door. Leeds will have to sell lots of players in the summer because from what I have been told they need to pay back something like £60 million. I may be forced to leave to help keep the club alive." - Oliver Dacourt 6 MARCH 2002 Trap Rules Out Coaching In England "There is no chance of me going to England. The language is a barrier. I tried to learn English while I was at Juventus and then I went to Germany. Now I get mixed up between the two. In all honesty I can't really speak German. I just get by." - Giovanni Trapattoni Inter Not Interested In Nesta "After seeing Cordoba and Materazzi in the derby I'm not thinking about any new defenders. At this moment in time Nesta is not the player I have in my head. He's a great footballer and remains one of the best defenders in the world but I don't see him particularly close to Inter." - Massimo Moratti Chievo Retire Mayele's Shirt "It is too soon to say how we will ever replace Jason in our hearts. We will definitely retire his shirt as it is only right that the number 30 should stay loyal to the memory of Mayele. It was a massive tragedy which will be difficult to come to terms with." - President Luca Campedelli Smith - Blame Us Leeds striker Alan Smith has defended David O'Leary and his assistant Brian Kidd, who has been targeted for abuse by Leeds fans in recent weeks : "The manager has said he can only do so much, and the same goes for Brian Kidd and the rest of the coaching staff. It's our responsibility when we go out there to put on a performance and win football matches." 3 MARCH 2002 Serie A Post Match Comments Brescia vs Piacenza "Neither of the two teams deserved a point today. It was an ugly match with many controversial incidents and not much football." - Carlo Mazzone "Considering our performance I think we deserved to win it. It was a great game but too often we take the lead and get caught again. This is football and we must suffer to get our results. We should have closed down the game much earlier." - Walter Novellino Juventus vs Bologna "I am satisfied with how the team got this result by slowly building up the pressure, like all the great sides do. We suffered as well but immediately reacted to their goal and ran our hearts out until the final whistle. I think the deciding factor for the title race will be just the odd point so this is crucial." - Marcello Lippi "Massimo Tarantino's own goal was just an incident that ended up deciding the match. Mind you we have recently snatched points at the last minute so we should not be too surprised." - Francesco Guidolin Lazio vs Venezia "I am pleased with the result even if I expected to control the match rather differently when we were 3-0 up. The derby awaits us next week and I think that a run-up of two straight wins will be an important psychological boost." Alberto Zaccheroni "It is impossible for us to avoid the drop now but we will try to end the season with honour and without giving away silly goals to any team. We concede so much on set-pieces and even with that penalty we just lacked cynicism." Alfredo Magni Lecce vs Roma "At a certain point the match became very tense with a few too many fouls. I think the team had a good first half and unfortunately conceded an avoidable goal." - Delio Rossi "I always say when good luck has been on our sides, and in this case it was against us. Yet again we continue to give away goals. This time the goalkeeper was tricked by the flight of the ball." - Fabio Capello Perugia vs Torino "We deserved the win but I was a little worried beforehand as Torino are a difficult team to face even without their missing stars." - Serse Cosmi "This was not a performance worthy of our last few outings. We started off well but Fabian O'Neill's free kick wrecked our plans." - Giancarlo Camolese Udinese vs Atalanta "This is certainly a defeat that weighs heavy on our shoulders. It came from a monstrous mistake from my lads who in the final minute wasted a goalscoring opportunity and allowed our opponents to counter-attack." Giampiero Ventura "This time luck was on our side and I hope it will stay there until the end of the season. This was an important match for both teams and after taking control of the midfield it went our way." - Giovanni Vavassori Verona vs Fiorentina "This is a difficult Championship and Fiorentina have an excellent squad. We must get over this moment and make do without many important players. The match was lost in midfield." - Alberto Malesani "We did the usual error on a corner kick to let in their goal but this time the lads got the most out of their overall performance. Considering the recent games I'd say we deserved more from those as well." - Ottavio Bianchi 2 MARCH 2002 Mayele Killed In Car Crash Chievo midfielder Jason Mayele was killed in a car crash on Saturday morning following a head on collision on a corner near Verona town centre. Mayele was thrown from his vehicle after the collision with a 61 year old woman, Luigina Recchia, who died instantly. Mayele died an hour after arriving at hospital. The woman's husband, who was travelling with his wife, is in a critical condition. 26 year old Mayele played in last months African Cup of Nations with Congo. Chievo's match with Parma has been postponed until next Wednesday. "Jason was a lovely lad. It doesn't even matter now whether we will play or not this weekend." - Chievo President Luca Campedelli "We have lost a great deal on a personal level. He fit in very well with all his team-mates, knew how to joke around but was very professional when needed. Aside from his worth as a player he was a wonderful person. We will miss his constant turning up late to training." - Luigi Del Neri Kaiserslautern Sack Ramzy Kaiserslautern have sacked Egyptian defender Hany Ramzy after he was found guilty of sexual harassment. The 32 year old was handed an eight-month suspended sentence for an incident which involved a 20 year-old girl in a restaurant. Lazio Hint At Nesta Sale "A lot depends on the player but if he does leave Rome then I think he would prefer a move to a big international club but his proposed departure will also be made after we have laid down our own plans for the future. We need players that will help us to win. There is no club in the world that would turn down Nesta." - Sergio Cragniotti Cryuff Warns Barca Over Capello "Rumours suggest that Capello will replace Carlos Rexach but I hope that doesn't happen. Capello is not as good as many believe. His sides do nothing special. I like beautiful football but I have to say that Roma are a team built purely for the mechanics of the result." - Johan Cryuff Berlusconi Steps Down As Milan President New legislation has forced Milan President Silvio Berlusconi to step down as Milan President after 16 years in charge. Berlusconi's son, Piersilvio, will take over as president. Di Vaio Not For Sale "We have received no offer for Di Vaio and more importantly we have no intention of selling him. We want to be a leading club next season and we have no desire of selling off our best players." - Arrigo Sacchi |