Yes, the D’Agostino affair of last summer has come to a conclusion, the constant will-we-won’t-we has definitively concluded. The curious thing about the whole affair is of course that we were the ones holding up the negotiations, not CSKA nor Krasic himself. We first tabled a bid of 15mil before the World Cup when Roberto previewed him, though initially CSKA held out for 18mil. An average world cup followed, and CSKA accepted 15mil. But Marotta was pursuing the dream of Dzeko, and when it finally failed, we immediately returned to Milos.

Krasic certainly has endeared himself to the Bianconeri faithful during negotiations, turning down offers with more money and Champions League football (err not..sorry Fenerbahce fans) in hopes of a move to Turin. He repeatedly insisted that the only move he wanted was to Juventus, appropriate for a player born 87 years after our beloved club. It’s the arrival of Krasic at the big stage, following a solid formation/

Having started his professional career at age 15, he moved to CSKA Moscow at age 20 arriving as a promising young player, but a substitute at best. At the capital club, he steadily grew and eventually became one of the most consistent and important performers in the team.

Will you be buying a Krasic jersey this year?

Milos Krasic is overjoyed to be at Juventus and “it is an honour to be compared to Pavel Nedved. I turned down Manchester City to come here.” The CSKA Moscow star completed his €15m transfer this morning and was presented to the media a few hours later.

“I am happy to have arrived at Juventus. It is an honour and a great achievement for me,” said the Serb international after penning his four-year contract. I will do everything possible to earn a starting shirt. I had contact with Juve over two months ago and always believed I could come here. Negotiations can falter, but I never feared it would happen. I had proposals from Manchester City, Fenerbahce and other clubs, but when I heard there was the opportunity to join Juventus, I wanted to wait. “Serie A is one of the best leagues in the world, but I am not afraid. I just want to prove that Juve made the right choice and promise the fans I’ll give my all.”

Krasic has been compared to Bianconeri legend Nedved, not just because of the mop of blond hair. “In recent years I predominantly played on the right flank, but I can also cover the left,” he explained. “It is an honour to be compared to Nedved. He won the Ballon d’Or and was one of the best players in the world. I’ll do everything I can to reach his level.”

The comparisons to Pavel Nedved have been made because of his physical appearance, his flowing blond locks, but he’s of course a different player. Nedved had the endurance of a horse, but wasn’t particularly fast. Krasic, on the other hand, primary attribute is his pace. He is among one of the fastest wingers in Europe, as he uses his tall frame to burn defenders to the byline. While not a prolific scorer like Nedved, he has scored 26 goals in 150 games for Moscow. Krasic will be a welcome injection of pace and quality into our team, certainly a more exciting player than the workmanlike Pepe.

Typically, I include YouTube comps with questionable music. Not only does this have questionable music, but the whole premise of the video is just hilarious. Some decent clips of Krasic, though.

Welcome to Juve, Milos!!

[EDIT] Congratulations boys on your hardware tonight, more photos on the exhibition vs. Milan to come.

IERI… OGGI… DOMANI… SEMPRE JUVE!!!

source : juventus.theoffside.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=923

FIAT Yamaha has officially confirmed that record-breaking MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi is to rejoin the fray at the Sachsenring in Germany this weekend - meaning the 2010 title battle is back on with a vengeance!

What had begun to look like turning into a one-horse race for the 2010 MotoGP laurels is set to be reignited in this weekend’s German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, with confirmation from FIAT Yamaha that following a six-week injury absence, record-breaking multiple world champion Valentino Rossi will return to the grid.

Having broken his leg during practice at Mugello early last month, Rossi has spent the past six weeks convalescing at home in Italy, and the general paddock consensus was that his chances of clinching an extraordinary eighth premier class crown had shattered into the bargain.

However, so swift and successful has the Urbino native’s recovery been that – subject to the full approval of the circuit’s chief medical officer on Thursday, having already received the all-clear from his own doctors – he will rejoin the competitive fray on Friday, following an intensive rehabilitation programme that culminated in a brace of positive test outings on a World Superbike Championship Yamaha R1 over the last few days, far earlier than expected.

Should he indeed prove fit to compete in Germany, the reigning world champion will have missed only four of the 18 races this season, and whilst sitting just seventh in the standings at 104 markers adrift of team-mate and runaway championship-leader Jorge Lorenzo, with 275 points left to play for the title might now be an uphill challenge but it is equally by no means out-of-the-question.

Moreover, ‘The Doctor’ has produced some masterful displays at the Sachsenring over the years, including a superb performance in 2006 when he prevailed from tenth on the grid and a narrow triumph over Lorenzo by a scant 99 thousandths of a second twelve months ago – two of five victories there since 2000 – and he is palpably champing at the bit to get back on-track again, if cautious about his prospects.

“I’m really excited that my doctors think I can ride this weekend,” enthused the 31-year-old. “Tomorrow I will see the medical officer and then we will have the final decision. I felt good on the R1; I know my M1 at the track is a different thing and it will be hard for me, but I miss my bike and my team and I want to try.

“I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and being back in the paddock – I was tired of being at home! Wataru [Yoshikawa] will be there as well, so if there is a problem he will ride my bike again.”

Indeed, Yamaha’s veteran Japanese test rider will be on-hand once more in case of need, but it is clear that Rossi’s team manager Davide Brivio is eager to see his talisman rider back on the grid.

“Valentino has made a big effort to be ready to race at the Sachsenring this weekend,” affirmed the Italian. “He really wanted to be back riding his M1 as soon as he could, so he’s worked hard to make his recovery as quick as possible. We expect him to take a couple of races to be up-to-speed and competitive at the top after his injury, but it’s very nice to see him back with us.”

source : crash.net

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=919

Getty Images

Italy coach Marcello Lippi said on Wednesday that it was no concern to him that his reigning world champions are not among the favourites for glory at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Speaking at a press conference from Italy’s Casa Azzurri, just south of Pretoria, the FIFA World Cup-winning coach said it was nothing new for Italy to be taken lightly. And he insisted that his is not an aged and creaking team.

“We’re not the oldest team here, there are three or four teams that are older than us,” said the 62-year-old. “We’ve got a good mix, we have nine players from 2006, that’s less than 50 per cent. But I’ve never seen another team that’s won the last World Cup to turn up with 23 different players the next time.

He’s here because the team doctors said he will be ready by the third game.

Lippi on the inclusion of Andrea Pirlo

“We’ve got old players but age doesn’t mean broken down, it means experience, charisma,” the coach added. “We’re used to matches at a high level, we have the right mix with our young players. Italy has never been amongst the favourites, I don’t remember a World Cup where we’ve been favourites.
“The favourites are rightly Brazil and Spain, but you also have to add other strong teams to the mix,” Lippi went on. “I’ve said it many times before, there’s Brazil, Spain and then five or six other teams, such as England, Holland, Germany, Italy and France, that don’t go just to do well, they go to win and want to win. Sometimes they manage it and we’ve won it four times. But a World Cup is special, it’s not always technical ability that decides who wins, there are other things.”

Lippi also defended his decision to keep AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo in his 23-man squad despite suffering a calf strain. Pirlo will not be fit before Italy’s third group game but despite bringing along a 24th player, in Cagliari’s Andrea Cossu, Lippi is unwilling to let his playmaker go.

“He’s here because the team doctors said he will be ready by the third game,” said Lippi. “If you remember, in Germany we had two players who weren’t fit at the beginning in Gennaro Gattuso and Gianluca Zambrotta. If he can’t play we’ll play someone else. Of course Pirlo’s absence is important but we’ve got great desire to go as far as possible, all the way if possible, and Pirlo will be there in the latter stages.”

Gaffer not worried
Lippi defended his tactics and claimed that his team’s poor form in warm-up matches would be overcome. The Azzurri lost to Mexico before being held to a draw by Switzerland, who had just lost to Costa Rica.

“I have clear ideas but we need to transform them onto the pitch, which we haven’t done yet because we’ve had problems and injuries,” he said. “I want to have a more compact defence which will allow us to have two or three players up front. A good defence isn’t enough, you have to have three players up front to exploit your capabilities.”

The veteran coach, who won five league titles and the UEFA Champions League with Juventus before guiding Italy to FIFA World Cup glory in 2006, said he is relishing this challenge. “I’m not nervous, I’m 62 years old and I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he said. “I’ve never had tension, these are the best moments, it’s great to prepare for such an important tournament.”

Italy begin their Group F campaign against Paraguay in Cape Town on 14 June before matches against New Zealand and Slovakia.

ITALY SQUAD

AFP

Juventus left-back Fabio Grosso was the shock victim as Italy coach Marcello Lippi cut two players from his pre-2010 FIFA World Cup™ squad on Tuesday. Lippi trimmed his squad from 30 to 28 players, with midfielder Antonio Candreva also sent home.

The omission of Grosso, who has 48 caps and scored four goals, is particularly surprising given that he has been Italy’s first-choice left-back for several years and was a key part of the World Cup-winning team of 2006. He scored the decisive penalty in the Final against France to give Italy the trophy. He was also a goalscorer in the semi-final, a 2-0 defeat of hosts Germany, and won the penalty that saw Italy beat Australia 1-0 in the second round.

You cannot imagine how much I dislike doing that. But I have to do it and I do it out of honesty.

Marcello Lippi on telling Fabio Grosso he would not be at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

However, the 32-year-old seems to have paid for his poor form in a weak Juventus defence this season, although Juve centre-backs Giorgio Chiellini and Fabio Cannavaro survived the cull. Lippi, though, insisted that he has no room for sentiment in his selections.

“I don’t pick players in lieu of past service and that was also the case for [Simone] Perrotta and [Luca] Toni,” he said at a press conference. “I called [Grosso] yesterday [Monday] and you cannot imagine how much I dislike doing that. But I have to do it and I do it out of honesty. It hurt me just as it hurt me for the other 14 [World Cup winners] with whom we had some great moments in Germany.”

That now leaves just eight players in the 28 who were part of the World Cup-winning squad four years ago: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, captain Cannavaro, full-back Gianluca Zambrotta, midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi, winger Mauro Camoranesi and forwards Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino.

It was little surprise that 23-year-old Candreva, who has just two caps, was cut as he was the least experienced of the midfielders in the squad and has not been a regular starter during a loan spell at Juve from Udinese.

Four-time champions Italy will set up a training camp at altitude in Sestriere in the Italian Alps from 23 May to 5 June. They will take on Mexico in a friendly game in Brussels on 3 June and Switzerland in Geneva two days later.

The Azzurri are scheduled to arrive in South Africa on 9 June ahead of their Group F opener with Paraguay in Cape Town on 14 June. They then face New Zealand in Nelspruit on 20 June before rounding off their group campaign against Slovakia in Johannesburg on the 24th.

Provisional 28-man Italy squad

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo)

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal/ESP)

*Please note that squad lists only become official after they have been submitted to and announced by FIFA.

source : fifa.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=890

Convalescing duo Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas have both been included in Spain’s final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, along with uncapped trio Victor Valdes, Pedro Rodriguez and Javi Martinez.

The Liverpool striker Torres and Arsenal midfielder Fabregas are recovering from injuries that forced them to miss the end of the Premier League season, but will both nevertheless go to the global finals.

Valdes got the third goalkeeping spot behind Iker Casillas and Jose Reina, while his Barcelona team-mate, winger Pedro, was also included following a fine season with the Catalan giants.

Athletic Bilbao midfielder Martinez is the other newcomer in a squad that has many of the same faces that won UEFA EURO 2008.

Of Del Bosque’s 30-man provisional squad for South Africa 2010, the men to miss out are goalkeepers Diego Lopez and David De Gea, defender Cesar Azpilicueta, midfielders Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, plus forwards Dani Guiza and Alvaro Negredo.

Spain have been drawn against Switzerland, Chile and Honduras in Group H.

Spain squad
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona)

Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona)

Forwards: Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).

source : fifa.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=886

The ‘Be There with Hyundai’ competition has come to an end with FIFA.com users deciding which slogans will decorate the buses of each of the 32 nations at the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010™.

Creativity, imagination and originality were the order of the day, with the winning slogans sure to provide inspiration to the players throughout the tournament. It is also worth remembering that the creators of the winning slogans will win a Hyundai i10 (or the equivalent model in the countries where the i10 is not available. Cannot be substituted for cash prize).

FIFA.com is pleased to present below the winning slogans:

Algeria
نجمة وهلال من أجل هدف واحد: النصر
(Star and crescent with one goal: Victory!)

Argentina
Última parada, la gloria
(Last stop: Glory)

Australia
Dare to Dream, Advance Australia

Brazil
Lotado! O Brasil inteiro está aqui dentro!
(The whole of Brazil is in here!)

Cameroon
Les lions indomptables sont de retour
(The Indomitable Lions are back)

Chile
Roja la sangre de mi corazón, Chile campeón
(Red is the blood of my heart, Chile will be Champion)

Côte d’Ivoire
Eléphants, battons nous pour la victoire!
(Elephants, let’s fight for victory!)

Denmark
Det eneste der kræves, er et dansk hold og en drøm
(All you need is a Danish team and a dream)

England
Playing with Pride and Glory

France
Tous ensemble vers un nouveau rêve bleu
(All together for a new dream in blue)

Germany
Auf dem Weg zum Cup!
(On the road to get the Cup!)

Ghana
The hope of Africa

Greece
Η Ελλάδα είναι παντού!
(Greece is everywhere!)

Honduras
Un país, una pasión, ¡5 estrellas en el corazón!
(One Country, One passion, 5 Stars in the heart)

Italy
Il nostro Azzurro nel cielo d’Africa
(Italian Azzurro on African sky)

Japan
侍魂はくじけ ない！日本勝利！
(The Samurai spirit never dies! Victory for Japan!)

Korea DPR
또다시 1966년처럼, 조선아 이겨라 !
(1966 again! Victory for DPR of Korea!)

Korea Republic
승리의 함성, 하나된 한국
(The Shouts of Reds, United Republic of Korea)

Mexico
¡Es tiempo de un nuevo campeón!
(It is time for a new champion!)

Netherlands
Let niet op de grote 5, maar pas op voor de oranje 11
(Don’t fear the big five, fear the Orange eleven)

New Zealand
Kickin’ it Kiwi style

Nigeria
Super Eagles super fan united we stand

Paraguay
El león Guaraní ruge en Sudáfrica
(The Guarani lion roars in South Africa!)

Portugal
Um sonho, uma ambição…Portugal campeão!
(One dream, one purpose… Portugal victorious!)

Serbia
Igramo srcem, vodimo osmehom!
(Play with the heart, lead with a smile!)

Slovakia
Rozbehnime to: Slovensko do toho!
(Shake the green field: Go Slovakia!)

Slovenia
Z enajstimi pogumnimi srci do konca
(With eleven brave hearts to the end)

South Africa
One nation, proudly united under one rainbow

Spain
Ilusión es mi camino, Victoria mi destino
(Hope is my road, victory my destiny)

Switzerland
Hopp Schwiiz! - “Hop Suisse!” - “Forza Svizzera!” - “C’mon Switzerland!”

Uruguay
El sol brilla sobre nosotros. ¡Vamos Uruguay!
(The sun shines upon us. Go Uruguay!)

USA
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Victory!

source : fifa.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=882