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LET’S HOPE THE CHINESE KNOW WHAT THERE ARE DOING

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The question of passion or love versus material wealth in football has over the years been asked and answered in various ways.


There was a time the former had a very big say over the latter – think for example Diego Maradona’s decision to stick with Napoli – and viewers have ever since been treated to a plethora of tales of loyalty, passion and sacred bonds players did have for their teams.

The matador-like push of club football to premium status in the early 90’s was a major factor that kick-started the dynamics of football as we know it today. Being honest demands admission that gone are those days where emotional attachments held sway – although players like Gerard and Totti tried their best to prove otherwise and for the record it did come at a price – inability for such legendary names to have a league title attached to them.

Another school of thought will tell you that the relegation of loyalty to the background did not necessarily have to do with players’ “long throats,” pinning a chunk of the blame-cake on club themselves. Like the two-way street loyalty is, a peruse at records will lead searchlights to beam on instances where clubs terminated or refused to renew contracts with even “one time” fan-favourites mainly because the “returns in value” of the player in question dipped below standard “requirements” and an extension of the said contract only “hurts” the club in the long run. This is the reason emotionally-stirred muses of supposed loyalty don’t hold water because at the end of the day football – especially at the club level – remains business, a set-up where profit is the ultimate goal.

This makes the media “pointing-of-hands” over who wronged who in contract negotiations look like airy reactions to the changes that occur in a system that runs on logic, mathematics and profit-focused book-keeping. The batting of eyelids at how easily European based players are switching to the new rich kid in the block ready to shell out wads for the street folks – The Chinese Super League – should not in all sincerity warrant such shocks & outrages.

Inter Milan set to renovate San Siro

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Serie A giant Inter Milan have confirmed plans to renovate their stadium – the San Siro.


The club’s president Erick Thohir and a member of the board Steven Zhang confirmed the reports which were making the rounds in Italy. Since the Chinese takeover of the club by Suning Commerce Group, the news has filtered around. It is sure to happen with the confirmation by top club officials.

“A new San Siro is vitally important to Inter. I’ve been president of this club for almost three years and have always firmly believed that renovating San Siro – our home – is a crucial step that Inter must take it we’re to become one of the world’s top 10 clubs,” Thohir said to the club’s official website.

The club’s president added that the dream to renovate the stadium is backed by the club’s new majority shareholder.
“Our interest in San Siro now has the strong, determined backing to the mayor, Giuseppe Sala, at the meeting held while chairman Zhang and his son Steven were last in Milan. Inter want to remain at San Siro and invest significantly in it. We’re happy that we’re on exactly the same wavelength as the mayor,” he said.

INTER MILAN BOSS RUBBISHES JURGEN KLOPP TRAINING APPROACH

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New Inter Milan boss Frank De Boer clearly has issues with the training methods of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. De Boer took over at Inter when former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was sacked.


The Dutchman claimed he learnt a lesson from Klopp on how not to start life as a coach in a new team after the intense training method Klopp led at Anfield in his first session led to the rupturing of cruciate knee ligaments of Danny Ings.

The former Dutch international with over 100 caps claimed he would do the otherwise as he would ease his players into their new routine under him, unlike his German counterpart.

“I remember Klopp taking over at Liverpool last October and tried to immediately impose his high-pressing style which he used at Borussia Dortmund and it resulted in several injuries, nine in fact. Sometimes it is better to slow down.”

De Boer said he only just arrived at the club but that results would start showing from four months in, say from January. He said he would be very careful not to allow intensive training so it doesn’t lead to many injuries in his new team. He acknowledged that he has high targets since taking over the side, but insists that he would ease him team physically.

Javier Zanetti believes that the club could attract the services of defender Medhi

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Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti believes that the club could attract the services of defenderMedhi Benatia should he wish to join the club.

Inter are expected to go on a spending spree in the upcoming transfer window. This is in addition to the signings made by manager Roberto Mancini during January. Most of those signings did not pay off and Inter will need to spend again if they are going to compete with the likes of Fiorentina and Lazio for a top three place. Zanetti has confirmed that Inter have madeBenatia as one of the transfer targets.

Benatia switched clubs only last summer after moving to Bayern Munich from Italian outfit Roma. A swift return to Italy cannot be ruled out since the Moroccan has featured very little for the German club. The 28-year-old featured in only 28 games last season. Since he is fast approaching the 30s, a move to a top club at this stage in his career would be the right decision. Hence, his camp have been frequently looking at alternatives and it could arrive in the form of Inter Milan. Inter will not be able to straightaway provide European football for the Moroccan, as they finished in a disappointing eighth place last season.

Inter Milan appear to be back in the race for signing top players

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Inter Milan appear to be back in the race for signing top players after a number of names like Yaya Touré have been linked with the club in the last few months.

This was after the club sent a statement of intent by signing Lukas Podolski and Xherdan Shaqiri in January. While Podolski is yet to hit the heights,Shaqiri has been a very important player for Inter already. Despite the presence of the star names, the club has won only one match in the last five. This results in Inter Milan struggling in the 10th spot with 10 matches remaining.

Their arch rivals AC Milan recently moved ahead in front with the 3-1 success over Cagliari. As a result, it is understood that Inter manager Roberto Mancini is keen on bringing more quality to the team. This may arrive in the form of Yaya Touré or James Milner. These are two players whom are extremely well-known to Mancini from his time at Manchester City. After all, it was the Italian who brought these players to the Etihad stadium. Mancini has recently been speaking a lot about signing a player like Touré and the club’s sporting director Marco Fassone says that Mancini is a huge draw amongst players.