Milik returns to Napoli squad
Arkadiusz Milik has been included in Napoli’s squad to face Bologna on Saturday, just four months after sustaining knee ligament damage.
Milik has been out of action since October, when he injured his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty for Poland.
However, the 22-year-old has been back in training for several weeks and is free to make his comeback at Bologna.
He is effectively a direct replacement in the Napoli team for Manolo Gabbiadini, who joined Southampton on Tuesday.
Lorenzo Tonelli is the only Partenopei player to miss the cut, the defender having also been left out of their Champions League squad.
Caceres passes Milan medical
Martin Caceres has reportedly passed his Milan medical, and will now work out personal terms.
The Uruguayan international arrived in Italy last night for tests, ahead of potentially signing a four-month contract.
Rossoneri CEO Adriano Galliani is looking for a low-cost reinforcement to solve a defensive injury crisis, and Caceres is a free agent after leaving Juventus at the end of last season.
Now MilanNews is reporting that the defender has passed his medical, and must now agree on a contract.
Given that he hasn’t played in almost 12 months, it’s unlikely that Caceres will be available for around a month if he does sign as he’ll need to get up to speed.
Evra: ‘Huge respect for Allegri’
Patrice Evra insists he has “huge respect” for Juventus Coach Max Allegri and “he’d do well in England”.
The Frenchman left the Bianconeri in January to join Olympique Marseille, with some suggesting a rift with the Juve boss.
“I have huge respect for the boss,” Evra told Sky.
“In fact, it hurt me a bit when people said I left because of Allegri. We had talked, and in my opinion he’s a great Coach and he proved that to me two years ago against Borussia Dortmund.
“He made a presentation for me that, when I got to the Dortmund game, for the first time in my career everything that he said happened on the day of the match.
“He’s very positive, he doesn’t like stress. I think he’d do well in England, because I’ve always said they lack tactical discipline in England.
“That’s why an Italian Coach is crucial. We saw that with [Claudio] Ranieri and now [Antonio] Conte. I think Chelsea will win the League.
“If the boss [Allegri] goes there I don’t see why he wouldn’t do well.”
Sarri: ‘Napoli was my destiny’
Maurizio Sarri believes becoming Napoli Coach was his “destiny”, and reveals he “couldn’t argue” with Diego Maradona.
The tactician was born in Naples but grew up in Tuscany, and was given the Partenopei job in 2015 having worked his way up from the amateur Leagues.
“I was excited,” Sarri explained in a long interview with Sky.
“I was the only kid in my school just outside of Florence who was a Napoli fan. To find myself as Coach of Napoli was emotional, that’s when I said to myself ‘it’s destiny’.
“As a child I was a Napoli fan, but also later. I saw Diego [Maradona]’s matches at San Paolo when I was 26.
“As I child I was convinced that it was logical to cheer for the team from the city of your birth, so when I was little I was the only Napoli supporter.
“Then more and more came along!
“I feel like I represent all of those who came from the amateur Leagues. For many players there’s a fine line between a Serie A player and a Serie C player, and it’s the same for Coaches.
“The perception people have about the amateur Leagues is strange, you’re still playing football, the pitch is the same and the attitude is the same.
“There’s a difference in technical quality, but the teams are tactically well organised. There isn’t this huge difference which people think there is.
“Pressure changes from place to place and whether you can handle it just comes down to your character.”
Sarri famously gave up working in a bank to pursue his Coaching career, drawing comparisons to former cobbler Arrigo Sacchi.
“I felt less responsibility to explain to my wife than I did to my father. Fortunately I have a family who completely supported me.
“My wife said that if I had to do this to have peace of mind then I should go for it, and my father said the same thing.
“I got to a point where I felt like a Coach and I wanted to be able to think about football from morning until night. It was an inevitable choice.
“The first time I felt like a real Coach? I was doing it full-time, but it was when I was still in Serie D [with Sansovino].
“We won the Serie D Coppa Italia, we finished second in the League and then we won the playoff to go to C2.
“It had been quite a climb, two years previously we’d been in the Eccellenza. Taking a team from a village of 7,000 people to Serie C2 was gratifying, I turned professional, finished second again and went to C1.
“At that point I started thinking ‘this is easy, I can really do this’. Even 15 years ago Serie D was the limit of professionalism, a lot of people only did that.
“I worked in almost the same way as I do now. I had extraordinary squads, professionals who weren’t actually professional. I’ve also had rather unprofessional players who were professionals…”
Today Bologna-Napoli ...................................... Tomorrow AC Milan-Sampdoria .............................. Atalanta-Cagliari .................................... Pescara-Lazio ......................................... Genoa-Sassuolo ..................................... Empoli-Torino ........................................ ChievoVerona-Udinese .......................... Palermo-Crotone ................................... Juventus-Inter Milan .............................. Tuesday Roma-Fiorentina ....................................
Serie B
Yesterday HellasVerona-Benevento .................. 2-2 Today SPAL-Ascoli ............................................ Perugia-Brescia ...................................... Latina-Frosinone .................................... Salernitana-Novara ................................ Cittadella-Pro Vercelli ............................ Spezia-Ternana ...................................... Pisa-V. Entella ........................................ Bari-Vicenza ........................................... Tomorrow Carpi-Cesena ..........................................
Lega Pro A
Today Racing Roma-Pontedera ........................ Tomorrow Pistoiese-Giana Erminio ......................... Lucchese-Livorno ................................... Olbia-Lupa Roma ................................... Tuttocuoio-Arezzo ................................. Cremonese-Carrarese ............................ Siena-Como ............................................ Alessandria-Piacenza ............................. Pro Piacenza-Renate .............................. Prato-Viterbese ......................................
Lega Pro B
Tomorrow Mantova-AlbinoLeffe ............................. Venezia-Ancona ..................................... Gubbio-FeralpiSalo ................................ Maceratese-Padova ............................... Fano-Sambenedettese ........................... Bassano V.-lumezzane ........................... Reggiana-Modena .................................. Parma-Pordenone .................................. Teramo-Santarcangelo .......................... Forli-Sudtirol ..........................................
Lega Pro C
Today V. Francavilla-Akragas ............................ Vibonese-Cosenza .................................. Siracusa-Juve Stabia ............................... Paganese-Catanzaro .............................. Fondi-Melfi ............................................ Casertana-Lecce ..................................... Foggia-Messina ...................................... Reggina-Monopoli ................................. F. Andria-Taranto ...................................