Cassano Deal Looks To Be Done

According to SkySport Italia, Italy forward Antonio Cassano's long running transfer drama looks set to be over. It is reported that Cassano's agent, Sampdoria, and Real Madrid have all agreed on the terms in order for Cassano to join Sampdoria on a permanent basis. According to the report, Sampdoria will pay Real Madrid 7 million euros should they sell Cassano with the next year, while the figure will drop to 5 million should he be sold on afterwards. Cassano will take a pay-cut in order to stay with the Genoa club, bringing his wages down to 3 million euros per season. This is quite the coup for Sampdoria as they just finished a fantastic campaign and will be looking to build around the talented attacker for next season.

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Toronto FC Defeat Montreal

Toronto FC defeated the Montreal Impact by a score of 1-0 last night in the brand new Stade Saputo in Montreal. This was the first match of the Canadian Qualifying Tournament for admittance into the new CONCACAF Champions League for next season. Toronto was initially overwhelmed by the play of the Impact who came out like they had a point to prove and attacked constantly. It was not until Montreal went a man down thanks to a second yellow card to defender Pelosi, did Toronto begin to capitalize. Marco Velez headed home the games only goal off a Laurent Robert free kick. Both teams had various changes to their line-ups as many players were away on international duty or injured. Danny Dichio had to leave the match in the 40th minute as he aggravated his hamstring injury which is worrying for TFC who play this weekend against the LA Galaxy, and will already be without several players through suspension and international duty.

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Italy Name Final 23 For Euro

Italy boss Roberto Donadoni named the final squad for the Euro 2008 tournament today, cutting Riccardo Montolivo from the provisional squab, but keeping him on standby should any of the players get injured between now and the start of the tournament. The squad looks like this:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla)Defenders: Cristian Panucci (Roma), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Midfielders: Rino Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Daniele De Rossi, Simone Perrotta, Alberto Aquilani (Roma), Mauro German Camoranesi (Juventus)

Forwards: Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Marco Borriello (Genoa), Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)

Standby: Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)

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MLSE Could Be Looking To Buy Leeds United

According to various sources online and an article from the Sunday Mirror, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment may be on the verge of purchasing Leeds United Football Club. The once former Premier League club has had a terrible run of luck over the last few seasons, and has slipped down the table to League 1, essentially the 3rd division. The club does have a large loyal fan base, and excellent Premier League quality facilities, and with the money invested in the club by a big company like MLSE, could join the big boys in the Premier League quickly. If that were the case, MLSE would control a strong Premier League club with massive appeal to build on.

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Sebastian Giovinco Lights Up Toulon

Juventus owned Italy U21 playmaker Sebastian Giovinco has so far proven correct all the accolades he has received over the last year while on national duty at the Toulon Tournament in France. The young star has been called one of the most promising and creative talents in the game, and is coming off a wonderful season on loan at Empoli. While on duty with the Italian U21 squad, the player has scored twice and set up two other goals in only two matches. With skills such as his, many clubs will be regretting the fact that last year the youngster was available to be purchased, however nobody came calling. It is now Juventus' gain as he could become the teams next talisman when Alessandro Del Piero retires in a few years.

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Roma Save Face By Winning Copa Italia

Roma got some well deserved silverware this past weekend after defeating Inter Milan in the Copa Italia final. The two clubs had battled hard against one another during the season, and many within the Roma camp felt that the Serie A championship was lost because of some biased refereeing decisions. Either way, the two clubs met again in the Final, and this time it was Roma who came out on top with a 2-1 win. Despite the victory, Roma will be looking to build on their success next season, and importantly hold on to rising star Aquilani, who has been rumored to be leaving the club this summer for one of Europes top clubs.

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Inzaghi Wants A Call For Olympic Squad

According to reports on Goal.com, AC Milan and Italy Striker Pippo Inzaghi is looking to try an secure a call up to the Italian squad for the upcoming Olympic football tournament in Bejing this August. The rules of the tournament allow for these U23 teams to call up 3 over age players, and Inzaghi hopes to squeeze into the squad after not being called up for the full national team at this summers Euro 2008 tournament. Also looking to be at the Olympic tournament is Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme.

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Man Utd Win The Champions League

Manchester United won the Champions League final in penalties Wednesday, after drawing 1-1 in regulation against a tough Chelsea side. Man Utd pulled ahead in the first half after a lovely set of passes between Wes Brown and Paul Scholes led to a Christiano Ronaldo header. Chelsea replied before half-time when a shot from outside the 18 yard box caused Man U keeper Edwin Van Der Sar to dive before the ball cannoned of Rio Ferdinands back into the path of Frank Lampard who tucked away the goal. The match went to penalties, and looked certain to be a Chelsea victory after Ronaldo missed his shot to put Chelsea in the lead. It was not to be however, and on the final shot for Chelsea to win, John Terry slipped in his run up to the ball and missed his shot wide. The shoot-out went on, with Nioclas Anelka eventually missing after a fine save from Van Der Sar game Man Utd the title.

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Flamini Thinks Milan Can Win Double Next Year

New AC Milan signing Mathieu Flamini has revealed that he thinks Milan will be in a position next season to win both the scudetto and the UEFA cup, and bring back some of the clubs honour that has escaped them this year. Flamini just finished a great year with Arsenal before signing with AC Milan, and he has stated that it was not because of the money which caused him to leave London, but because he now believes that Serie A is the premier league in Europe. Apparently part of the draw to coming to Milan involved the match between Arsenal and AC Milan at the San Siro, where apparently Flamini got chills playing in such a storied stadium.

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Cassano And Del Piero In Italy Squad

After months of speculating who would make the Italian national team squad for the upcoming Euro 2008 tournament, Italian manager Roberto Donadoni surprised everyone by including both former Italian wonder-kid Antonio Cassano and former Italian talisman Alessandro Del Piero. Both players have had fantastic seasons in Serie A this year, however it was believed that there was only room in the squad for one of the two talented forwards. It was believed that Cassano would be left behind due to his history of disrupting the squads he plays for, however over the last several months he had received many votes of confidence from his managers and other people in the game. The Italy squad is definitely a more attacking team then fans will be used to, they have only selected 7 defenenders for the trip, while they will take 6 forwards along.

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Inter Champions, Parma Relegated To Serie B

Inter Milan came out of Sunday's clash with Parma as Serie A champions thanks to a 2-0 win. Inter had been plagued by poor form over the last few months, and could have lost the title on the last day of the season were they to be held by Parma and have Roma win its final match. It was to be a triumphant day for the Inter faithful however, as two second half goals from substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic finished off a dangerous looking Parma squad, and gave Inter its third title in the last 3 years. Parma, who had been playing in Italy's top flight for the last 18 seasons, will now have to fight it out next season in Serie B in order to try and regain their status as a once powerful Italian club.

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Portsmouth Take The FA Cup

Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City by a score of 1-0 to lift the FA Cup trophy Saturday at the new Wembley Stadium. Portsmouth were the favourites going into the match, being the only Premier League team still in the competition at the semi-final stage and having several international stars on the squad, however Cardiff put on an excellent show and made Portsmouth's defence work very hard at keeping the clean sheet, as specially near the end of the match. Portsmouth took the lead through a first half goal by Nigerian striker Kanu, and threatened several other times, but could not add to their goal tally. For manager Harry Redknapp it was the first victory in his first ever appearance at an FA Cup final, and for Portsmouth it is their first silverware since the 1949-1950 season. Pompey now qualify to play in the UEFA cup next season thanks to their victory.

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Inter In Mafia Scandal

Inter Milan have been linked to an interesting mafia scandal Friday after it became know that the teams tailor Domenico Brescia is a convicted murderer and has ties with the Crisafulli organized crime family. According to an article on Goal.com, Brescia has had close contact with Inter head coach Roberto Mancini, and apparently Mancini had been recorded having a conversation with Brescia regarding a mafia associate on the run from the police. Mancini expressed his thoughts regarding what this associate of theirs should do, which many will see as damning evidence of the Inter managers involvement with some less than reputable characters.

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Fowler Would Love To Score In FA Cup Final

Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler has stated that he would love to score a goal this Saturday in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth. The 32 year old has missed much of the season through injury, but has returned to health just in time to become available for Cardiff's cup push. It is believed that Fowler will be on the bench for Cardiff, but someone with his skill could definitely see time should Cardiff have trouble finding the back of the net in the first 60-70 minutes. Fowler has had experience playing in big matches from when he was at Liverpool, and his leadership could be valuable to his team.

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Zenit Win The UEFA Cup

Zenit St. Petersburg defeated a strong Rangers side Wednesday to lift the UEFA Cup as champions in Manchester. Zenit had a magnificent campaign in the tournament, knocking out many teams favoured to win, including a 4-0 thrashing of Bayern Munich of Germany. Zenit won the match by a score of 2-0 with goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov. This was the second time in four seasons that a Russian side has won the UEFA cup.

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Inter Held By Siena

Inter Milan were ready to celebrate winning the scudetto this past Sunday, but their party was not meant to be thanks to the hard work of Siena. Twice Inter took the lead, and twice Siena equalized with the score ending 2-2. Marco Matterazzi missed a penalty late in the second half that would have brought the title to the Inter faithful at home, which means that the Serie A will come down to the last day of the season. Roma beat Atalanta by a score of 2-1, which pulls them to within one point of Inter for the title. A win for Inter secures the scudetto, but a draw or loss, followed by a Roma win hands the title to the Roman club.

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Manchester United Are Champions of England

Manchester United won the Premier League title Sunday after beating Wigan away by a score of 2-0. United had been tied on points with Chelsea going into the match, but were ahead on goal difference, and therefore needed to make sure that they got a win in order to win the title. Chelsea faltered late in their match against Bolton however, and the 1-1 draw was not enough for the Blues. United and Chelsea will square off on May 21st at the Champions League final in Moscow, with United looking for the Double and Chelsea looking to upstage their opponents and bring home some silverware and finish the season off on a high note.

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Sheffield Wednesday Up For Sale

English Championship club Sheffield Wednesday have gone up for sale after the current owners group announced that they are looking for a like-minded investor who is committed to putting the club back up where it belongs in the Premier League. Wednesday were last in the Premier League back in 2000, and narrowly escaped relegation to the English League One this season. One company that may be interested is Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, the Toronto based company that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, Toronto Raptors of the NBA, and Toronto FC of the MLS. Members of MLSE were recently in England looking at prospective teams they could invest in, and apparently met with the Sheffield Wednesday owners to discuss the clubs situation.

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New York Signs Andrew Boyens

The New York Red Bulls of the MLS have signed former Toronto FC and current New Zealand international Andrew Boyens. Boyens played his rookie season in MLS with Toronto, featuring in 23 games, starting 21 of them. New York was able to secure the defender quickly as he had only been released by Toronto on April 14 and immediately found himself with a call to come for a trial with the Red Bulls. The young defender will add some more depth to a New York squad that many people believe can challenge for the MLS cup should they get fully fit and avoid anymore major injury problems.

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Wigan May Look To Egypt For Next Season

Wigan manager Steve Bruce traveled to Egypt this past Monday in order to take a look at the highly rated Egyptian striker Amr Zaki who currently plays for the Egyptian club Zamalek. Bruce was apparently quite impressed with the striker who managed to put in two goals in front of the Premier League manager. The fee expected to sign the striker is apparently in the range of £5 million, and according to goal.com, Wigan could face competition for the striker from clubs in France and Portugal. With Wigan assured of survival for next season, Bruce will want to bring in a striker who can contribute goals on a consistent basis next year.

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Jens Lehmann Says Goodbye To Arsenal

Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was allowed Sunday to say goodbye to the club and fans he has represented well over the last 5 years. The keeper was a starter for Arsenal over most of the 5 years he has spent at the club, however lost his starting role this year to Manuel Almunia. Always a controversial figure, unafraid to speak his mind, Lehmann butted heads several times with manager Arsene Wenger but the two always maintained a high level of respect and professionalism. This was evident on Sunday when Wenger informed the keeper that though he was not starting, he would see some playing time in his last ever game at home for Arsenal. Lehmann came on for the final 20 minutes of Arsenal's 1-0 win over Everton, and had a wonderfully warm reception from the Arsenal faithful.

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Chelsea To Set Record In Order To Sign Messi

Chelsea are looking to retool their squad this off-season, and the biggest move that owner Roman Abramovich would like to make is to being in Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Barca have stated that Messi, their new talisman, would not be for sale at any price, however the Chelsea billionaire owner thinks that a fee of 80 Million pounds may help to change their mind. That price is almost double the old record transfer fee paid to Juventus for Zinedine Zidane by Real Madrid in 2001. If Chelsea can pull off this move, it would be a clear sign that the team will be altering their playing tactics to reflect a more skilled, possession oriented game, which is what both Abramovich and manager Grant have been hoping to do.

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Toronto Draw At Home Against Red Bulls

It was a rainy Thursday night in Toronto, and TFC came away with a hard fought point against a strong attacking New York Red Bulls side. The Red Bulls came out firing on all cylinders, and dominated the opening 20 minutes of the match, but it would be Toronto who would strike first. A quickly taken free kick by Laurent Robert allowed Toronto defender Marco Velez an open header on the goal which he easily converted. New York struck back from a free kick of their own, taken by midfielder Dave Van den Bergh, the shot curled around the Toronto wall and into the lower corner of the net. The match went into the second half with an attacking mentality, but eventually the poor conditions due to rain caused the game to close down, with both teams seemingly happy to split the points.

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Michael Essien A Top Choice For Madrid

Real Madrid seem to be looking at possible replacements for the departing Mahamadou Diarra in the midfeild, and apparently coach Bernd Schuster has made it clear that the Chelsea midfielder is his top priority as a replacement. Essien had a goal disallowed in last nights Champions League semi-final, but was impressive playing on the big stage in front of several managers from top European clubs. It would take a large offer to pry him away from Chelsea however, as the blues paid 36 million euros to sign him, and will undoubtedly look for more in order to let him go.

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