Marcello Lippi savoured a perfect start to his Asian career after Guangzhou Evergrande took a big step forward for China by reaching the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
The silver-haired Italian cut an anxious figure in the fevered atmosphere of Guangzhou’s Tianhe stadium, but he later hailed an “excellent performance” after his new club’s 1-0 victory over FC Tokyo.
Debutants Guangzhou became the first Chinese team to reach the last eight since 2006.
“We created many opportunities to score and played hard,” said Lippi.
“The victory can be attributed to the excellent performance of each and every player.”
Clubs chasing Bologna’s Ramirez
Juventus and Manchester City are not the only clubs interested in signing Bologna playmaker Gas-ton Ramirez, according to agent Pablo Betancourt.
The Uruguay international has been strongly linked with a move away from Bologna and is a target of several European clubs.
“I can confirm that Juventus and Manchester City have contacted me to show an interest,” Ramirez’s representa-tive Betancourt said.
“But there is especially an interesting offer from Wolfsburg and also another one from an important Spanish club.”
Kjaer rules out Wolfsburg return
Wolfsburg defender Simon Kjaer, who spent this season on loan at Roma, claims he will not return to the Bundesliga club.
The 23-year-old Dane is contracted to the Wolves until 2014, but insists going back to the club is out of the question while Felix Magath is still in charge.
“I am not going to call Magath. It goes without saying that I will not be returning to Wolfsburg,” he said.
The former Palermo defender was shipped out last summer after Magath decided he was not part of his plans.
Roma have yet to make a bid for the Denmark international.
Roma close in on coach Zeman
Roma are expected to announce the appointment of Zdenek Zeman as their new coach by the end of this week.
The Giallorossi are looking to fill the vacancy created by the departure of coach Luis Enrique last month.
Czech Zeman, who this week confirmed he is in advanced talks with Roma over the position, is set to sign a one-year contract.
“We will soon make official our new coach,” Roma’s club admini-strator Claudio Fenucci told reporters yesterday.
“Then we will begin to build the team that we hope will give great satisfaction to our fans.”
Schalke 04 tempt Van der Vaart
Bundesliga side Schalke 04 are on the trail of Tottenham’s attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart (picture), according to reports yesterday.
Dutch international Van der Vaart is contracted to Spurs until June 2014, but the player’s agent Robert Geerlings told Kicker: “I can confirm that Schalke are interested (in signing Van der Vaart).”
Van der Vaart, who scored the second goal on Wednesday for the Netherlands in a 2-0 win over Slovakia, a warm-up match for Euro 2012, said he would not rule out moving to Germany.
“Normally, I’m staying with Tottenham, but in football you can never say what’s going to happen,” Van der Vaart said.
Mazzarri staying with Napoli
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri will remain in charge of the club next season and will be offered a one-year contract extension, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed.
“I had a meeting with Walter Mazzarri and I’m very satisfied,” De Laurentiis told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have spoken at length and analysed the season while also setting the basis for next season.
“We are in perfect harmony in order to bring about the project so we can have another positive season.
“I have also started the initial negotiations in order for Walter Mazzarri to extend his contract with the club for a further year.”
Hoeness backing to coach Heynckes
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has backed coach Jupp Heynckes to bring success back to the club and disregarded concerns over his age.
Bayern have now gone two years without a trophy but came close to ending that drought when they lost to Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the final of the Champions League last month.
“From day one, people are asking: who is going to succeed Heynckes?” he said.
“Jupp Heynckes is no lame duck. He is a very respected and hard-working coach who always gives his all.
“Overall, under his guidance, the team has made the fans very happy.”