Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic claimed at the weekend that captain Riccardo Montolivo is going nowhere.
Montolivo has been the subject of transfer speculation after establishing himself in coach Cesare Prandelli’s new-look Italy side.
Following La Viola’s lowly 11th place finish last season they are not even in Europe in this campaign.
And Montolivo put other teams on alert by recently refusing an offer of a contract extension.
“I’m convinced that in the end, Montolivo will stay in Florence,” said Mihajlovic.
“He seems calm and serene and he still has two years to run on his contract with us.”
Gornik dream of signing Podolski
Polish-born German international Lukas Podolski’s hometown club Gornik Zabrze dreams of tapping his talents, its boss Lukasz Mazur said.
“Lukas was born in Silesia. He’s a big fan of Gornik Zabrze. And maybe some day he’ll come and play for us,” Mazur said.
Podolski was born in 1985 in Gliwice, near Zabrze. He and his parents emigrated to Germany when he was a toddler, and he started his career at his current club Cologne.
He has stuck by his Polish heritage, however, and communicates with fellow Polish-born Germany player Miroslav Klose in their native tongue to confuse opponents.
Hodgson in the dark over funds
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson does not know what budget will be available to him in January despite making a profit on the club’s summer transfers, thanks mainly to the £20m deal which took Javier Mascherano to Barcelona.
With the club still up for sale and uncertainty surrounding what might happen early next month when owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have to refinance their £237m-plus loan to the bank, Hodgson does not know whether that money will still be available.
Asked whether he would still be able to spend the money which he did not use in August the Liverpool manager said: “I would hope so but I don’t know. I don’t know what funds I have for January.”
We weren’t at our best – Guardiola
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted his side were well below their best in their surprise 2-0 defeat at home to promoted outfit Hercules on Saturday. Barca dominated proceedings but went behind to two goals from Paraguay forward Nelson Haedo Valdez and there was no way back after that.
“I congratulate Hercules. They made it difficult for us and they got their reward,” Guardiola said.
But the Barca coach said his side produced an off-colour performance in their first home match of the campaign.
“There are so many details we can improve on. We have overcome so many things since I’ve been here and we will again,” he said.
Beckham... England door still open
David Beckham has refused to rule out the possibility of resurrecting his England career after making a successful return from injury for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The 35-year-old took to the field for the first time in six months on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the Galaxy’s 3-1 defeat of Columbus Crew.
England manager Fabio Capello created a controversy last month after indicating Beckham was too old to feature in his plans for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. But Beckham told Sky Sports News he still wanted to be considered by Capello.
“I’d like to be available to play for England,” Beckham said.
“If I’m fit then I’m sure the (England) manager will consider me.”
Wolfsburg’s McClaren under pressure
Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren admitted that the “pressure is mounting” after his third straight defeat in charge of the Bundesliga club.
The 2-0 defeat in Dortmund completed the Wolves’ worst ever start to a Bundesliga season and McClaren knows that he must turn things around quickly.
“I knew that it was going to be hard to start with, but it is harder than I thought... the pressure is mounting,” he admitted.
The club’s general manager Dieter Hoeness, who has overseen a spending spree of almost €40m this summer, has made it clear that he cannot tolerate such performances for long.
“The players are playing below their actual ability... we are in a situation,” he said.
Atletico wait on Aguero news
Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores faces a nervous wait to find out the extent of the injury sustained by key striker Sergio Aguero during the win over Athletic Bilbao.
Aguero was stretchered off during the 2-1 victory at San Mames with an ankle problem.
Atletico start the defence of their Europa League title against Aris Thessaloniki on Thursday and then host Barcelona in the league next weekend before travelling to Valencia the following Wednesday.
Sanchez Flores said: “Aguero suffered a significant blow and it is a tough toll to pay for these three points. We hope that the tests give us good news.”