Pessotto: Doctors treating Juventus team manager Gianluca Pessotto, who fell from a window last month in an apparent suicide attempt, said yesterday he is now out of danger and has resumed breathing on his own. The 35-year-old former Juventus defender has been in a Turin hospital since falling 15 metres from a window in the Juventus club headquarters on June 27. He was found clutching a rosary. Pessotto was not among those facing charges at a sports tribunal into match-fixing charges that have engulfed Juventus and rocked Italian football.
Owen: Michael Owen must wait for the swelling in his knee to go down before he undergoes a second bout of surgery. Newcastle United said their striker awoke from the first operation on his knee to find that surgeons had only repaired the cartilage rather than the damage to the cruciate ligament damage itself, which he ruptured in England's World Cup clash with Sweden. Further surgery, under the supervision of knee specialist Richard Steadman, is planned for in September.
Trezeguet: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed his liking for Juventus striker David Trezeguet. The French striker is set to be one of the many Serie A stars to quit the Italian game following the recent match-fixing scandal. "Trezeguet is a good player, the question is what kind of player do you need. We will look at what happens in Italy and see what we can do," he told reporters.
Senderos: Arsenal's Swiss centre-back Philippe Senderos is out of action for another three months after dislocating his shoulder during the World Cup. Senderos suffered the injury during the group game against South Korea on June 23 and had an operation a few days later. Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying that fellow defenders Johan Djourou and Gael Clichy were also injured. "If we find a player who can play centre-back, left-back then we are still open (for transfers)," Wenger said.
Del Horno: Valencia are close to agreeing a deal to sign Chelsea defender Asier del Horno. "Things are at an advanced stage," club president Juan Bautista Soler was quoted as saying. "We are waiting for Chelsea to send us some documentation and to finalise an agreement with the player." Del Horno joined Chelsea on a three-year contract from Athletic Bilbao for 12 million euros last June, but failed to live up to expectations during his first season with the English champions.
Barragan: Deportivo are on the verge of signing 19-year-old Spanish defender Antonio Barragan from Liverpool, according to club president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro. "All that remains for the move to be completed is for the documents to be signed," Lendoiro was quoted as saying. Spanish media reported that the right back, who was born in Galician region where Deportivo are based, would sign a five-year deal with the club.
Bias claims: Spartak Moscow asked the Russian Football Union to clean up the domestic game of what they called bias and corruption. Spartak, the most successful club in Russian soccer history, have accused referee Pavel Kulalayev of bias after they threw away a 2-0 lead against unfashionable Siberian side Tom Tomsk to draw 2-2 in a premier league match on Sunday. "We're asking the president of the Russian Football Union Vitaly Mutko and head of the referee's committee Nikolai Levnikov to conduct a thorough investigation into the latest scandal involving referee Kulalayev," the club said.
Fiorentina: Around 1,000 supporters of Italian soccer team Fiorentina blocked one of the country's main railway lines at Campo di Marte station yesterday in protest at last week's sports tribunal verdict relegating the club to Serie B. A second group of the club's supporters marched to the training ground of the Italian national side at Coverciano, close to Florence, where they pulled down the flag of the Football Federation whose tribunal demoted the club.