A stroll through Italy and the Serie A
by Paul Visca, SerieA.tv
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has sung the praises of Jose Mourinho ahead of the curtain raiser to the Italian season.
The Swedish superstar spoke before his country's friendly against France on Wednesday where he will not be risked in order to be ready for the Italian Supercup between Inter and AS Roma at the weekend.
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He said: "I can only speak well of Mourinho, he is an exceptional person and has great personality. He has an excellent rapport with all the players and is always correct; he says what he thinks and does what he thinks."
Despite being one of the first in the starting line-up under former boss Roberto Mancini, the classy striker has swiftly archived the two championship winning seasons with the former Nerazzurri trainer, admitting that the Portuguese tactician has already constructed a stronger side.
He said: "He [Mourinho] has already made Inter better. Compared to the past we have improved our ball keeping and the ball is moved more quickly with short passes. "Also, we have adopted a new set-up, 4-3-3, which allows us to be more attack-oriented compared to before."
Dejan Stankovic is also preparing to be at his best for the first competitive match of the season against last year's runners-up and Italian Cup winners, especially now that the Serbian midfielder has found a new lease of life in the role of playmaker.
He said: "I'm getting used to my new position and I'm crazy about it. We are all growing together, improving our movement in the middle of the pitch, while I'm learning to speed up my game to have more time to play and think.
"Who knows maybe sooner or later I may even get to clean some rust from my right foot near the goal."
Aquilani targets Italy start
Alberto Aquilani is determined to claim a starting place in the Italy team despite being the youngest player in the squad.
The Azzurri take on Austria in a friendly on the French Riviera on Wednesday in what is the first match under the guidance of returning coach, Marcello Lippi, and the AS Roma player hopes to become a midfield mainstay for the national side.
He said: "I'm here raring to go. We want to get going again and work towards becoming key players, looking to write another important chapter.
"If Lippi has come back it's because he wants to win the World Cup again which for us is another reason to do better.
"I think it's important to start the season on the right foot and I want to compete to the best of my abilities for the Azzurri shirt."
The 24-year-old has certainly seen his chances of making progress on the international scene boosted by the absence of Massimo Ambrosini after the experienced AC Milan man was not called up for the Nice showdown.
The talented playmaker has been the centre of transfer speculation throughout the summer with Inter and Juventus amongst the Rome-born man's admirers.
However, following the passing away of club president Franco Sensi on Tuesday, Aquilani revealed that the arrival of Julio Baptista from Real Madrid could spur last season's runners-up on to claiming the title in the name of the late owner.
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He said: "With Baptista the team has been further strengthened. It would be fantastic to win the league title and dedicate it to our great president. We'll do our utmost to reach objective."
Donadel relishes Viola challenge
Marco Donadel has maintained that Fiorentina's aggressive summer transfer campaign has created an unprecedented competition for places.
The club from Florence has splashed out over €50 million on new faces and contract renewals since the transfer market began towards the end of May and the 25-year-old midfielder knows coach Cesare Prandelli will use all of the players at his disposal in the centre of the pitch to improve on last season's fourth place.
He said: "There are a lot of us in midfield this year and all of us have different characteristics. The boss will field who has shown can be trusted most on the field. I'm only thinking about working hard as being left out doesn't please anybody."
The former AC Milan youth player whose trademark is his ball-winning ability admitted to have been taken aback by the quality displayed by Felipe Melo.
He said: "Melo has surprised us, he is a player who is charged up and nasty to the right degree. Felipe will give us a big hand in midfield.
However, one man who is not surprised by the displays of the Brazilian who was bought from Spanish outfit Almeria is Pantaleo Corvino.
The Viola transfer guru said: " I wanted to take him to Lecce when he was 19 years old and had just won the Brazilian title with Cruzeiro, but he cost too much. I continued to follow him when he went to Almeria and unknown to everybody I had blocked the player and was trying to lower the buy-out clause of €9 million."
"Then one day Prandelli and [Vice coach Gabrielle] Pin told me they had been watching Barcelona-Almeria and had picked out an outstanding midfielder by the name of Melo. A week later I showed Prandelli the player's contract."
Ancelotti eyes all-Italian UEFA final
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Carlo Ancelotti has set his hopes on facing Napoli in the UEFA Cup final.
AC Milan have travelled to Naples to take part in the Birra Moretti Trophy and the Rossoneri coach revealed he would relish a chance to win the UEFA Cup for the first time against the Azzurri who have been revived thanks to the work of sporting director Pasquale Marino and president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
He said: "A UEFA Cup final against Napoli would be fascinating. I hope it comes about. "Marino and De Laurentiis are doing positive things and it would be fantastic to see Napoli also competitive in Europe."
The Milan giants find themselves competing for the secondary competition in Europe after failing to finish in Serie A's top four last season while Napoli gained access following success in the Intertoto Cup.
The Neapolitan outfit have strengthened the squad which finished eighth last season on their return to the top flight so Ancelotti knows a positive performance in the final friendly tournament of the summer, which also includes Juventus, would bode well for the start of the season.
He said: "We are happy to participate in a tournament such as this. It's always a pleasure to come back to play in Naples; I could never forget the Napoli of [Diego] Maradona."
"Before beating Juventus we hadn't set off well from the first friendly, but from the Moretti we want to gain the right impetus to start the championship well."
Paul Visca is a writer and match commentator for SerieA.TV and contributes Italian soccer news for FoxSoccer.com.
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