by Paul Visca, SerieA.tv

Diego Milito will not be leaving Serie A to join Real Madrid, according to the Genoa president.

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The Argentine striker, who returned to the Grifone in the summer after a spell in Spanish football with Real Zaragoza, has scored 10 goals to sit top of the scoring charts, which has alerted the Madrid outfit on the look-out for a replacement for injured hitman Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, Enrico Preziosi maintained that the player adored by the passionate Rossoblu fans would not be allowed to part, he said: "Real Madrid have come looking for him and contact was made through an envoy of the Spanish club, but I simply responded that he is our forward and will not be leaving Genoa."

One player who has sent out signals of appreciation after being linked to the Spanish champions in a January move is Hernan Crespo, frozen out under Jose Mourinho at Inter, but still convinced he has what it takes to make the difference at the highest level.

The 33-year-old said: "I have always been keen on Spanish football. When Real Madrid is mentioned, then it is like talking about the history of football."

Despite being left out of the starting line-up by the Portuguese coach, the former Chelsea and AC Milan striker gave the 44-year-old a glowing report following his first months in Serie A.

The Argentina international added: "He is one of the best coaches I have worked with. Only his external character is known, but he is a normal simple person who knows what he wants."

Momo feels the passion

Mohamed Sissoko has revealed that he is planning to steal the show in the Derby of Italy at the weekend.

The Juventus midfielder arrived in Turin last January and had only been in the country for two months when Juve last clashed against Inter, but was fundamental in securing a 2-1 victory for Claudio Ranieri's men.

Now that the Mali international has had time to settle into the Italian game, the 23-year-old admitted he can fully appreciate the true value of the inter-city clash when he said: "This year I feel it even more because we are right behind them at the top of the league and I'm living it as a special derby. I played for Liverpool and the match against Manchester United had a different importance than the derby with Everton. Here it is the same thing as I feel the game against Inter much more than that against Toro."

The former Liverpool and Valencia player also maintained that he found the passion of the Italian fans warming, which added to his desire to play his part in Saturday's clash, perhaps even by snatching a rare goal for the Bianconeri.

He said: "It's great to feel the passion of the fans, the affection shown by them makes me proud. I had already felt something similar in Spain, but not in England.

"They have asked me to bring back all three points against Inter and to score. Let's hope so, it would be fantastic."

Lippi talks tough

Marcello Lippi has claimed that Serie A is the most difficult championship to win in the world.

The Italy coach admitted that no other league can compare to the Italian one tactically in reply to comments made by Jose Mourinho last week, when the Inter trainer complained that because the Italian game was not the most beautiful, it was less followed abroad.

The 60-year-old said: "Mourinho has realised that working in the Italian championship is not as easy as abroad.

"The Italian league may not be the best from a point of view of a spectacle, but it is definitely the most difficult overall. Above all, participating in it is not easy and this is what Mourinho has realised."

The World Cup winning tactician also revealed that he is pleased more home-grown talent have accepted the challenge to prove themselves abroad and that the presence of Galatasary's Morgan De Sanctis, Olympique Lyon's Fabio Grosso and Giuseppe Rossi from Villareal has enriched his squad.

He added: "The fact I can rely on them is important. I find having more players in the national set-up who have a lot of international experience at a high level, extremely positive."

Brighi hails Roma revival

Matteo Brighi has declared that AS Roma have turned the corner following victory in the Rome derby last weekend.

The diligent midfielder has emerged as a first-team regular in Luciano Spalletti's side and once again proved his usefulness in the 1-0 victory over city rivals Lazio, which the 27-year-old believes will prove fundamental to kick-starting the Giallorossi's season.

He said: "The derby win has left us on a high and I'm convinced that it will be the turning point in our season."

Before the capital derby, last season's runners-up found themselves sitting in second bottom place with Bologna and Reggina on only eight points after a disastrous start to the campaign, and the former Chievo player admitted he could not be sure that AS Roma would be able to haul themselves back into contention for a Champions League berth.

He said: "I'm not sure whether we'll be able to reach fourth place, but for the moment we are only thinking about winning then we'll see how things pan out. I'm happy with how I'm playing and as long as it lasts I'm happy."

Paul Visca is a writer and match commentator for SerieA.TV and contributes Italian soccer news for FoxSoccer.com.