Juventus confirm Higuain and Jovetic interest

Juventus confirm Higuain and Jovetic interest

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed the club's interest in luring bothGonzalo Higuain and Stevan Jovetic to Turin this summer.

Reports emanating from Italy suggests the Bianconeri will dispatch representatives to the Spanish capital on Wednesday in an attempt to thrash out a deal for Real Madrid striker Higuain after agreeing terms in principal with the Argentine earlier this month, while Fiorentina's failure to secure Champions League qualification this season has thrown Jovetic's future at the club into further doubt.

Speaking to Rai Sports, Marotta insisted the Old Lady were weighing up their options before making a move but could not disguise his affection for the duo.

"Jovetic and Higuain are both great strikers," he said. "We want to improve the playing staff available to [Antonio] Conte in the summer so we are exploring various options at the moment."

Juventus, who recorded back-to-back Serie A titles this season, have long been linked with moves for Europe's top striking talent - including the likes of Carlos Tevez and Luis Suarez - as they look to bolster their forward line ahead of the coming campaign.

Messi, Ronaldo & the top 10 all-time Champions League goalscorers

Messi, Ronaldo & the top 10 all-time Champions League goalscorers

After another thrilling season of continental football, we are finally closing in on the campaign's showpiece event - the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

This year's competition has again produced some memorable moments as the continent's biggest and best clubs battle to be crowned European champions for 2013.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were again prominent as their sides made it to the semi-finals and battled with Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller to win the Golden Boot award. 

But where do they currently rank against the best goalscorers in the history of the European Cup and Champions League?

Here, in a star-studded list, Goal provide the lowdown of the top 10 all-time scorers in the tournament, with only goals from the group stages onwards being counted - no qualifying rounds.  


Alessandro Del Piero is one of the four players profiled in our top 10 who scored all his Champions League goals for only one club.

The former Juventus icon netted 42 times for the current Italian champions in Europe’s elite club competition during his lengthy career at the top, winning the Golden Boot award twice.

He helped them to win the trophy in 1996, playing the full game in the eventual triumph over Ajax on penalties and also participated in three other finals for Juve, although they all ended in defeat. 

Despite being a prolific goalscorer in the competition, he only scored once in his four appearances in the Champions League final, against Borussia Dortmund in 1997.

A two-time winner of the Champions League, Filippo Inzaghi certainly made his mark in the competition over 13 years with Juventus and, most significantly, AC Milan.

Strangely, Inzaghi is one of just two players in our list who never won the Champions League Golden Boot during his career, so making his way into the overall top 10 serves to highlight his consistency in front of goal on an annual basis.

The striker's most significant contributions saw him net a double and win the man-of-the-match award as Milan defeated Liverpool in the 2007 final in Athens, avenging their infamous Istanbul defeat in the final of two years before, a game which he had missed out on.

Zidane: "After Messi and Cristiano, Bale has impressed me the most"

Zidane has made it clear while talking to 'The Guardian' that Real is interested in Bale: "I´ve been watching Spurs a lot this season, and after Messi and Cristiano, I´d say that Bale is the most impressive."
The Frenchman, Florentino' s man to trust, is clearly in love with the Welshman: "I particularly like his reliability. He doesn't just play well for one or two matches, but always does, and regularly scores very important goals."
Asked if Real Madrid might be looking to sign the Welsh player, Zizou gave a rather enigmatic answer: "All talented players may end up at Real Madrid."

Husain Abdullah Biogpraphy

Husain Abdullah Biogpraphy

Husain Ibn Muhammed Abdullah (born July 27, 1985) is an American footballsafety for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was offered a contract by the Minnesota Vikings and was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Washington State. He is the younger brother of Arizona Cardinals' safety Hamza Abdullah.

Date of birth: July 27, 1985 (age 27)

Place of birth: Los Angeles, California

Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 204 lb (93 kg)

Simeone: "If Falcao decides to make a move, I'll be happy: if he stays, I'll be happy too"

Simeone: "If Falcao decides to make a move, I'll be happy: if he stays, I'll be happy too"

At the press conference following Atlético Madrid's 0-2 win in Singapore, Diego Pablo Simeone was grilled about the future of Radamel Falcao.

Above all, the media were keen to know if the Colombian striker has already come to an agreement with Monaco for next season: "I don't know anything official yet. I have known him since he was a child and I wish him all the best. If he feels that he needs to make a move, I'll be happy for him. If he stays with us, I'll be happy too", Simeone told reporters.

Courtois, or rather, the future of the Belgian goalkeeper, also cropped up: "We are working on keeping him for another year", he commented.

Xavi: "We're losing one of world football's big coaches"

Xavi: "We're losing one of world football's big coaches"

Xavi Hernández assured that Real Madrid will continue to win titles despite José Mourinho's departure, and admitted that the Portuguese manager has always given the Barça squad an "extra motivation".

"We'll see what happens without Mourinho, but I'm convinced that Real will keep winning titles with or without Mourinho," said the Barcelona mastermind.

Barça's assistant captain stressed that the 'Azulgranas' need to try to forget about what Real Madrid is doing and focus on competing in order for the team to keep winning titles.

"We've carried on winning titles with Mourinho. In the three years he's been here, he's nicked a title or two, but we've carried on winning. That has to remain our objective," he stressed.

Xavi also believes that the Portuguese manager's personality has always been a motivation for Barcelona: "He's a controversial manager. He's always provided an extra motivation. I don't know whether we'll miss him or not." However, he did acknowledge that the Portuguese manager's exit represents a significant loss for the Spanish league, because "we're losing one of world football's big coaches".

Gary Neville: Rooney exit would be a big mistake

The former Manchester United defender believes his old teammate should stay at Old Trafford following Sir Alex Ferguson's admission that the 27-year-old asked to leave the club.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has warned Wayne Rooney it would be a big mistake to leave the Premier League champion.

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the 27-year-old, who was left out of the squad for the Red Devils' final home game of the season, wants to leave the club, and cited the former Everton striker's frequent substitutions as the reason.

But Neville believes the striker should take a break from the club over the summer after a frustrating period before reassessing his position.

“Believe me, I've seen football players go to Real Madrid, and other great clubs in Europe, and they always want to come back to this football club,” said Neville. “I would hope that Wayne Rooney settles down over the summer - Sir Alex Ferguson says he's not leaving this football club - that he gets his head down, brings himself back. 

“He just needs to get away, come away with England over the next couple of weeks, play for England, have a summer off, and hopefully he'll get his head back to being a Manchester United player because there's nowhere else to go from here."

Neville is a a former teammate who now coaches Rooney for England

“I played with Wayne Rooney, I know Wayne Rooney and I'm a coach of Wayne Rooney," Neville said. "He needs to consider that. If he sees what's going on in this football club today [United lifting the Premier League trophy], he's an emotional lad. 

“You can see in the last few months he's not been quite himself. When you see Wayne Rooney on the football pitch, challenging every single challenge, fighting for every refereeing decision, you can see he's not quite been himself. 

“He wears his heart on his sleeve, however, if he's seen what's happened today, the reception before today - he's sat up in that box, he's 27 years of age: this football club - there's nowhere to go from here.”