Menez: Not Zidane Or Cassano

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The Frenchman arrived from Monaco on Thursday night after finally putting pen to paper with the Italian side and he is looking forward to his new Serie A adventure.

Menez has won huge comparisons to some of the greatest football heroes but he is staying modest.

“Zidane is Zidane and Cassano is Cassano, I am Menez and I don’t want any comparisons,” said the striker at his unveiling on Friday.

“Those two have their own ways of playing and I came to Roma to demonstrate what I am capable of doing.

“I don’t like being defined and I don’t have a particular role, that is down to the coach and he has to see how to use me.

“I have been chosen by Roma for my technical qualities and for my attacking play.

“I am hoping I can do well here and score lots of goals in the Roman Derby.”

The 21-year-old arrived from the Ligue 1 side for €14m and he is a great addition to the Giallorossi’s attacking line up. He is being tipped as one of the best striker’s in Europe and his future looks bright in Italy.

Salvatore Landolina

Brighi Staying At Roma - Agent

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The former Juventus man was heavily linked with a move away from the Giallorossi this term and a number of clubs took a peek at his availability.

Roma, though, have always played hard ball and insisted the player was not for sale under any circumstances. Puzzolo has now confirmed that it is unlikely Brighi will switch to another club.

“I haven’t even read the papers because the situation is always the same,” the agent told Laromasiamonoi.it.

“Roma were very clear over the player; yhey don’t want to sell and I must take the club’s stance into consideration.

“I don’t think there is any interest from Torino and Roma have always shown their faith in Matteo.

“I am not scheduled to meet Roma but if things change, they will notify me. As far as I am concerned the player will remain in Rome.”

The 27-year-old has not really managed to get into Luciano Spalletti’s first team and he has mainly been used as a substitute.

Brighi will be hoping he can break the mould this term as he looks to get his stalled career back on track.

Salvatore Landolina

Calcio Debate: What Are Italy’s Champions League Chances?

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GROUP A: Chelsea, Roma, Bordeaux, CFR Cluj

GROUP B: Inter, Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis Famagusta

GROUP F: Lyon, Bayern Munich, Steaua, Fiorentina

GROUP H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit, BATE

Roma

The Giallorossi have reached the quarter finals for the last two seasons running, and they will be confident of getting through to at least the first knockout round this time around.

Chelsea are undoubtedly the big guns, and indeed they are favourites with most bookmakers to win the whole competition. The Blues have strengthened this summer by signing the likes of Deco and Bosignwa, while Real Madrid star Robinho could join too before the end of the transfer window. With Luiz Felipe Scolari also now in charge, Chelsea should finish top of the group.

Bordeaux should not be underestimated, and indeed they gave Lyon a run for their money in the French championship last season, finishing second. With former Inter and Napoli defender Laurent Blanc as their coach, they will be told everything they need to know about Serie A football. They may not possess the big names such as Jean Tigana and Alain Giresse from their legendary 1980s outfit, but the likes of Fernando Cavenaghi and on-loan Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff must be watched carefully.

As for CFR Cluj, I do not want to sound insular, but I must confess that I know very little about the Romanian champions from last season. With six Argentines, including former Inter man Sixto Peralta, and three Brazilians in their squad, technical quality is unlikely to be in short supply. Nevertheless if Cluj were to qualify from this group it would be an almighty shock.

Prediction: Roma to finish second behind Chelsea.

Inter

Lady luck shone brightly on Inter as they were handed, what on paper, is by far the easiest group of all the Italian teams.

Werder Bremen will be the most dangerous outfit in the group after they finished second in the Bundesliga last season, even if they were a full 10 points adrift of champions Bayern Munich. The club’s star man is undoubtedly Brazilian playmaker Diego, but there is also quality in the form of German internationals Torsten Frings, Per Mertesacker and Clemens Fritz.

Panathinaikos sneaked into the Champions League after finishing third in the Greek League, before winning a four-team playoff. Despite possessing Austrian star Andreas Ivanschitz, and new signing from Arsenal Gilberto Silva, the Greeks are unlikely to worry Inter too much, even if away trips to Athens are never easy.

The group minnows are Anorthosis Famagusta, who made history by becoming the first Cypriot team ever to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. Players to look out for are former Real Madrid winger Savio and ex-Roma centre back Traianos Dellas. Anyhow, Inter will expect six points from their two games against Anorthosis.

Prediction: Inter to win the group comfortably, followed by Bremen.

Fiorentina

One of the most equally balanced groups in the first phase is Group F, where all four teams are likely to take points off one another.

Lyon, who are seeded first, continued their domestic dominance by winning their seventh straight French championship last season. Les Gones have superb quality in midfield, with the likes of Jeremy Toulalan, Juninho, Kim Kallstrom, and new signing Ederson. They also have one of the best young prospects in Europe up-front in the form of Karim Benzema. Defensively though they could be a little suspect, and this is something Fiorentina will need to take advantage of.

Bayern Munich return to the Champions League after annihilating the Bundesliga last season, and they will now be hoping to reproduce this form in the Champions League. There are goals in the team up-front in Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and former Viola, Luca Toni, even if the latter two had poor Euro 2008’s. Star man is undoubtedly the brilliant Franck Ribery, who would walk into any team in Europe, while new signings such as Massimo Oddo, Tim Borowski and Breno have added depth.

Steaua Bucharest will be written off by a number of critics as the whipping boys of the group, but those who under-estimate them will be in for a rude awakening. Two-times reigning champions of Romania, and possessing a number of Euro 2008 stars such as Mirel Radoi and Dorin Goian, Steaua will cause trouble for teams at home, and Fiorentina would be wise to take note of their 3-1 pre-season win over Roma.

Prediction: Almost impossible to predict the outcome of this group. Steaua will pick up points at home but I still don’t expect them to qualify. Two from the other three.

Juventus

If Fiorentina thought their group was hard, then they should spare a thought for Juventus who were drawn with Spanish champions Real Madrid and UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg.

Madrid have performed poorly in this competition in recent years, and were outclassed by Roma last season. The capital giants have made few changes in pre-season, with Rafael Van der Vaart their only real notable acquisition. I don't see them as Champions League winners this campaign, but they remain a formidable outfit and will surely be favourites to top this group. Intriguingly, Fabio Cannavaro returns to face his old club.

Zenit were a revelation last season, as they romped to UEFA Cup glory, memorably thrashing Bayern Munich in the semi finals along the way. The Russians are a real danger to Juventus, and have some excellent quality with Pavel Pogrebnyak, Anatoliy Tymoschuk, and Euro 2008 stars Aleksandr Anyukov and Konstantin Zyryanov. However, they are having a poor domestic campaign this time around, and are way off the pace in sixth place. They may also lose star man Andrei Arshavin before the end of the transfer window.

The final team of the group are BATE Borisov, who quite conceivably could finish the first phase with 0 points next to their name. They may have won the Belarus championship three years on the trot, but they are likely to be on the end of a number of hidings against Madrid, Juve and Zenit.

Prediction: Real Madrid to come first, with Juventus to just pip Zenit into second. It will not be easy for the Bianconeri.

What are your views on this topic? What are Italy’s Champions League chances? Who do you think will make it through the group stages? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…

Carlo Garganese

Cicinho Apologises For Altercation

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Cicinho was left out of the squad for the Italian Super Cup against Inter Milan last weekend as punishment for an outburst during a training session last Saturday. He was apparently unhappy with the selection of certain players. As a result, he was left out of the squad for the Supercoppa defeat to rivals Inter.

The Brazilian wing-back has now apologised to his team-mates and Spalletti, explaining that he was dealing with a personal family situation at the time of the incident. Spalletti and Cicinho are reported to have discussed the matter during training and Cicinho continued with the practice session as normal.

The incident is in the past now and the Giallorossi are looking towards the start of the new season, hoping that it will be a successful one. Cicinho, in particular, has his objectives clearly underlined in his mind. The speedy Brazilian stated: “I'm working hard to win my place in the Brazilian national team back, and to do this I need to play with continuity.”

Returning to the incident involving Spalletti, Cicinho said, “It is a critical period for me due to some family problems, and for this reason my reaction was that way.” The player cleared up the problem with his coach and apologised for his outburst. He revealed, “I spoke to the coach and admitted that I made a mistake.

“My teammates also, because they know that I am a calm person that has never created problems in the group,” concluded the redeemed Brazilian.

Peter Pedroncelli

Serie A Preview: Roma – Napoli

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Serie A is back! Arguably the match of the opening round sees Roma host Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico. With the two sides having high expectations for the upcoming campaign, the perfect start is what they both will be after, making this clash all the more entertaining.

The start of something special for Roma?

After a successful 2007/08 campaign, the Giallorossi will be hoping for a repeat of the form that saw them make the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions league, win the Italian Cup and narrowly miss out on a fourth Scudetto. And many believe that this could be their season.

After the loss of talented players such as Mancini, Giuly and Ferrari, they have been fairly active in the summer’s transfer market, netting key figures such as Baptista, Riise, Loria, and more recently Menez, players who will certainly add that cutting edge to the squad.

Although they haven’t had the most consistent of pre-seasons, Spalletti should be pleased with the progression of his side thus far. In the Supercup final against Inter Milan last weekend, we saw glimpses of the side that most came to adore last season, despite the fact that they were eventually defeated on penalties.

The upcoming season is expected to be one of the most competitive in recent times, with sides such as Juventus and Milan, who have spent a fortune on re-strengthening their squads, looking as talented as ever. Along with these two heavyweights, Fiorentina have spent over €40 million themselves, Napoli continue to grow in confidence and have also made some key additions following their return to the topflight last season, the likes of Udinese, Sampdoria, Palermo and Atalanta are always expected to be competitive, and then of course there’s the reigning champions Inter, who aren’t looking too bad either.

With this in mind, as they managed to do last season, Spalletti’s men will need to get off to the best possible start to ensure they keep the pace with whomever leads the way early on in the season. They will certainly need to be firing right from the word go, starting this weekend against Napoli.

Roma are renowned good starters in Serie A, however in this corresponding fixture last season, the two sides drew 4-4 in what was without doubt the match of the season, making this weekend’s opening fixture a tough start to the season for the Giallorossi. In three of the four rounds following this, Spalletti’s men host Antonio Cassano’s Sampdoria, whilst also having to travel to play both Palermo and Genoa. These trips were successful last season, but only just, particularly in the corresponding Genoa fixture, as a 90th minute Panucci goal was enough for a 1-0 victory.

Although the standard has risen this season, one would expect the Giallorossi to be as competitive as they have been in recent years. Napoli will prove to be the perfect test early, and if Roma can avoid unnecessary defeats throughout the campaign, there is no reason why they won’t pose a serious threat for the Scudetto come season’s end.

Napoli’s time to rise

Napoli made their highly anticipated return to the topflight of Italian football last year, for the first time since the 2000/01 season, when they finished in 16th and as a result were relegated to Serie B. After a superb comeback season last campaign, the club, its fans and the players themselves are expecting big things this time around.

Having finished in 8th position, the Partenopei missed out on a UEFA cup spot by just one place in the standings, which is still a great effort, especially considering the fact that two seasons prior they were playing in the Italian Serie C1 competition.

Their position in the standings meant that they had done enough to qualify for the Intertoto Cup, a tournament in which they defeated Greek side Panionios in 3-0 on aggregate, in order to qualify for the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Their next opponents were Vllaznia of Albania, whom they easily accounted for 8-0 on aggregate, paving the way for them through to the group stage of the 2008/09 UEFA cup.

Their pre-season form has been simply perfect to date, as they have failed to concede a single goal in their four competitive encounters, and so Reja and his coaching staff should be extremely optimistic heading into the new campaign. And with the additions of some impressive talents to their squad, such as Maggio, formerly of Sampdoria, Rinaudo of Palermo, Denis of Independiente, and Russotto of Bellinzona, the signs look promising for Reja’s men.

One area they will certainly have to improve in if they wish to rise this season is their form away from the San Paolo. Last season they were absolutely dominant at home, winning 11 of 19 matches, and taking some massive scalps along the way. However it was their form away from home that left many disappointed. They managed to win just three of 19 matches, whilst also conceding 37 goals in that time, which simply does not meet their expectations.

Some point the finger at the coach, some at the players; however on thing is for sure, and that is that if this side are after success, then something must be done to resolve the problem. Reja has a squad full of potential at his disposal, and thus if he can utilize his talent and experience in the best possible manner, we should be expecting big things from them this season.

FORM GUIDE

Roma

August 24 v Inter (A) LOST 2-2 (6-5) (Supercup)

August 10 v Tottenham (A) LOST 0-5

August 4 v Al Ahly (A) WON 3-0

July 29 v Monaco (A) DREW 0-0

May 24 v Inter (H) WON 2-2 (Coppa Italia Final)

Napoli

August 28 v Vllaznia (H) WON 5-0 (UEFA Cup)

August 14 v Vllaznia (A) WON 3-0 (UEFA Cup)

July 27 v Panionios (H) WON 1-0 (Intertoto Cup)

July 19 v Panionios (A) WON 1-0 (Intertoto Cup)

May 18 v Lazio (A) LOSS 1-2

TEAM NEWS

Roma

The disappointing news to come from the Roma doctors is that their talismanic captain Francesco Totti will miss the opening match of the season. Totti suffered a heavy knock to the ankle, following a tough challenge from Maicon in the Supercup final last weekend, and will require a week on the sidelines to fully recover. Brazlian winger Rodrigo Taddei will also miss the game, as he too requires a week or two on the sidelines, as he nurses a muscular problem. With the exception of these talents, Spalletti’s side is fit and raring to go, and with Totti out of action, expect new signing Julio Baptista to head the attack.

Napoli

With no major injuries to his side, Reja has a full strength squad at his disposal, with the exception of the suspended Domizzi who will be forced to sit out the opening match. Due to the fact that they played against Vllaznia less than 48 hours ago, expect the starting line-up to be altered a little, as some players may be a little sore following the contest. Reja will desperately want to avoid injuries to his players so early in the campaign, and so he’ll have no choice but to rotate this weekend. It will be interesting to see whether he continues to employ the 3-5-2 formation he did last season, or whether he feels that four at the back is more suitable to success in Serie A football.

POSSIBLIE STARTING LINE-UP

Roma (4-2-3-1): Doni; Cassetti, Mexes, Juan, Riise; De Rossi, Pizarro; Aquilani, Perrotta, Vucinic; Baptista

Napoli (3-5-2): Iezzo; Santacroce, Cannavaro, Rinaudo; Mannini, Hamsik, Gargano, Blasi, Maggio; Denis, Lavezzi

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Roma – Julio Baptista: The former Real Madrid man will be called upon right from the word go in his new life in the Serie A. Through the absence of Totti, Baptista will be heavily relied upon to head the Roma attack, heaping the pressure on the Brazilian to perform. It will be his first game in front of his new home crowd, and so he won’t want to let them down. Expect big things from this man in the upcoming season, making him the signing of the year.

Napoli – Christian Maggio: Without doubt one of the revelations of the 2007/08 Serie A season, Maggio is one of Reja’s key signings for the new campaign. Following his outstanding work for Sampdoria last term, the Partenopei tifosi will have high expectations as he starts his new footballing life in Napoli. The club has the belief in Maggio, in that he will prove to be a catalyst in their climb up the Serie A table, and so the pressure is well and truly on him to perform.

PREDICTION

This game will certainly be an intense clash between two sides desperate to get their season off to the perfect of starts. Expect an entertaining affair, with the more match fit Napoli side, controlling the play early on in particular. An early goal from the visitors may be what is required to spark the Giallorossi into action, and from then on, I foresee a dominant performance from Roma. Three second half goals will be enough for Spalletti’s men to attain all three points.

Roma 3-1 Napoli

Adrian Del Monte

Tough Draw Does Not Surprise Blanc

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Bordeaux head coach Laurent Blanc was in a relatively positive mood after les Girondins were set the tough task of ousting either Chelsea or Roma if they are to progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

Speaking after the draw, Blanc hinted that he feels such an outcome is unlikely and that he was just happy to have avoided one of the big pot four teams such as Fiorentina or Atletico Madrid.

“When you are in hat three, you know what is going to come – you cannot avoid two big clubs,” Blanc told the assembled press. “Roma and Chelsea are two of Europe’s biggest clubs. The Romanian team deserve respect too.

“Personally, I was most impatient for the drawing of the final team because I would rather have avoided Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev.”

Understandably after such a tough draw, Blanc was rather pragmatic. “If we manage to play well and we are lucky enough to have a chance going into the final match, it would be an exploit for the club,” the former French international defender added.

“We will prepare to qualify. If it happens then it is all so much better but, if not, we will try and next season.”

Robin Bairner

Official: Menez Joins Roma

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Roma have been after the forward for weeks and they have now finally landed their man after striking an accord with the Ligue 1 side.

Luciano Spalletti has been keen on the 21-year-old striker and the deal happened as the Champions League draw took place.

It is believed Roma have paid the French side around €14m but no details have been released just yet.

A statement on Monaco's official website reads:

"AS Monaco FC and AS Roma have reached an agreement for the transfer of Jeremy Menez. The French striker will now join the Serie A runners up.

"Menez arrived in Monaco in 2006 and he played 64 matches, scoring 14 goals in all competitions with the Red and White jersey."

Menez is one of the most promising young players in French football, with some pundits comparing his playmaking skills with those of Les Bleus legend Zinedine Zidane.

The starlet, who can also play up-front, was signed from Sochaux in order to assist giant Czech Republic hitman Jan Koller.

Menez first hit the headlines in 2005, when at the age of 17 he became the youngest-ever player to score a hat-trick in the French championship.

He will now line up alongside Julio Baptista as the Giallorossi's attacking line up gets even stonger.

Salvatore Landolina

Spalletti Relishing Chelsea Challenge

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The Giallorossi have never faced the Blues in the Champions League and they will be heading to West London with great ambitions.

The Stamford Bridge side are the bookmakers favourites to lift the trophy but Spalletti is not afraid.

“It’s a nice group and certainly interesting. You can tell that we had a helping hand with the draw,” said Spalletti, referring to Roma sporting director Bruno Conti who helped with the draw.

“Chelsea? We just have to go there with all our experience from past years and play with concentration.

“Menez? He is a very young player and he needs to gain more experience. He has plenty of will to play and motivation. Transfers? Our transfer market is officially closed.”

The Giallorossi will be relishing the chance to clash with the West London side. Spalletti has not got a good record against English teams and he will be hoping to change that trend this season.

I Lupi will fancy their chances of getting through the group stages, with Chelsea the only team likely to cause the Italians a problem.

Salvatore Landolina

Chelsea, Ronaldo Win Champions League Awards

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Cech, who was on the losing end of the Champions League final penalty shootout against Edwin van der Sar and Manchester United, nevertheless pipped the Dutchman to the award for his superb performances on the way to and even during the final.

"Of course it was difficult, because it was up to me and five players who were chosen to shoot, but you have to concentrate on yourself and this is what I try to do," explained the goalkeeper, recalling that dramatic, rain-soaked shootout in Moscow.

Following up on that win was another for the runners-up, with penalty-missing Blues skipper John Terry perhaps somewhat controversially beating the likes of Rio Ferdinand to the award. The newly re-elected England captain was delighted with the award and hailed his team-mates.

"For me persnally, it's an amazing achievement to get this award this evening," he said. "To be a great defender you need a lot of attributes; to read the game very well, be quick, strong, good in the air, and you also need good team-mates around you, which I have bundles of, so I'm happy."

The London club had yet more to cheer about when Frank Lampard beat a host of Premier League contenders to the best midfielder award. The England international paid tribute to the other nominees and expressed his happiness at having finally won the award. "It feels very good," he began, "when you see the players that you're against, theres some world class players in there, I've been amongst them for three years it's good to finally win one."

The winners finally picked up an award, and it of course went to Cristiano Ronaldo, for best forward. The secret to his success? "Work. I think Manchester had a great season and I scored many goals.

"I feel very proud because my position is winger and to win the best forward is good for me, it gives me ambition to work good and better. Thank you everyone who voted for me, thank you to my team-mates, and good night."

And of the four separate winners, it was Ronaldo who won the overall award for best player. "To win this award is great for me," said the Portuguese ace. "I feel very proud, very good, to win this, because the Champions League is one of the best. Every player likes to play this competition and to be the best."

He again gave thanks to many, but for the second time neglected to mention manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was sitting in the crowd. "For me, is great, thank you everyone, thank you my team-mates, thank you to everyone, to all the players, it's great, it's good for me, I feel very happy."

Best Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea)

Nominees: Manuel Almunia (Arsenal), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United).

Best Defender: John Terry (Chelsea)

Nominees: Jamies Carragher (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Carles Puyol (Barcelona).

Best Midfielder: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Nominees: Michael Essien (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Steve Gerrard (Liverpool), Paul Scholes (Manchester United).

Best Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Nominees: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com

Totti Will Not Return For Italy – Lippi

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The Roma captain played his last game for the Azzurri in the 2006 World Cup final win over France two years ago, and after a season of uncertainty, he finally announced his retirement from international football last year.

However, following the return of Marcello Lippi as coach of the Azzurri, there have been reports that Totti, as well as Alessandro Nesta, may come out of international retirement ahead of the 2010 World Cup campaign.

Nesta recently made a statement in which he stressed that there was no chance of him making a comeback.

As for Totti, the 60-year-old Lippi does not believe he will be returning either.

"I do not think that he will change his mind,” Lippi is quoted as saying by ANSA.

“He is a very serious person.

"I have always said that Totti and Nesta are very serious people and we have to accept their decisions.”

Totti made his debut for Italy in 1998 and went on to win 58 caps, scoring nine goals. He played at the Euros of 2000 and 2004, and the World Cups of 2002 and 2006, winning the latter.

Anthony Sormani