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From the papers

July 1st, 1999
Juventus Official Site

The Del Piero deal, as expected, is still holding its own in the main daily sports papers. Giovanni Agnelli commented at the Ifi assembly on the renewal of the contract of the player closest to Juve fans' hearts. And he also threw in some gibes.

A lot of column inches are also devoted to the transfer market and to the first day of the Bianconeri's pre-season. Today in Chatillon is the official introduction of the first part of the squad to play in the preliminary rounds of the Intertoto Cup.

Tuttosport's headline runs: "Agnelli challenges Del Piero and launches Juve's new season." Inside the Turin daily are the Agnelli's comments about the Juve playmaker - and he does not pull any punches. "I hope that Del Piero's performances will reflect his fee," he says. "The squad is competitive. He'll earn a lot, a great deal. We hope he'll play to the level of his salary. And, in this case, he'll be very valuable. We're satisfied to have him with us, he is happy."

He also comments on the state of football today: "Revenues in football have become immense, above all thanks to television. What I dislike and what puzzles me slightly, is that all this money ends up in salaries. In this context, Orsi, my favourite player, comes to mind: I remember that in the 1934/35 season he took home 9000 lire (£3) a month."

The paper has the following Juve transfer news: "Djetou in, Iuliano out. Rapaic deal frozen. Ancelotti puts his faith in Ferrara, Campbell the other possibility."

The Gazzetta dello Sport features Giovanni Agnelli's comments on the front page, too: "Agnelli's three wishes." The first regards Del Piero: "I hope that Ale proves he's worth as much as he's received from Juventus, i.e. a great deal." The second is about Irvine: "Eddie is doing very well and I'd be sorry if he left Ferrari." The last wish is for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin: "Spotlight on Turin for the Olympics: watch out, a lot has to be done and done well."

Next to the thoughts of Agnelli, there is space for the seemingly endless round of transfers: "Ortega-Parma: deal reached. Baronio to Reggina. Mezzano to Verona." As for the Anelka story, the paper says: "Cragnotti's club is about to finalise the signing of Vieri's replacement. There could be an announcement today or tomorrow: 60 billion lire (£20 m) ready for Arsenal. The negotiations for the signing of the Frenchman now seem to be at a turning-point: it should have been Cragnotti in person to close the deal but, to avoid the English trying to put up the price, only the Fifa agent Morabito will be in London today. A five-year contract worth 6 billion lire (£2m) a year."

We end with the Corriere dello Sport: "I'm buying Napoli. Cinema entrepreneur Aurelio De Laurentis plans to take over the club. He will explain all on Monday. But Ferlaino reaffirms: I'm not selling."

In the transfer market: "Perrotta to Bari. The player will be available to Ancelotti for the Intertoto Cup matches." Other stories are: "Inter ultimatum to Candela and they want Chamot. Parma bid for Mangone. Torino: Morfeo-No, Pirlo is their target. Juve-Parma auction for Djetou. Fiorentina: Turdò deal blocked."
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