From the papers

June 30, 1999
Juventus Official Site

It is official at last- Alessandro Del Piero has resigned. The long negotiations, which bianconeri fans have been worrying about for months, are finally over. The Juve ace has pledged himself to the club until 2004, with a contract worth 100bn lire gross (about £33.3m).

Del Piero's deal and Lazio's signing of Nicolas Anelka share the headlines in the sports dailies. Tuttosport runs the banner headline: "Juve: Game on. Yesterday the signature. Over the next 5 years he will earn more than a million lire (£333) an hour."

Inside the Turin daily we find Del Piero's reaction. "I only ever wanted to play for Juve," he says. "I never thought about the money but about my life: my heart was beating when I signed. Now the only thing which really interests me is getting back to playing football. I miss it terribly. It's my greatest wish. I hope to make it for the beginning of the championship, I think that's a realistic forecast. In any case I won't be rushed, nor will Ancelotti."

Lots of space is devoted to the Lazio-Anelka negotiations too: "Cragnotti flies to London to persuade Arsenal. Last offer: 56bn lire (about £18.6m)." Torino are also closing in on a big signing, with Monaco's big defender Diawara set to don the famous maroon shirt. Diawara now wants to clear up his nasty altercation with Pippo Inzaghi in the Champions League. "I'd like to make peace with Inzaghi," he tells the newspaper. "I'm sorry about the incident but I didn't push him: he fell on my studs."

The Corriere dello Sport opens like this: "Got him! Lazio seal deal for Anelka. Another world football ace is coming to Italy. The man who will replace Vieri cost 63bn lire (about £21m). He could be in Rome by Friday. He's 20 years old and half of Europe wanted him."

The Rome daily devotes lots of column inches to what could become an issue in the next few days: "Appiah rejected by Parma. Sent back to Udine, the club doctors say no. We'll know more in the next few days."

Other transfer news is: "Juve make a bid for Padalino. Last OK for Ortega to Parma. Mendieta stays at Valencia. Mangone wants to go to Parma. The Croat Budimir to Udine. Vannucchi on his way to Inter. Signori another 3 years with Bologna."

We finish our round-up with the Gazzetta dello Sport: "Juve block Inter. Peruzzi? Get on with it. The goalkeeper's transfer is turning into a soap opera. Three "no's" from the bianconeri: no discount for Inter, no deal for Peruzzi and no press invitation to tomorrow's pre-season gathering. Inter president Moratti does not want to give in to the player's demands of 18bn lire (about £6m) over 4 years- plus a 28m lire (£9.3m) transfer fee. Ferron a possible for the bench."

Inside the paper we find Moggi's reaction to the successful outcome of the Del Piero affair: "Agnelli's intervention was crucial, otherwise very little could have been done. Long and difficult negotiations, but both sides wanted the same thing: Ale will continue to give us great service. I think we're spending a fair amount."

The last item of news comes from the Copa America in Paraguay: "Brazil kick off, Ronaldo to play. Lowly Venezuela are the first opponents for favourites Brazil who will field the Italian-based strike duo of Ronaldo and Amoroso."
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