From the papers

July 16, 1999
Juventus Official Site

The front pages of the sports dailies belong to Alessandro del Piero. The Bianconeri star, eight months on from his injury, returns to the field on Monday to play in a match organised especially for him. Alex's form is improving fast and his return now beckons.

We start our review of the papers with Gazzetta dello Sport. Del Piero's return to fitness is prominent: "Yearning to fly" is the Milan daily's headline. The Bianconero player has a thirst for football and wants to get back in action as soon as possible: "My sprinting isn't yet what I'd like it to be, but I'm now doing almost everything with the ball - the instinct's there to try important things. I got two knocks to the knee on Sunday and nothing happened. This has given me confidence. In these past months I have seen so much in football, in addition to what's on the surface. I want to play, the Champions League is our target".

The summer's big soap opera is not over yet: "The Anelka story is turning into a novel. Lazio try again. Another round of coups and counter-coups. An agreement between Juve and Arsenal. The furious player then starts legal action at the European Court and gets ready to travel to Rome. The English take everything back - the go-ahead for negotiations with Lazio. Cragnotti now offers 60bn lire [£20.6m] and the lawyers give up part of their fee. Crunch time".

The Copa America is drawing to a close: "Amoroso and Rivaldo put Brazil into the final. Uruguay await them".

Tuttosport's front page is devoted entirely to the Turin teams. There is an exclusive interview with Torino striker Ferrante who confirms he is staying at the club. "I'm only doing it for the fans," he says. "I was fooling myself thinking I wasn't for sale - so much ingratitude after what I've done. The management knew what I wanted but they shut the door in my face. It's not a question of money. People know that and are with me."

As for Juventus, we read that Del Piero is almost back to full fitness ahead of the start of the season: "29 August is the target. I want to be there for our first match in the championship".

Meanwhile, Massimo Moratti has been re-elected president of Inter. There were no surprises at yesterday's eagerly awaited meeting of Inter shareholders as the president was re-elected. He has set himself quite a challenge: "I'm here again because I want to build the strongest team in the world."

Inside the Turin daily we find an item of news that will doubtless please Juventus fans: "After on-off negotiations with the Romanians, RAI finally reach an agreement - we'll see Juve's eagerly-awaited debut in the Intertoto Cup live on Sunday afternoon (5pm Italian time)."

We end with Corriere dello Sport. The Rome daily opens with the headline: "Del Piero - I'm playing. Eight months after the injury he's ready. On Monday his first friendly". Below we find some transfer news that will thrill Calabrian fans: "Reggina in for Benny Carbone. Sheffield Wednesday have already received an offer, albeit through intermediaries - 7bn lire (£2.4m) payable over two years for the player, whose contract expires on 30 June 2000."

Other transfer news is: "Rio Ferdinand signs a new six-year deal with West Ham. Inter try to enter the bidding for Ronaldinho. Meeting today between Juve and Cagliari - they'll be talking about forward Fabian O'Neill, on whom the Bianconeri want an option. And Marco Aurelio could go to Sardinia. At the beginning of next week Rapajc will become Atletico Madrid's, Gaucci will collect about 27bn lire (£9.3m). Bologna move for Milinovic. Verona approach Stellone again. Optimism for Frey. Milan buy Topic, who'll stay with Monza for another year."
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