MILANELLO - Massimiliano Allegri held a press conference today on the even of Milan-Novara at the San Siro.
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MILANELLO - The end of an era with Rino Gattuso holding his last press conference as a Milan player.
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MILANELLO – Here’s what a visibly emotional Mark Van Bommel had to say to the Milan Channel: “It’s a difficult moment for me as well but different to Rino, Pippo and Ale who’ve been here for much longer and have won so much. I’ve only been a part of this great club for a year and a half. I can remember when Galliani said “Can you come to Milanello? We need you”. We won the title and the Italian Supercup and this year with the team that we had we should have won but that’s football. I’m not staying because I have to think of my family as well. My eldest son told me to sign for six months but now I have to go home, back to Holland. I’m going to PSV. For one seaosn, maybe two, then I’ll start coaching. It’s goodbye, not farewell. Maybe someday I’ll come back here to caoch. Milan is a great club and even in the past some players have left and continued winning. This club is like a family, the people at Milanello are extraordinary which is why I was able to integrate so easily when I arrived. My compliments to everyone. FORZA MILAN!!”
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MILAN – Here’s what Massimiliano Allegri had to say at today’s press conference ahead of the final game of the season tomorrow against Novara at the San Siro stadium:“Credit to Juventus who had an extraordinary year and they deserve this title. We hope to close on 80 points but that doesn’t mean that this campaign was a failure.”“We won the title last year and tried to win it this year and we’ll be back next season competitive in Europe and in the league as well as in the Italian cup.”“Today and tomorrow will be tough days as players are leaving the club who have made history with Milan winning everything and so tomorrow there should be a party for these players. I want to thank them as well as they gave all their willingness and for the management of the changing room that’s very important. You can’t fight time though and they’ll remain in the history of the club for what they did. Some will stay with the club, others will make other choices”“You need real personality to play for Milan; it’s a heavy shirt to wear. To stay and win for 10 years and this club, you need real mental strength. Tomorrow the season will end and a cycle will end with it because many important players will leave. We’ll have to get back by working.”“I had a lovely dinner with the President yesterday and it was a lovely evening. He’s in great form and will maintain the high level of the club. I left very happy. The evenings with the President are always pleasant. We didn’t speak of names as the season is not yet over. The President wants to maintain the team high level without losing the players that we have at the moment.”“I thank Pirlo for his willingness last season. I evaluate players when I have them available after that I’m not interested in what they say or do."“The squad will need changing for next season and I would have liked to win as well as the players. Unfortunately only one team wins at a time. We definitely dropped points along the way.”I spoke with Rino. He made a choice that has to be respected. I have a deeper relationship with him than I have with the other players. The strength of this club is in its values.”“Nesta will be on the bench tomorrow, he has a problem with his knee. Inzaghi will be on the bench as well and Mesbah and Zambrotta will play at the back. Gattuso, Aquilani and Seedorf will play in the middle with Ibra and Cassano up front. Boateng will be playmaker.”“I’m extremely happy with my staff and have never complained about anyone.”“It was hard to win last year and it’ll be hard to win next season with Juevntus as favorites. Inter will be reinforced. Napoli and Lazio will be in the fight and we’ll need to start off with the right mentality working better than this season.”
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(IN THE PHOTO: Rino to the fans)MILANO – Here’s what Rino Gattuso had to say in today’s press conference at the Milanello sports centre:“Thanks to all the journalists for coming. I want to thank to the club, all employees and everyone at Milanello for what have been 13 fantastic years. It was my childhood dream but life goes on and let’s hope my eye stay open (laughs). I still want to keep fighting and to show that I’m not finished as a player. For now I want to thank the club, the Berlusconi family and Adriano Galliani who showed such regard for me. But now the moment has come."“I’ve always said that I don’t want to be a cross to bear for anyone. The club wanted me to stay but inside myself, I felt the need to leave. The spine of the team is leaving and even though it’s not easy, you have to make choices in life. Let’s hope it’s not a mistake.”“It’s not running away. It’s just that when you’ve given so much, you make choices. I couldn’t give anymore as a player and I felt dead inside and no longer that combative player that could give something to this club. 5 or 6 months ago I had other plans. I wasn’t hoping to get back on the pitch and the plan was to stay at the club with another role. But then things changed thanks to the medical staff and doctors. I got the desire back to play again and here I think I’ve given all I can. I never asked for a fixed place. In my way of thinking, the only certainty is death. I did bad by Leonardo, but I assumed my responsibilities and I apologized. There was still place for me here otherwise they wouldn’t have given me a contract extension.”“I’ll leave at Milanello what Maldini and Costacurta left for me. Now there’s only Ambrosini left. I really regret the stupid things I did with Joe Jordan and Leonardo. I hope that the reputation for respect continues however, as it’s a part of the culture at the club and I hope it won’t die.”“To the players who stay here I say, when you put on this jersey, you need to win. I don’t forget that 4 months ago I was 5 kg overweight because of the cortisone. I wasn’t in good enough shape to play and it was a miracle that I made it on the pitch. I could feel inside myself that the time had come and after watching Nesta’s press conference I knew the moment had come because a cycle had finished.”
“I hope the club will build a competitive side but we can’t forget that economically it’s a tough time. Knowing the people involved though, I know they’ll do all they can.”“I have 60 people who work for me, I have a wide and two children and I have to decide with my wife what to do in the future. She’s the family captain. I have offers. My dream is to play for Glasgow Rangers who gave me the chance to play when I was a no one from Salerno. My wife’s mother lives alone in Glasgow and it would be nice to go back for a year. It would be my heart’s choice, a sign of affection for those who made me into a ‘half’ player, even if I know it wouldn’t be easy.”“For me Carlos Ancelotti was a coach, a friend, a father and a lover in football terms. I used to joke that they should put his statue in Milanello alongside Nereo Rocco because he was a great man in those years and raised the bar at the club. He wasn’t just a coach, he was an emblem of the club and when you took to the pitch, you did it for him. He used to day: “You get on the pitch and I’ll make you win”. He used to plan the matches with a cigarette in his mouth, incredible.”“I can’t forget last year with Allegri, we had a great campaign and he gave me the chance to play. We’re talking about two people completely different. Ancelotti knew the environment and it was a much simpler changing room than now.”“My team mates were a bit disappointed. I didn’t speak to anyone about this decision. It was something that was boiling inside of me for a month and a half, and it was right to speak first with the club and then the players. They’ve put up with me in these past few years. I can be a heavy personality, I’m Calabrese…“I would never join Inter or Juventus for the love of the club that I have and they wouldn’t want me anyway, but I definitely wouldn’t go.”“On Monday I’ll start a four week training course and I plan to do the second and third parts of the course as well.”“After the loss to Liverpool in 2007, I had nightmares for 5 or 6 months. The best win was in 2003. Beating Inter in the semi final and Juventus in the final was big for Italian football.”
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MILANELLO - Antonio Nocerino spoke exclusively to the Milan Channel and here’s some of what he had to say: “It’s tough. I got choked up as well and I just came to the club the other day. I can only speak for myself, but I think it’s the same for everyone. The players that are leaving are fundamental, great men who make the vital difference on and off the pitch. We’ll try to imitate what they’ve done in these years, but it won’t be easy. They’re incredible, monumental. I feel like I’ve been here all my life and I’ll never forget them. I’ve had the honor of playing with them and that’s something I can tell my grandchildren about. Players who won everything and who made world football history, great players who made the difference. Those who stay will try to do what these players did; few words and lots of actions. I’m happy with my season and my goals. I was the last to get here but myself and the club both believed and we were both right. If I’m called up for Euro 2012, I hope to play my best.”
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(IN THE PHOTO: Thiago Silva with Antonio Vitiello, MilanNews.it director and Pietro Mazzara)
MILAN – On the margins of the MilanNews.it awards presentation at the Milanello sports centre, Thiago Silva spoke to spoke to the Milan Channel about the season to come:Thiago, this is the second year that you win this award, what does it mean to you?“It means a lot as it’s never easy to get the same recognition two years in a row. It always gets tougher year after year. I won this year by a 1 percent margin over Boateng and I hope to win it again next year and to continue to do well here. My motivation is high.”Yesterday, Nesta said the new Nesta was already at Milan and he’s named Thiago Silva. What responsibility does that give to you?“It’s a big responsibility. First of all I had the responsibility to be Maldini’s heir as he was leaving and now another great player has quit the club. Honestly, it’s difficult to describe such as great player as Sandro. He really helped me a lot in the last two years when we were playing together and I’m very sorry he’s leaving. He’s a big part of the group and an important player in the dressing room. Milan are losing a lot with him leaving.”You’ll be ever more of a leader at the back next season. Is it something you look forward to?“All great players have great responsibilities. I have my percentage as well, but I’m not the only one. Together with the team, if we’re focused on what we’re doing and on the objectives that we set, we can do big things. Milan is not just Thiago Silva, we have a lot of quality players and to get right back doing great things.”On Sunday, a piece of Milan’s history will come to a close. How much will those players be missed?“Milan will lose a lot with the loss of Nesta, Pippo, Clarence and Zambrotta. Losing these players, it won’t be easy to get back right away. By making a completely new team, or even bringing a number of new players in, it’ll be hard to be competitive right away. You need players with personality and quality, like Ibrahimovic to get the added value. With the players that we have at the moment, like Nocerino who has done really well or like I said before, Ibrahimovic, we can right back on track immediately."The two numbers on your jersey add up to 6 and many fans have pointed to you as Baresi’s heir. What do you think?“It’s a pleasure to be compared to him and I hope to continue to do well. I have a lot of motivation to do well here and I hope to continue to do well and repeat the history that Baresi and Maldini have made with the club.”
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MILAN – The first Milan top worn by Gattuso had the Italian flag on the chest symbolizing the league title won by the club in the 1998/99 season with 7 wins in the last seven matches, Abbiati’s save in Perugia and Alberto Zaccheroni on the bench.The same is true of the last Milan top the player will wear. Last year’s title put the tricolor on the chest and represented a new cycle in Italian football after the summer of 2006.Gattuso’s chest can be seen as a symbol of his career. Always pushed out with pride while tackling, celebrating or even on the few occasions when he almost came to blows with his opponents. Banal could never be a word used to describe the man’s career.Rino Gattuso fought and won throughout his playing career. Never one to hide his emotions, he always spoke directly and said what needed to be heard. An honest man, sometimes aggressive but always direct and loyal to his cause.Rino will always have a special place in the fans’ hearts. Not even the much publicized injury problems of this season were enough to slow down the wave of emotion that he inspires in the Rossoneri tribe the world over.A single moment in his long career spring to mind. 28 may 2003, the only all-Italian Champions League final and with both teams exhausted, Rino finds the strength to run the length of the field and press Buffon to put the ball back into play.A great player, no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. From this day forth, all players will have to give that bit extra for the good of the club, as Rino did throughout his career.
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MILANELLO - Coach Massimiliano Allegri took the team through its paces this morning and before training had a special word for the players who would be leaving at the end of the season.Fans who gather in the Curva Sud at the San Siro were pitchside to lend their support in particular for Rino Gattuso and Pippo Inzaghi.The players then got down to work with the session starting with a warm-up which included some keep-ball. The team then worked on tactics and finished with a match.
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MILANELLO - Coach Massimiliano Allegri took the team through its paces this morning and before training had a special word for the players who would be leaving at the end of the season.Fans who gather in the Curva Sud at the San Siro were pitchside to lend their support in particular for Rino Gattuso and Pippo Inzaghi and thus providing a colourful and noisey backdrop to the session.The players then got down to work with the session starting with a warm-up which included some keep-ball. The team then worked on tactics and finished with a match.
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MILANELLO - Here is the squad to face Novara tomorrow.GOALKEEPERS: Amelia, Roma, Piscitelli.DEFENDERS: Mesbah, Mexes, Nesta, Zambrotta, Yepes.MIDFIELDERS: Aquilani, Boateng, Flamini, Gattuso, Nocerino, Seedorf.STRIKERS: Cassano, El Shaarawy, Ibrahimovic, Inzaghi and Robinho.
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MILAN - Thiago Silva has received the Milannews.it award of the year. Click here for the photos.
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MILAN - Alessandro Del Piro has sent his best wishes to Alessandro Nesta, Rino Gattuso and Filippo Inzaghi on his Facebook page. He wrote: "Sandro, Rino, Pippo: teammates and/or opponents, but never enemies. I am happy to have played with and against you. I respect you, guys. Ale."
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MILAN - Rino Gattuso will hold a press conference on Saturday after today saying: "It is time to leave space for others. I will take a year out and see what happens."
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MILAN - Antonio Cassano has been speaking to Milan Channel about the events over the last season. Click here to read what the striker had to say.
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Filipp Inzaghi will bid farewell to the Milan fans on Sunday and has he told Milan Channel, it promises to be an emotional day.
Pippo said: "Sunday will be a difficult time for everyone. I have received a lot at Milan but it is time to close, I hope to play my 300th game with the Rossoneri. I came here because I felt love from of this club and I played for President Berlusconi and Doctor Adriano Galliani. It has been amazing and all matches were important. I am proud of this shirt and on Sunday it will be a celebration, my parents will be there. I will miss Milanello, my team-mates, the road. I remember the preliminaries, the goals against Slovan Liberec and Red Star and the 70,000 in the San Siro with the banner of the fans and the good wishes of "Happy Birthday" and the victory in the Champions League. There is the indelible memory of a 2-0 victory in Munich, my goal and Seedorf, after a 2-2 draw at San Siro. I still laugh about that game with Van Bommel, who said: "I knew I had to stop you." But that was not what give me a lift, I am more interested in affection of the fans and my friends. I was never interested in opponents. Then, the brace against Real Madrid and then the cruciate injury arrived at an inconvenient time. Sunday will be hard for everyone, but everyone should come to the stadium."
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MILAN - Antonio Cassano has given an in-depth interview to Milan Channel in which he talked about what has been an emtional year and started by revealing how happy he is at the club."I am comfortable here with everyone, from the youngsters to the most senior player. When I speak about Pato I always do it because I think he is potentially the second best in the world behind Messi and hopefully he will come back stronger than before. Here they treat you like a King, from president Berlusconi to all those who work at Milanello. Anyone who leaves Milan regrets it immediately. President Berlusconi struck me immediately on my arrival. Anything I needed he told me to call him at any time. Problems with Milan this summer? The day of Italy-Spain was a difficult time, I played little, I was not very happy and I was not fit. I talked a lot with Galliani. I wanted to leave, but he always told me that if I remained professional, I would never have any problems here. After the match with Spain, Galliani said: "I will now tie him here, I was right" and from there it went fine."
Then, that moment on the return from Rome: "I was fine, I was happy to come off the bench. On the plane I felt good. All of a sudden on the bus at the airport, after we landed, my head started to spin, I could not see well with his left eye. The doctor told me: "I'll take you to the hospital." I did not want to go, we talked for half an hour. When we decided to go to the hospital, I started to have trouble speaking. I thought but the words would not come out. At that moment I started thinking about my son, to see him at least once, then if anything ..."
The support he received: "I enjoyed the affection of everyone from the world of football and outside it. They understood that I am a joker, but I am a genuine and authentic person. My son and my wife had the basics but I always asked the doctors to tell me the truth, for me life and my family are important. Tavana always frank in everything he told me."
As for the league title: "Firstly, we have to congratulate Juve. We had a billion injuries, without which we would have won with by a six or seven-point margin. we are by far the strongest team in Italy. we did not have consistency like Juve. Milan went out to win it all, and we will give our all next season too."
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(IN THE PHOTO: Pippo and President Berlusconi with the Champions league trophy)MILAN – Everything that you’re about to read is secondary to this. The first and foremost thing that I want you all to know is I played and won for "us". Playing and winning without sharing the emotion is nothing, but you and me, us, we did it all together. We hoped, suffered, celebrated and rejoiced. We lifted cups and won titles together in our hearts. We have always been on the same wavelength. And no one can ever take that away from us.Dear Milan fans, when I got to the club you didn’t know this. I was in a hotel room and couldn’t leave so as not to compromise the negotiations between Juventus and Milan. The first weeks, the first months, you studied me and we watched each other.Then we fell in love. That evening against Torino. You were angry, things weren’t going well on the field and you were in silence. I started warming up and the roar you gave me made us win the match, pushing us into the Champions League and towards that final in Manchester. These memories as well as all those who consoled me in the difficult months of 2004 and 2005 and the shivers down the spine that we felt on 9 August 2006, my birthday against Stella Rossa will always be in the bedside drawer of my heart.Athens. Football given to us for one reason: me and you, us, we wanted is so strongly, so intensely that it had to be given. Of course the reality went beyond our wildest dreams. 2 goals, against Liverpool, 2 years after Istanbul, the seventh Champions League. Destiny gave us more than we had dared hope.Today I would like to thank with affection and emotion President Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani: their electricity and their ability to transmit emotion for me made me stronger and pushed me beyond any and all limits. But I also want to give a thought to those who, from the youth sector to all the wonderful clubs that I’ve played for, helped me to become the man and the player that I am today.Thank you Milan, thank you football. Allow me to call you my own, the people of Via Turati, from Milanello to the offices to the phone operators to the warehouse workers, the physiotherapists, the doctors, the cooks, from the stadium to the changing room. All the people who saw me on Sunday with the short sleeves and shook with the hope that I would score. Ciao Carlo Ancelotti, I won a lot with you. Ciao to my wonderful fans who followed me the world over with affection and passion. Ciao to my team mates from today and yesterday.Last of all allow me to thank my family, my mother Marina, my father Giancarlo, Simone and Tommaso. I never would have got here without you. You’re my strength. My dear Milan, I’m leaving you only because that the way life goes. The moment has come and you know it as well.Ciao and thanks to everyone,Pippo Inzaghi.
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MILAN - Pato and Thiago Silva have been included in the 23 man squad list for Brazil’s pre-Olympic friendlies. The squad will be reduced to 18 for the Olympic Games.Here’s the list:
Alexandre Pato (Milan)Alex Sandro (Porto)Bruno Uvini (Tottenham)Casemiro (São Paulo)Daniel Alves (Barcelona)Danilo (Porto)David Luiz (Chelsea)Paulho Henrique Ganso (Santos)Giuliano (Dnipro)Hulk (Porto)Jefferson (Santos)Juan (Inter de Milão)Leandro Damião (Internacional)Lucas (São Paulo)Marcelo (Real Madrid)Neto (Fiorentina)Neymar (Santos)Oscar (Internacional)Rafael (Santos)Rômulo (vasco)Sandro (Tottenham)Thiago Silva (Milan)Wellington Nem (Fluminense)
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Aldo Dolcetti’s players have just arrived in Puglia where they’ll be taking part in the Ostuni tournament for the next three days. It’s a chance for the team to maintain their fitness ahead of the Final Eight and they’ll be up against Lecce, Cagliari and Brindisi.Here’s the schedule:
12 May: Milan-Cagliari (Ostuni stadium)
13 May: Milan-Lecce (San Pancrazio Salentino Standium)
14 May: Milan-Brindisi ("Fanuzzi" di Brindisi Stadium)
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MILAN – The Nutrilite Tennis Challenge Adidas Cup came to a close yesterday at the Aspria harbor Club in Milan.The tournament was organized by the Milan Foundation with all funds raised going to a good cause.
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(IN THE PHOTO: All of yesterday’s players)
MILAN – It was the final yesterday and no one wanted to lose but yesterday evening there was also space for smiles and applause when Paolo Madini faced off against Paolo Canè in the final of the NUTRILITE Tennis Challenge Adidas Cup.The Aspria Harbor Club in Milan played host to the final day of action in the tournament organized by the Milan foundation. The final saw the Citelum Bayer team against Nivea For Men who won 2-1. The football champions played against his tennis counterpart in a final full of emotion.Kaspersky got the better of Banca Generali in the other category but at the end of the action there was nothing but smiles and affection for all involved. Another successful Milan Foundation project with all funds going to a good cause.
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(IN THE PHOTO: Coach Allegri, smiling during training)MILAN – It didn’t seem like an end of season training session such was the intensity of the practice match at the Milanello sports centre this morning. El Shaarawy scored after Piscitelli was only able to parry a shot from Cassano.Training started at 11.00 and the practice match started after a warm up and some stretching. Ambrosini and Inzaghi both trained with the group while Van Bommel, Pato and Thiago Silva continue to train apart.Abbiati and Bonera both worked out in the gym while Muntari and De Sciglio’s condition is improving. Tomorrow’s training session will be the last of the season.
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Saturday 12 May
Giov.Reg.B 99
MONTICHIARI/MILAN, at 16.00, CS MONTICHIARELLO VIA BOSCHETTI DI SOPRA MONTICHIARI
Sunday 13 May
All.Naz. 95
MILAN/ATALANTA, 13A at 15.00, CS VISMARA Via dei Missaglia 117 Milano campo Stadio (suss D)
Giov.Naz.li 97
GENOA/MILAN, at 11.00, SAN CARLO VIA DON GIOVANNI VERITA' GENOVA VOLTRI
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MILAN – At the end of a friendly win against Sestese yesterday, Novara coach Attilio Tesser spoke to the official club website about Sunday’s match against Milan and Alessandro Nesta: “Playing against Milan is always stimulating. After our win against Cesena, we want to do well at the San Siro against the Rossoneri. The concentration levels maybe won’t be as high as possible as the game won’t count for anything in the league and we’ll have to be careful about that or else we could end up looking very bad.” “Nesta is a great player who is leaving Italian football. It’s always disappointing but the player made his choice and opted for a different kind of tension. It’s sad because he was a really great player in these years and he still is.”
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MILAN - All the photos from the finals of yesterday's charity event.
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MILAN - Novara ended a friendly match against Sestese (Campionata di Eccelenza) 6-0 with a hattrick for Morimoto: NOVARA - 1st Half: 31.Fontana, 7.Jensen, 10.Rigoni, 12.Silva, 14.Morganella, 16.Maggio, 19.Branca, 22.Pesce (25.Mascara 29'), 29.Caracciolo (9.Rubino 38'), 30.Centurioni (5.Ludi 35'), 77.Rinaudo NOVARA - 2nd Half: 34.Tonozzi, 3.Gemiti, 4.Lisuzzo, 5.Ludi, 9.Rubino, 11.Morimoto, 15.Dellafiore, 17.Porcari, 25.Mascara (9.Rubino 11'), 27.Jeda, 28.Garcia Coach: Attilio Tesser. SCORERS24'fh Rinaudo, 45'fh Mascara; 5'sh Rubino, 15 - 21 - 27'sh Morimoto
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MILAN - The French squad list for Euro 2012 is starting to take shape. Laurent Blanc has incuded Philippe Mexes in his list of 12 players playing outsdie France.
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MILAN – Big news for the Rossoneri hoping to travel with Italy to Euro 2012. The Italian football federation has announced that the squad list will be announced on Sunday evening. Selected players will travel to Coverciano for tests from Monday to Wednesday.According to UEFA rules, the official 23 player list will have to be finalized before 12.00 29 May.
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MILANELLO - All the photos from today's training session at the Milanello sports centre.
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