Azzurri Some Day for Claudio Ranieri

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Claudio Ranieri has expressed an interest in managing Italy, saying he could “never rule out” taking over his country’s national team.

The 64-year-old’s remarkable success with Leicester City has significantly boosted his profile and led to Carlo Tavecchio, the president of the Italian football federation, suggesting he could one day lead Italy to World Cup glory, and even suggested Ranieri, who was born in Rome, could succeed Antonio Conte after he leaves the national team following their participation at Euro 2016 and joins Chelsea.

“I hope Ranieri can win a World Cup with Italy, that would be the best,” said Tavecchio. “I’m speaking in an abstract way, of course, and not necessarily about the next World Cup. Claudio is still young and will have time on his side.

“Have we thought about him as a replacement for Conte? It’s him who should be thinking about us!”

Ranieri’s previous experience of international management was with Greece, a post he was sacked from prior to taking over at Leicester last July.

“I’ll admit I was curious about coaching a national team, but my experience with Greece was sufficient,” Ranieri said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Of course, leading Italy would be something else. I’d never rule that out, and I’d like that very much. And Leicester, after all, have blue shirts just like the Azzurri.”

During the same interview, Ranieri admitted that he would have accepted a job in “the Football League” after being let go by Greece, such was his desire to return to England having previously managed in this country with Chelsea.

“Two other Premier clubs had contacted me but then they made other choices. Leicester convinced me because of their sense of leadership, their programs, and their facilities. They are perfectly organised,” said Ranieri. “When I met the players I told them: ‘I’ll take a bit of time to know you all because you are so many, but you will need to know a single person: me. I ask only one thing: that you give all you can for each other’. And they did.”

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Juventus Win Scudetto

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Roma’s Radja Nainggolan scored the only goal in the final minute against Napoli to end Maurizio Sarri’s team’s slim hopes of catching Serie A leaders Juventus.

Napoli needed to win in Rome to stand any chance of catching Juve, who overcame a poor start to the campaign to win 24 of their 25 next games. Juve lead Napoli by 12 points with three games to go, while Roma’s win sees them move just two points behind second and seven clear of fourth-placed Internazionale.

Juventus say they have no intention of selling their top players and are determined to assert themselves as a major force in Europe next season after wrapping a fifth successive Serie A title.

Despite their domestic dominance, Juve’s European form has been patchy over the past few seasons with one group stage elimination and two defeats to Bayern Munich – in the quarter-finals and this season in the round of 16. Even when they reached the final last season, they were seen as upstarts rather than equals of teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has been in charge for the last two seasons, wants that to change and is determined to strengthen the squad still further in the close season.

“The club will focus on improving the squad, as it did last summer, bringing in young players with great technique. Next year we must focus on winning the Champions League. It’s somewhat narrow-minded just to focus just on Serie A,” he said. “It was hard to digest this year. We got knocked out this year on the final cross of the game against Bayern Munich but we need to do better next year.”

Serie A clubs often have trouble holding onto their players in the face of the greater financial power of their English and Spanish counterparts. However, Juventus have already stated that they intend to keep Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba, their two most precocious talents.

Pogba, 23, has come on hugely this season after being given more responsibility after the departure of the veteran playmaker Andrea Pirlo. A player who combines finesse and physical power, Pogba could fetch more than £100m if sold, Juventus estimate. Allegri, however, said jokingly last week that he would rather keep the Frenchman than have the money to spend in the transfer market.

Dybala, one year younger, has also shone in his first season following his move from Palermo, scoring 16 goals.

“Over the course of our history, Juventus have very rarely let our best players go. Paul, as well as Dybala, is part of the core of this team and we do not intend to put them on the market,” said the chief executive, Giuseppe Marotta. “We want to go out and get great players while keeping our most valuable pieces. We will only sell players who have told us they want to leave, but that is not the case with Pogba or Dybala or any of the others.”

In many ways, this year’s title has been the most unexpected of the last five. Juventus got off to a miserable start after losing Pirlo as well as top scorer Carlos Tevez to his native Argentina and tireless midfielder Arturo Vidal to Bayern Munich, and were 11 points off the pace by the end of October. But after taking 73 points out of a possible 75, they clinched another title with five games to spare.

“To win this season would be really crazy and unbelievable,” said the goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon after the 2-1 win at Fiorentina on Sunday. “We’ve shown the technical and moral strength of the group, the determination not to give in and our ability to astonish.”

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Aduriz Hits First Gol for La Roja

Aritz Aduriz scored his first goal for Spain at the age of 35 to give the reigning European champions a fortuitous 1-1 draw against Italy in a friendly in Udine.

Lorenzo Insigne ended Spain’s run of six successive clean sheets when he finished off a counterattack to give the hosts a deserved lead midway through the second half at the Stadio Friuli.

However, Aduriz, who made his only previous appearance for Spain six years ago and was recalled thanks to his prolific form with Athletic Bilbao, replied three minutes later with Spain’s first shot on target.

The result ended Spain’s run of seven successive wins and they would have lost if had it not been for an inspired performance by their goalkeeper David de Gea.

Italy were missing the midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti and the defenders Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, while Spain were without the forward Diego Costa.

The hosts fielded a 3-4-3 formation and were far livelier than a pedestrian Spain. Antonio Candreva nearly put them ahead with a long-range shot in the first half that De Gea turned around the post.

Italy took the lead in the 67th minute when the substitute Insigne diverted Emanuele Giaccherini’s low cross past De Gea following a quick break.

They led for only four minutes before Cesc Fàbregas floated a free-kick into the area, Gianluigi Buffon failed to hold Álvaro Morata’s header and Aduriz fired the rebound into the roof of the net.

Insigne thought he had won the game for Italy with a delightful chip over De Gea but the goalkeeper managed to tip the ball over the bar.

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Max Kruse Drops to New Low

Joachim Löw has confirmed Max Kruse has been dropped from the squad to face England and Italy after behaving “unprofessionally”.

Kruse is reported to have grabbed a mobile phone from a woman who was taking pictures of him in a night club in Berlin, where he was celebrating his 28th birthday.

The Wolfsburg forward apologised for his actions but after being given a warning by his club over his future conduct, Low has now told him not to show up for international duty.

“I made it clear to Max Kruse last week what I expect from him, both on and off the field,” said Löw on the German Football Association’s website.

I want players who focus on football and the European Championship, even between matches.

“Last weekend’s incident goes against my expectations. Max has once again behaved unprofessionally and I don’t accept that.

“Euro 2016 is on the horizon and we have big goals as a team there. We need players who are focused and aware of their status as a role model.”

The Germany squad is due to congregate in Berlin on Tuesday with 26 players rather than the originally summoned 27 expected.

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Chelsea v Paris Saint German - Preview

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Guus Hiddink has defended Diego Costa after Paris St Germain branded the Chelsea striker a fraud ahead of Wednesday's Champions League showdown at Stamford Bridge.

PSG's social media team upped the ante on the eve of the last-16, second-leg tie with a video montage of masked super heroes titled 'Spot the fraud', which also included Costa, who has been playing with a protective mask due to a broken nose.

Manager Laurent Blanc warned his PSG players to stay cool when facing Costa, who has scored 10 goals in 14 games under Hiddink, but has just one Champions League goal in two seasons and 14 games with the Blues.

Costa, available after missing Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke as a precaution over a minor tendon problem, has a reputation for riling opponents.

He has never been sent off for Chelsea, although he has served two retrospective three-match domestic bans in his two seasons in London.

"I'm very proud of him the way he's playing and, going not over the edge, but he likes to fight in the real way of the game," said Hiddink, whose side are looking to get back into the tie after losing the first leg in Paris 2-1.

"That's what we like. I protect him and support him when he's doing what he has done in my period at Chelsea.

"He scored recently in not the worst league in the world. In the Premier League he frequently is scoring now, since December, January.

"Before he had this problem of not scoring, as did the team. Let's see and hope he can make it to the European level as well."

Hiddink also issued a robust defence of Eden Hazard ahead of the game.

The Belgium playmaker, Chelsea's leading performer in last season's Premier League and Capital One Cup double, has struggled for form this campaign.

On the eve of the first leg, Hazard suggested a move to PSG would be difficult to turn down, stoking speculation he is hoping to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.

He was substituted in the 2-1 defeat at Parc des Princes last month but Hiddink attributed that to his return from a groin injury.

"At that time when he was playing away in Paris he was in that period just coming back from a rather severe injury," added Hiddink.

"We could not ask him to be game fit at that moment. He had two or three actions that looked like Hazard.

"We are some weeks further into the league and game fitness. He can and must show what he is capable of, which is more than the away game."

The Blues are up against PSG for a third straight season. Chelsea won the quarter-final tie in 2014 on away goals, but were defeated at the last-16 stage in 2015 by the same method.

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