News + Rumors
In the past week, about a billion names have been mentioned in the context of Fiorentina, but most of them blew over by the next day. I think I'm going to try to only talk about the more consistent rumors -- consistency doesn't at all mean the stories are likely to be true, but we'll all go insane if we try to keep track of every name that comes up for the next three months.
•Random stuff: Dainelli's baby was born! Yay! Also, everyone has really boring holiday plans. Boo. And Cesare wants to win the Champions League with homegrown players one day, ala Barca. Awwwwww.
•Seculin made the roster for the U21 Euros in Sweden later this month -- along with Balotelli he's the baby of the group, since a lot of the guys are 22 and 23 already. (Gulan will also be in Sweden, playing with Serbia; they're Italy's first opponents.)
•In other international news, Krol has pulled out Norway's Denmark's team for their match against Sweden, cos his knee hurts. How long has it been since he and Jorgy were fully fit at the same time? This isn't a Pazzo/Monty mojo-sharing situation, is it?
•Some details on Jorgy's contract: As Corvino said last week, it's incentive-based, and if Jorgy plays at least half of 20 or more matches, he'll make €800,000 next season. If he doesn't reach that threshold, his salary will be only about €400,000. Also, Ruby just posted scans from this month's Calcio Italia, which features an interview with Jorgy (locked to ahh_serie_a members). &hearts
•As usual, there are lots of speculative stories about Mutu leaving, the most specific of which right now is that Galatasaray want him. In a long interview yesterday, though, Mutu said he wants to finish his career in Fiorentina. So there? He also appointed Jojo his heir (Jojo: "Does this mean I won't play next season? Like, at all?"), and announced that he plans to score 26 goals in the league alone next season. SWEET.
•There's also endless talk about Melo leaving, both because he kicks people and because Corvino keeps saying there is no money to spend if they don't sell, and Melo's possibly Fiorentina's most valuable commodity right now. There's alleged interest from a lot of places, including Real and Barca, but only Inter supposedly have spoken with his agent; the reported offer is €18 million + Burdisso. (Damn you, Fiorentina, for your Nico weakness! ASK FOR CASH!) His agent, while saying there has been contact, and that Fiorentina have "had many offers," also has repeatedly said that Melo would be happy to renew, because he likes it in purple. (Based on what Corvino's said, if he really wants to stay, he will. We'll see what happens.)
•The other main name in the rumors about who might leave is Kuzi, who's allegedly still wanted not only by Atletico Madrid and Seville, but also Milan, and would bring in about €8 million if he goes (though it's being said that Milan would try to offer less cash + the loan of either Senderos or Bonera). Kuzi's agent, meanwhile, says his client is close to renewing with La Viola; again -- if can believe Corvino -- if he wants to stay, he'll stay.
•Well, Lupoli, at least, wants to leave for good. How much do you think they'd get for him? Enough for, like, 1/8 of a defender?
•In terms of arrivals, meanwhile, during the last two days the press have been getting more and more sure that Panucci (AKA Old Man River, AKA OMR for short) is coming on a free from Roma. If the stories are true, his contact would be very similar to the one that was offered Crespo: €1 million for one season + incentives, and the option for a second year.
•There's also been a lot of talk about Obafemi Martins from Newcastle, which seems to have come out of nowhere. According to the Italian press, he's valued at about €8.5 million, but since he just had surgery, it's doubtful that Fiorentina would be willing to pay that much. He is awesome, though, has an Italian passport, and is familiar with Serie A from his time at Inter. And, Newcastle need to offload salary, right? Hmmm. That said, it's hard to imagine him going somewhere he knows he'll be seen as a bench player.
•The news on other alleged arrivals, meanwhile, isn't so good: Subotic isn't for sale, Cruzi wants to go to Juve (?!), and Matri really like Fiorentina, but doesn't want to sit on the bench. *sigh*
•Random stuff: Dainelli's baby was born! Yay! Also, everyone has really boring holiday plans. Boo. And Cesare wants to win the Champions League with homegrown players one day, ala Barca. Awwwwww.
•Seculin made the roster for the U21 Euros in Sweden later this month -- along with Balotelli he's the baby of the group, since a lot of the guys are 22 and 23 already. (Gulan will also be in Sweden, playing with Serbia; they're Italy's first opponents.)
•In other international news, Krol has pulled out Norway's Denmark's team for their match against Sweden, cos his knee hurts. How long has it been since he and Jorgy were fully fit at the same time? This isn't a Pazzo/Monty mojo-sharing situation, is it?
•Some details on Jorgy's contract: As Corvino said last week, it's incentive-based, and if Jorgy plays at least half of 20 or more matches, he'll make €800,000 next season. If he doesn't reach that threshold, his salary will be only about €400,000. Also, Ruby just posted scans from this month's Calcio Italia, which features an interview with Jorgy (locked to ahh_serie_a members). &hearts
•As usual, there are lots of speculative stories about Mutu leaving, the most specific of which right now is that Galatasaray want him. In a long interview yesterday, though, Mutu said he wants to finish his career in Fiorentina. So there? He also appointed Jojo his heir (Jojo: "Does this mean I won't play next season? Like, at all?"), and announced that he plans to score 26 goals in the league alone next season. SWEET.
•There's also endless talk about Melo leaving, both because he kicks people and because Corvino keeps saying there is no money to spend if they don't sell, and Melo's possibly Fiorentina's most valuable commodity right now. There's alleged interest from a lot of places, including Real and Barca, but only Inter supposedly have spoken with his agent; the reported offer is €18 million + Burdisso. (Damn you, Fiorentina, for your Nico weakness! ASK FOR CASH!) His agent, while saying there has been contact, and that Fiorentina have "had many offers," also has repeatedly said that Melo would be happy to renew, because he likes it in purple. (Based on what Corvino's said, if he really wants to stay, he will. We'll see what happens.)
•The other main name in the rumors about who might leave is Kuzi, who's allegedly still wanted not only by Atletico Madrid and Seville, but also Milan, and would bring in about €8 million if he goes (though it's being said that Milan would try to offer less cash + the loan of either Senderos or Bonera). Kuzi's agent, meanwhile, says his client is close to renewing with La Viola; again -- if can believe Corvino -- if he wants to stay, he'll stay.
•Well, Lupoli, at least, wants to leave for good. How much do you think they'd get for him? Enough for, like, 1/8 of a defender?
•In terms of arrivals, meanwhile, during the last two days the press have been getting more and more sure that Panucci (AKA Old Man River, AKA OMR for short) is coming on a free from Roma. If the stories are true, his contact would be very similar to the one that was offered Crespo: €1 million for one season + incentives, and the option for a second year.
•There's also been a lot of talk about Obafemi Martins from Newcastle, which seems to have come out of nowhere. According to the Italian press, he's valued at about €8.5 million, but since he just had surgery, it's doubtful that Fiorentina would be willing to pay that much. He is awesome, though, has an Italian passport, and is familiar with Serie A from his time at Inter. And, Newcastle need to offload salary, right? Hmmm. That said, it's hard to imagine him going somewhere he knows he'll be seen as a bench player.
•The news on other alleged arrivals, meanwhile, isn't so good: Subotic isn't for sale, Cruzi wants to go to Juve (?!), and Matri really like Fiorentina, but doesn't want to sit on the bench. *sigh*