Juventus are confident their star midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba will sign contract extensions with the club.
Both players have attracted the attention of leading European clubs and have been strongly linked with a move away from Turin next season.
Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta is not letting that speculation concern him, and he remains optimistic about the duo staying with the Italian Serie A champions.
“There are no new developments regarding Pirlo and Pogba’s contract extensions,” Marotta told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I don’t think these deals will be completed before Christmas.
“However, we are calm. The two players consider Juve their natural habitat.
“Our squad is world-class, and it is difficult to find any other team better than ours.”
Italian World Cup winner Pirlo, 34, becomes a free agent next summer and is a reported target of Real Madrid.
France international Pogba, 20, is under contract with Juve until June 2016, but is expected to sign an improved deal with the Turin outfit.
Pogba, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, scored five goals in 27 league appearances to help Juve win the Serie A title last season.
Sassuolo
Sassuolo defender Francesco Acerbi denied he is guilty of doping and demanded the Italian media grant him respect after confirming that he failed a drug test.
Acerbi was provisionally suspended last week by an Italian anti-doping agency after he failed a test for high levels of the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) following his team’s Serie A victory against Cagliari on December 1.
The Italian, 25, who underwent an operation for testicular cancer in July, told Italian TV Italia Uno: “I have never taken any illegal substance and it’s painful to be accused of that.
“I understand that the press has a job to do, but these accusations have been very annoying, not so much for me but my loved ones.”
Sassuolo confirmed Acerbi was not undergoing any treatment and, therefore, had not requested any special dispensation for the former AC Milan and Chievo player. High levels of HCG can be produced by a cancerous tumour.
“The high-level hormone can be a consequence of many things,” Acerbi said.
“I will have some tests done. You cannot point the finger at someone without knowing the situation. I demand respect for my health and for my family.
“I’ve had doping tests done before the game against Cagliari and had I taken something, I would have already tested positive before that.
“Those that have branded me as a cheat have disgraced me, my club and my doctors.”
Ascoli
Former Serie A club Ascoli were declared bankrupt by an Italian court yesterday. Attempts to save the 115-year-old club from financial ruin were unsuccessful.
“Ascoli’s bankruptcy was inevitable,” judge Raffaele Agostini said in the courtroom.“I am a judge, but also a great fan of Ascoli, but unfortunately, we have to respect the law.
“There was no possibility of postponing the ruling, because there are demands that have to be taken care of immediately.”
Ascoli competed 16 seasons in Serie A since 1974, the last in 2006/07 before being demoted and falling into financial trouble.
The club is playing in the third-tier Lega Pro Prima Division.
Inter Milan
Inter Milan will face the partial closure of the San Siro in Sunday’s city derby against AC Milan.
Inter will have the north section of their stadium closed for two games – against Milan and Chievo – as punishment for repeated racial incidents among fans.
Inter fans were found guilty of abusive chants directed at Napoli supporters during Inter’s 4-2 loss in Naples on Sunday.
They have also been fined €50,000 (Dh252,784).
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
