Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed he will be returning to the Bianconeri line-up, dismissing the rumours linking him with a move away from the side.
Buffon would like to return prior to Christmas, but knows he still needs time to train and improve.
"I am back in training and things are going very well," the shot-stopper told SkySport24. "We are ahead of schedule by a week or so, which is good.
"I think I will be back in January, but whether it is at the start or end, I am uncertain. It will depend on my condition, as it takes time.
"I will remain at Juve. I think the kind words by [sporting director Giuseppe] Marotta show how highly he regards me.
"I am also certain that we have the ability to play to win the Scudetto. It is an objective of the club, coach and the players want to reach," he concluded.
More calls have emerged from the defence team at the Calciopoli 2 trial in Naples, and a number of transcripted phonecalls concerning Milan will be presented when the court hearing resumes on Tuesday.
As part of a batch of 300 hundred calls to be aquired by the court next week, one shows former Milan aide to referees Leandro Meani reminding the club to give referees watches.
The latest evidence, like so many other calls, were left out in 2006, but they are now part of the criminal trial at the tribunal of Naples.
An extract from this particular call involves Meani and Milan chief Adriano Galliani's secretary at the time known as signora Mary.
The call was for Galliani, but he left it to the secretary who often responded on his behalf. An extract of the call, as published by Tuttosport reads:
Meani: "I wanted to gift the referees that will come tomorrow the usual watches, but some of them have already received them, and so the stock room could give me trouble."
Signora Mary: "Tell them to send it to me and I will sign it off to authorise it."
The call is key to growing evidence at the trial which was left out during original investigations in 2006.
Back then, former referee Massimo De Santis was accused of having obtained a load of Juventus shirts to give to family and friends.
The trial will resume on Tuesday in which Luciano Moggi's defence team are expected to hand over the 300 calls including that of Meani.
Felipe Melo says it's too soon to talk about winning the title at Juventus.
Juventus currently lie fourth in the table, six points behind League leaders Milan.
Speaking to Sky Italia, Melo said: “Now the team is winning. The team is giving good performances. Last year, no.
“When the group does well, things go well. I am much calmer with respect to last year. I get fewer yellow cards. I make fewer fouls.
“I like the people who stop me and say nice things. I want to become an idol of this club. I want to get back into the national team and to do that I must also do well for the club.
“We are still not ready to win the Scudetto. We must keep growing. We must be realistic and say that Milan and Inter are a step above us."
Juventus sporting director Beppe Marotta has confirmed the club's intentions to try and sign on-loan Alberto Aquilani on a permanent deal.
Aquilani joined Juve in the summer in a season-long loan after failing to make any impact during his season with Liverpool in the Premier League. After impressing on his return to Italy, Aquilani could be rewarded with a long-term deal with Juve.
When asked about the possibility of buying Aquilani from Liverpool, Marotta told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “From our side there is the complete resolve to do this. He's doing better than expected. But we have time, until June next year to do this.
“In January we will try to strengthen the team, always in the context of our business plan.”
The 26-year-old midfielder started his career with hometown club Roma, before Liverpool splashed out €20 million on him. His solitary season in England was hampered by injuries and poor form, but Aquilani has recaptured his previous form at Juve.
Juventus GM Beppe Marotta has turned on match officials after their 1-1 draw with AS Roma.
The Bianconeri chief was furious after seeing Francesco Totti convert a penalty for Simone Pepe’s handling offence in the wall.
“The penalty given to Roma was exactly like the one Milan did not concede when Kevin Prince Boateng blocked a free kick with his arm in Milan-Palermo,” moaned Marotta.
“At that time they let it go, here they did not. It is not fair to draw like this. Some people say we have been favoured by referees, but look at the Milos Krasic affair and tell me where these advantages are.”
Krasic was given a two-match ban for diving to win a penalty against Bologna when video evidence was used.
“There has to be more respect and uniformity in the decisions. I saw the replay 10 times. Pepe had his back to the ball, Totti was very close and the shot was very powerful. He raised his arm and jumped to protect himself, it’s bio-mechanics.
“If the penalty were to be ‘compensation’ for the alleged Giorgio Chiellini foul on Philippe Mexes a few minutes earlier, then that would be even worse. The team was badly affected by this spot-kick and without that incident we would’ve taken home the win.
“Referee Rizzoli’s refereeing was totally insufficient and I believe video evidence should be used against Borriello.”
Victory against Roma will define Juventus' identity and shape their presence among the Scudetto challengers, claims coach Luigi Del Neri.
Del Neri knows his side cannot lose ground to Inter and Milan, and his voice of encouragement provides a fighting fund on which to base their challenge against the Lupi on Saturday night.
"Tomorrow we will take to the field to fight and to win," he told the press.
"Our objective is to improve game after game and we have to know how to make the best of a good moment when it is presented.
"There is a group of very strong teams who are all equipped to fight for the Scudetto until the very end.
"It's an open championship and there are many solutions, but there are still so many games to go.
"We have a compact group and recent situations [injuries] have gone to stimulate the team.
"We are working well, but we have to carrying on improving."
In his press conference, Claudio Ranieri gave an elaborate and illuminating view of the cluster of strength lifting his side to new fortunes.
Del Neri agrees Roma are at their highest point so far in the season and based his claim on their cohesion - connected by years of experience.
"Roma stronger than us? If you base that on the fact their their group of players has been the same for years then I would say yes," he said.
"Ranieri has always done well. He has the quality to help Roma grow stronger."
Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo came on as a substitute in the 3-1 win over Cesena, but pulled up limp during the match had to be taken off after just 15 minutes of action. However, medical exams on Monday revealed no injury for the player, according to Tuttosport.
The tests which included magnetic resonance imaging ruled out any muscular injury to the right thigh of the Brazilian, though he will still be rested for the midweek trip to Brescia.
Meanwhile, summer loan signing Armand Traore has returned to full training and should be available for the clash against the Rondinelle. He has yet to make an appearance in Serie A due to a hamstring problem.
The Bianconeri currently sit joint fourth place in Serie A, four points behind league leaders Lazio.
This morning Milos Krasic and Nicola Legrottaglie underwent at Fornaca Clinic in Sessant instrumental tests to evaluate their respective injuries. The tests showed for Krasic a first instance lesion at his left thigh adductor muscle. The prognosis is of 25 days. Nicola Legrottaglie, during the last minutes of the match vs. Salzburg, suffered a first/second instance lesion at his right femoral biceps. For the defender the prognosis is of 40 days.
Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon has explained missing the club's team photo.
Speculation over the goalkeeper’s future and a potential January move to Manchester United intensified after he failed to attend the team’s official photo session on Friday.
“I was not with the squad simply because I had to undergo a very important physiotherapy session for my recovery process,” insisted Buffon.
“Yesterday we tested out the efficiency of the leg after the operation and I had some very positive signs.
“In the evening I then had to be in Switzerland to pick up an award as best goalkeeper in the world. I had promised I’d be there, so I couldn’t back out.”
The agent of Gigi Buffon has hit back at criticism over the goalkeeper's decision to skip Juventus' team photo last week.
Even coach Gigi del Neri has expressed his disappointment.
But agent Silvana Martino insists: "Gigi is one of the most decent people that we have - and not just in football. Buffon is recovering from a serious accident, is working 5-6 hours a day, everything is going well, and decided to focus only on this, and follow Juventus at home.
"It seems strange because everyone, since he lives in Turin, could also see what has happened to him ...".
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