Goran Pandev's agent Carlo Pallavicino has rubbished reports linking his client with a move to Chelsea and he insists the Macedonian hit-man will not be swapping Lazio for London...

Reports in both England and Italy claimed Chelsea were looking at Pandev as a possible signing for the future, with the Daily Mirror suggesting the Blues were ready to lure the striker to Stamford Bridge.

Pallavicino has heard of the reported interest in his client and he has slammed the door on a possible move as well as deny the speculation.

"The news is without foundation," Pallavicino told Noiaquilebiancocelesti.com.

"There is nothing to say on this matter as well as a contract renewal seeing that for the moment, there are no appointments in our agenda."

The Biancocelesti are currently four points of the pace in Serie A as they travel to the Stadio Bentegodi later tonight to take on Chievo Verona.

Pandev is likely to start for Lazio but a move to Chelsea is not following his agent's latest revelations.

Real Madrid are considering making a move to tempt Frank Rijkaard to replace Bernd Schuster in January if the club's form in all competitions does not improve, according to a report.

The Spanish champions will give their German coach another two months to turn things around, but the board are becoming frustrated with the displays and reports of unrest in training, according to Barça-biased daily Sport.

Rijkaard is top of Los Merengues' list of would-be replacements in January as he would immediately command the respect of the squad, including the five Dutch players on the staff.

Schuster oversaw the club's domestic title last term, but Ramón Calderón and several directors do not believe that any improvement has been made and that the team is struggling this term.

Back-to-back defeats by Juventus also left question marks about the coach's ability to lead the club to the latter rounds of the Champions League.

Another factor is Schuster's right-hand man, Manolo Ruiz, who Sport claim is unpopular with the players as he is a harsh critic of their performances and his training methods do not all go down well.

While Madrid may yet consider replacing their trainer, as has been mooted in the Madrid-biased media too, Rijkaard would probably not accept the post and would not be welcome by the club's hardliners.

The most likely destination for the Dutch trainer is AC Milan next summer, while Schuster's future could also be decided at the end of the season rather than midway through this term.

 

MADRID (AFP) — Real Madrid, suffering a shortage of strikers, want to sign Russian Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg in January on a six-month loan, a Spanish sports newspaper said Tuesday.

The Spanish champions, currently fourth in the Primera Liga, would then negotiate the purchase of the striker with Zenit, based on his performance during those six months, the AS daily said.

It said the Russian and UEFA Cup champions are seeking 30 million euros for their 27-year-old star.

But Real would be unable to play Arshavin in the Champions League as he has already turned out for Zenit in the competition this season, AS said.

The club is on the lookout for new strikers after Brazil's Robinho left for Manchester City in September and Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy suffered a knee injury which could see him out of action for several weeks.

Manchester United's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was linked with the Real for several months, but the English champions refused to sell.

Real is currently two points behind league leaders Barcelona, with its attack relying largely on the good form of Argentine Gonzalo Higuain.

They are to face third division Real Union at home in the second leg of the last 32 of the Spanish Cup Tuesday, after losing the first leg 3-2.

In the Champions League, Real has suffered two defeats against Juventus, and must beat Zenit next month to be sure of qualifying for the last eight.

Fabio Cannavaro believes that the squad rotation policy at Real Madrid could extend his playing career and he is enjoying his first taste of being rested.

The Italian central defender has admitted to never having been part of a similar system before, but is enjoying the opportunity to not play every single match.

Bernd Schuster is keen to keep his players' legs fresh depending on the following match and Cannavaro has even been able to take time out from training to conserve energy.

"It will extend players' careers," the former Parma, Juve and Inter centre-half, told reporters from the Italian national team camp in Florence.

"Of the seven games this season, I have played in five and once the coach told me to forget about training and to stay at home with my family.

"With Madrid it is the first time in my career that I have been part of a rotation policy."

Cannavaro then reflected on the lack of new defenders coming through the ranks in Italy and called for more work to be done at youth level.

"My generation and the one before produced some great players for that position. But now I do see only a few new Cannavaros," he continued.

"Italy need to work with the youth even more, like that did with us."

Former Manchester United forward Ruud Van Nistelrooy has made the sensational claim that Cristiano Ronaldo is set to quit Old Trafford for the Bernabeu...

The saga involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid was one of the most enduring of the summer's transfer window. After seemingly endless weeks of speculations and cat-calls, the Portuguese winger decided to stay-put with the European champions and the rumours temporarily subsided. 

A heart-to-heart with his manager Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly quenched the 23 year-old's desire to move on.

However, as Europe's top leagues break for international fixtures, Real Madrid's Dutch forward has cast the attention back to the furore by claiming that Ronaldo is definitely going to the Bernabeu in the near future.

After falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of the 2005/06 season, Van Nistelrooy followed another former United star David Beckham to Real Madrid and he has tipped Ronaldo to do the same in the next two years. 

Speaking to Marca, the 32 year-old declared: "One day Ronaldo will join us. This could happen next summer, or the one after."

Macedonian international Goran Pandev is on a rampage in the Italian Seria A. Three times has been voted already in the Best 11 Seria A team.

He is the second leading scorer in the Calcio League, and best of all, Pandev has assisted on many of Lazio's goals.

His latest goal came in the Italian Cup (Coppa Italia), Lazio defeated Atalanta 2-0. The Macedonian international scored the second goal.
We should note that despite Pandev's signing and becoming Lazio's highest player, there has been heated discussion among top European Clubs that Pandev may leave Lazio.
Apparently, Russian Champion Zenit of St Petersburg is prepared to shell out 40,000,000 euros for Pandev who has been picked to replace Andrei Arshavin.
Premiership side Chelsea and Spanish Real Madrid are also entertaining the idea of signing Pandev, spoiling Zenit's chances.
So far the Macedonian striker has been linked with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Though Pandev has issued a statement that he will not leave Lazio, it'll be difficult for his club to ignore a massive financial offer. Money talks.

Lazio's Macedonian striker Goran Pandev insists that things at Lazio are better this year and that he's enjoying himself at the club...

 The Biancocelesti have had a blistering start to the season, winning three of their four matches and only dropping points away at the San Siro against Milan. A major factor in the capital club's success so far has been the youth and quality in their squad, with Argentinian Mauro Zarate particularly standing out as a major player.

Lazio are the top scorers in Serie A, with Zarate on four goals and Goran Pandev on three after his goal in the 3-0 demolition of Fiorentina in midweek.

Pandev, who joined Lazio in 2004, has become a great success and firm fans' favourite since his arrival from rivals Inter Milan. The Macedonian star has settled in well with the Biancocelesti and his partnership with Tomasso Rocchi up front has produced the goods for the capital club. He is now developing a good understanding with new starlet Zarate as well and is finding his time at the club more enjoyable than ever.

“We enjoy ourselves and we fear no one,” said Pandev. “For me this is a beautiful period, but I must still work very hard, especially on my headers.

“Shortly Rocchi will return from injury. It is a great group of players and the new arrivals have integrated well.”

The striker concluded with a thought on the league standings, saying, “I’m not going to speak about the Scudetto, but I hope Roma stay behind us!”

Seville, Spain (Sports Network) - Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in stoppage time to help Real Madrid slip past Real Betis, 2-1 on Saturday at Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

Gabriel Heinze got the defending champions off to a good start with his goal in the 19th minute, but Betis leveled the match in the 54th minute when Sergio Garcia followed up a missed penalty kick to beat Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Both teams were down to 10 men for the final eight minutes of the game, but Real snatched the maximum points when Arjen Robben set up Van Nistelrooy for the game winner.

Rafael Van der Vaart set up the opening goal when he curled a free kick into the box from the left. Heinze then cut between two defenders and nodded the ball home from close range.

The home side nearly equalized before halftime when Mehmet Aurelio's deflected cross from the right fell into the path of Achille Emana inside the area. Emana struck the ball first time for the bottom corner but Casillas got a hand to the ball, knocking it off the post.

Betis did pull level shortly after the restart when Damia got behind the defense and was clipped by Marcelo on his to goal, giving Betis a spot kick and earning the Real defender a red card.

Garcia stepped to the spot and had his kick stopped by Casillas, but the rebound fell to his feet for an easy finish to make it 1-1.

However, Garcia picked up a second yellow card eight minutes from time, and Robben set up Van Nistelrooy for the winning strike by running at a defender and laying a pass of to his countryman. Van Nistelrooy got into the box on the right and rolled the ball perfectly inside the far post, denying the hosts a point.

Villarreal moved to the top of the table with a 1-0 win over last-place Sporting Gijon, which lost to Real Madrid and Barcelona by a combined 13-2 this past week. Sporting hung tough with Villarreal on Saturday but a Giuseppe Rossi goal in the 65th minute finally put them away.

Barcelona fell behind 1-0 to Espanyol but rallied to win 2-1 as Thierry Henry scored in the 84th minute and Lionel Messi converted a spot kick on the final play of the game to give Barca the win.

Real Madrid have been given a major boost with the news that Wesley Sneijder is back training with the squad, just two months after his knee injury.

 The creative midfielder tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee less than two months ago after a clash with Arsenal’s Abou Diaby in a pre-season friendly.

The injury was expected to keep him sidelined until at least December, so for Bernt Schuster to see the diminutive Dutchman back in training will give his battle-scarred midfield a major boost.  

It has been a miraculous comeback, and is testament to the determination of Sneijder to regain fitness and also the skill and care of the Real Madrid medical team who aided his recuperation.  

He resumed light training just at the right time for Madrid, who saw Fernando Gago and then Guti pick up injuries that will rule them out of action for the next few weeks.

Although they will be reluctant to rush him back into the side, he may be required as soon as possible to cover for the loss of his teammates.  

Real Madrid were in good spirits in training after their exhibition of skill outclassed Sporting Gijon 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, and the Madrid faithful are desperate to see Sneijder re-united with his ex-Ajax compatriot Van Der Vaart in the centre of midfield.