Allegri: More to come from Milan

The Rossoneri boss believes his side still has plenty of room for improvement as it continued its preparations for the new season with a 2-1 victory over Valencia

Massimiliano Allegri says there is even more to come from his AC Milan players after seeing his side overcome Valencia at the Estadio Mestalla on Saturday.

A first-half strike from Robinho and a 25-yard curling effort from Nigel De Jong put the visitors 2-0 ahead in the Guinness International Champions Cup encounter, and they held on for victory despite Dani Parejo's goal for Miroslav Djukic's men.

Speaking to SportMediaset, Allegri conceded that he had concerns over his side's fading fitness levels late in the game but assured fans that improvement was

Mourinho insists he has no problem with Wenger

The Blues boss claims that his relationship with the Frenchman has improved during his time away from England and says that he has a lot of respect for the Arsenal manager

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists that he has no problem with Arsene Wenger and says that the Arsenal boss is "a nice guy".

The two have clashed in the past, particularly during the Portuguese's first spell at Stamford Bridge, when he famously called the Gunners coach a "voyeur".

However, Mourinho insists that he now gets on well with the Frenchman and that their relationship has progressed during his time away from the England.

"He's a nice guy," he told reporters. "I had a chance to meet him

Negredo welcomes competition for places at Manchester City

The 27-year-old says that having four strikers within the squad will "help the club succeed", while also insisting that he has the skill to match his physicality

New Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo is encouraged by the competition for places within the current squad.

Negredo joined Manuel Pellegrini’s side from Sevilla in a 25 million euro deal this summer, making him one of four forwards at the club alongside Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and fellow new signing Stevan Jovetic.

But the 27-year-old is unfazed by the prospect of fighting for his place within City’s starting XI, instead believing that such competition will

'Racists are threatened by Balotelli'

Italy's first black government minister has spoken out against racism in the country and its football stadiums and backed the Azzurri star to rise above provocation

Italy's Minister for Integration, Cecile Kyenge, says racists feel threatened by Mario Balotelli.

Congolese-born surgeon Kyenge, who endured racist slurs this week when bananas were thrown at her during a political rally, spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport about the growing problem in Italy and how to tackle the issue.

"If you are a good administrator or political leader, then you have to be able to recognize this problem, understand the causes and find the right way to communicate and react," she explained. "Racism is helped by the economic crisis, by fear, insecurity and an

Forlan says Suarez signing would make Arsenal title contenders again

The 34-year-old believes that the Liverpool forward can help fill the void left at the Gunners by Thierry Henry's departure and urges Arsene Wenger to keep pursuing his signature

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has urged Arsenal to sign Luis Suarez if they want to become serious title contenders once again.

Depsite Liverpool having so far rejected two bids for from the Gunners, Forlan believes that his compatriot would be the ideal recruit for Arsene Wenger.

"If they manage to sign Luis, then I think, with the players they already have, they would be serious title contenders again," the Internacional striker told reporters. "Only Luis knows what his plans are but he would be a great

Bosingwa leaves QPR by mutual consent

After a poor season ending in relegation from the Premier League, the fullback agrees a departure from Loftus Road and is now set to join Turkish outfit Trabzonspor

Portuguese defender Jose Bosingwa has left QPR by mutual consent.

The 30-year-old signed a three-year deal at Loftus Road last summer but found himself largely out of favour after falling out with manager Harry Redknapp.

After refusing to take his place among the substitutes for a fixture against Fulham in December, Redknapp hinted at the time that he would be sold in January.

Directly addressing Bosingwa after a defeat at Newcastle, Redknapp said: "He didn't travel. He felt he was too good to be on the

Chiellini: Juventus targeting Supercoppa glory

The defender believes upcoming matches will help the Bianconeri prepare for the traditional curtain raiser and reassured fans that the club's newest signings are adapting well

Juventus center back Giorgio Chiellini is targeting Supercoppa glory as the Serie A champion looks to kick off the new season with silverware.

The 28-year-old, who returned from international duty following Italy's Confederations Cup campaign, will take part in the Guiness International Champions Cup in America, along with his teammates, before facing Lazio in the curtain-raiser ahead of the new campaign.

And he is hoping that their preparation in their upcoming

Isco confident of Real Madrid silverware

The young starlet has hailed the team's quality and believes that glory is in the offing for los Blancos

Real Madrid midfielder Isco has revealed his delight at the quality of his new teammates and believes the club is on the right track for success this season.

The 21-year-old also took time to speak about his own satisfaction with life at the Santiago Bernabeu, but admits that there is still a lot of work to be done in order to fully adjust to Carlo Ancelotti's system.

"I'm happy with the work we are doing. It's early, but we have a great team with great players and a very good attitude. We are on the right track," he told the club's official website. "I'm happy and adjusting well. I still need to

Higuain fever grips Napoli

The Argentina striker was mobbed by fans when he arrived in Naples to complete his move from Real Madrid and thousands have secured tickets for his official unveiling on Monday

Gonzalo Higuain's move from Real Madrid to Napoli has sparked widespread excitement amongst the club's fans, with 50,000 supporters set to greet the striker at his unveiling.

The deal, reported to have cost the Azzurri 40 million euros, was confirmed by the club on Saturday with president Aurelio De Laurentiis tweeting a picture of

Kaka hails 'fantastic' friendly against PSG

The Brazil midfielder spoke highly about the sense of occasion that accompanied Real Madrid's game with the Ligue 1 winners in Gothenburg

Kaka has hailed Real Madrid's "fantastic" 1-0 friendly win over Paris Saint-Germain in Sweden on Saturday night.

A first half goal from Karim Benzema was enough to separate the sides as los Blancos ran out winners courtesy of that solitary strike in their third preseason game.

Kaka, who replaced goalscorer Benzema in the 67th minute, acknowledged that this was precisely the sort of spectacle that fans would want to see, as well as adding that it was an important part of his side's preparations for the new campaign.

"The crowd had a great time and enjoyed the match," the 31-year-old Brazilian told Realmadrid.com. "It was a good preseason match and we also got the win and I'm happy. It is a great experience to play against a good team like PSG in this city, it was fantastic."

The presence of Madrid in Gothenburg, not to mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrival back in Sweden, caused a great deal of excitement and Kaka was quick to speak of the fans' experiences in the Ullevi Stadium.

"It is very important that the fans get to enjoy a good match like this. I think the crowd had a great time and enjoyed the match."

Real Madrid now travels to the USA where it will face L.A. Galaxy in the Guinness International Champions Cup Phoenix on Friday.

Mourinho: Chelsea would not have to sell to buy Rooney

The Blues boss is adamant that there would be no need to offload players to balance the budget should he sign the Manchester United star, despite having bought already this summer

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says that the club would not have to offload any current players in order to sign Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.

The Londoners are expected to make a renewed bid for the England striker after the Red Devils turned down their opening offer, despite the disgruntled forward being "hell bent" to leave Old Trafford.

"The club are working hard to keep the numbers in balance but we can still

Heynckes 'not amused' by Bayern's Supercup loss

Die Roten's former boss admitted the defeat did not sit well with him, but tipped successor Pep Guardiola to turn things around.

Jupp Heynckes says he was "not amused" at Bayern Munich's 4-2 DFL-Supercup final loss to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

The 68-year-old led the Bavarians to an unprecedented treble last season, only to watch on helplessly as his successor Pep Guardiola suffered defeat in his first competitive match in charge at Signal Iduna Park.

However, Heynckes stated he was not to

Ranieri: Monaco's spending is over

The Italian denied a move for Nani was in the offing before playing down the club's Ligue 1 title chances

Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri has underlined that the club are not seeking to bring in further reinforcements ahead of the new season.

The 61-year-old led the free-spending side to their first friendly win in preseason, beating Leicester City 3-0 through goals from Layvin Kurzawa, Radamel Falcao and Marcel Tisserand on Saturday.

And Ranieri took the opportunity to rule out a move for Manchester United winger Nani, instead declaring that his squad was complete.

"No, [the Nani links are] just rumors. At this moment we have finished our market," Ranieri told reporters. "Until the end something could happen, but there won't be Nani for now.

Ranieri has splurged 147 million euros on no less than nine signings this summer, but subsequently ruled out a title bid.

"I think at this moment we are ready to achieve from between third to seventh," the Italian reiterated. "We are at the beginning, the basement. Then slowly, we need to work hard. I came last season because I knew the new project. This is another challenge for me.

"I am an ambitious man and so is my chairman. Maybe something could happen. I love to build. We have to improve step by step and arrive at the top of Europe. The plan is this."

The Stade Louis II outfit has been crowned French champion seven times in its history, but was relegated in 2011 after finishing 18th in the league.

However, Ranieri was handed the reins and immediately led the team back to France's top flight last season.

Landon Donovan living up to Jurgen Klinsmann's expectations

Klinsmann challenged Donovan, one of the greatest American soccer players ever, to show his absolute best and the manager is impressed by the outcome.

CHICAGO -- After Landon Donovan returned from a four month sabbatical away from soccer with a desire to play for the United States national team again, Jurgen Klinsmann made it very clear what he expected.

"We had honest conversations about it," Klinsmann recalled. "And I told him, 'I want the best Landon ever. I'm not happy with anything less.'"

That challenge would present itself when Klinsmann finally brought Donovan back into the fold as a call up for this summer's Gold Cup. In the pre-World Cup years of

Djukic: If Soldado moves to Tottenham we will wish him luck

The Valencia coach appeared resigned to losing the striker, who seems set to tie up a 30 million euro move to Tottenham.

VALENCIA, Spain -- Valencia coach Miroslav Djukic admits he is in the dark over Roberto Soldado's possible move to Tottenham but says he will wish the Spain striker "all the luck in the world" if he chooses to swap Mestalla for White Hart Lane this summer.

Djukic saw his side lose 2-1 to AC Milan in the ICC Cup opener in Valencia on Saturday evening without Soldado, who only returned from his holiday earlier in the day after his Confederations Cup exertions with Spain last