The Italian has been away from management since being sacked by Chelsea in July 2018.
Luciano Spalletti’s Inter are fourth in Serie A with one game remaining, needing a win at home to Empoli on Sunday to guarantee Champions League football next season.
Luciano Spalletti is set to depart the San Siro at the end of the season
Conte spent 13 seasons at Serie A champions Juventus as a player, before becoming manager in 2011, winning three league titles in his three seasons in Turin. But the 49-year-old said he would not be averse to managing other top teams in Italy’s top flight.
In March 2013, Conte said: “In football, we coaches are professionals, so never say never in any situation.
“I reiterate a clear concept: I am a Juventus fan and I am Juve’s coach, but if I had to manage Inter or Milan, then I would become the first fan of Inter or Milan, or of Rome and Lazio. I will always be the first fan of the team I manage.”
The Australian has backed the Juventus star for more individual silverware after his bold move to Serie A.
While Lionel Messi is the strong favourite to claim the next Ballon d’Or after another stunning season with Barcelona, Tim Cahill has instead backed his rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the award.
Both players are currently locked on a record five Ballon d’Or titles and it is the Argentine that appears on track to pick up his sixth later this year.
Messi scored 36 goals in La Liga this season as Barcelona claimed another league title and he chipped in with a further 12 strikes in the Champions League.
Though Ronaldo’s numbers at Juventus have paled in comparison with the 34-year-old bagging 15 fewer league goals in Serie A, Cahill believes the fact he has been able to transition to another league so successfully deserves recognition in the form of the Ballon d’Or.
“The reason why I say Ronaldo, I know people won’t agree, is because of what he’s done in Juventus,” Cahill told Alkass Sport.
“He left Real Madrid, went there and had such a massive impact on another league. I’ve never seen another player do it at Man United, Madrid for so many years.
“And I know he didn’t win the Champions League but he has such an impact in any club. If you can take players and put them somewhere at his age…
“I know people won’t agree, I just appreciate his professionalism.”
“The elimination in Champions (League) does not change anything, he is the number one in everything.”
Both players have one more match this season, with Messi facing a Copa del Reyfinal on Saturday while Ronaldo and Juventus have their Serie A finale Sunday against Sampdoria.
Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has returned to training with the rest of the squad in Marbella after missing three matches with a muscle strain.
Roberto Firmino’s last appearance was from the bench against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on May 1
The 27-year-old took part in Jurgen Klopp’s first session of Liverpool’s Marbella training camp on Tuesday morning as he works his way back to full fitness.
Firmino has been working with the club’s medical staff on his recovery and his reintroduction into full training will be carefully managed under their supervision.
His last appearance for Liverpool was from the bench against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on May 1 – when they lost 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Firmino will be hoping to work his way back to fitness and into Klopp’s team for the Champions League final against Premier League rivals Tottenham on June 1 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.
Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not play in the Europa League final against Chelsea on 29 May.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has played 11 games in the Europa League for Arsenal this season
It is understood the Armenian, 30, feared for his safety on the pitch in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“Having considered all current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the Europa League final,” said Mkhitaryan.
“It’s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often and I admit, it hurts a lot to miss it.”
As a result of political tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mkhitaryan has missed club matches played in Azerbaijan in the past.
“We have written to Uefa expressing our deep concerns about this situation,” read an Arsenal statement.
“We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family we have collectively agreed he will not be in our travelling party.
“Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.
“We’re also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer’s career.”
Uefa responded to Arsenal with a statement that said: “Working alongside Arsenal FC, Uefa sought and received assurances regarding the player’s safety in Azerbaijan from the highest authorities in the country.
“As a result of these guarantees, a comprehensive security plan was developed and given to the club.
“While the club acknowledges the efforts that Uefa and the Azeri government have gone to in this matter, we respect the personal decision not to travel with the player.”
The Azerbaijan FA said they were “disappointed” that Mkhitaryan would not be travelling
In a statement, the AFFA said: “We very much regret this unwarranted decision taken. Whilst we recognise the right to make a personal decision not to travel, we would like to reiterate that as the host country Azerbaijan has provided all the necessary guarantees required by Uefa to ensure the personal safety of Mr Mkhitaryan.
“There is no reason whatsoever to put in question the seriousness of these guarantees provided by Azerbaijan.”
Arsenal, who finished fifth in the Premier League, will qualify for next season’s Champions League if they beat Chelsea.
It would be their first European trophy since they won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery said: “He wants to play with the team, but he spoke with his family and decided not to go.
“It’s a very, very personal decision and we need to respect him. I don’t understand the political problems but I must respect his decision.”
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is captain of Armenia and their record scorer with 27 goals in 82 games
On Monday, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the UK, Tahir Taghizadeh, said there was no cause for concern.
“I would say [to Mkhitaryan] ‘you are a professional athlete, you are a footballer, and a class A footballer’, so let’s make sure this is a class A event if our purpose is to make a great final,” Taghizadeh told Sky Sports.
“If our purpose is to play political games around it, that is something different, but I hope it is not, because you are being paid as a footballer, not as a politician, so let’s leave other issues aside.”
There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan because of a longstanding conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan usually does not allow foreign nationals of Armenian descent to enter the country.
While playing for Borussia Dortmund in 2015, Mkhitaryan did not travel for a Europa League tie against Azerbaijan Premier League side Gabala because of security concerns.
He also missed Arsenal’s 3-0 Europa League win at FK Qarabag in October, with manager Unai Emery saying “he cannot travel here” despite Uefa offering their support over a visa application.
Armenian media reported that Anna Naghdalyan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said Azerbaijan had an “opportunity to show how real it is to prepare the people for peace”.
“Manifestations of racism and xenophobia in sport should not take place,” added Naghdalyan.
“In this regard, the refusal of Azerbaijan to provide such guarantees and a ban on the entry of alleged fans of Armenian origin is nothing but a new manifestation of racism, and this calls into question the holding of similar international events in Azerbaijan.”
Zinedine Zidane’s side need to improve their goalscoring return in 2019-20, but look to have found the natural-born killer they need in attack.
Photo by Getty/Goal
In the 2017-18 La Liga season Real Madrid scored 94 goals, but this was down to 63 in 2018-19 as Los Blancos went through multiple managers. Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari and finally Zinedine Zidane all attempted to make up that 31-goal void, but could not magic goals out of nothing.
Coincidentally, but also tellingly, 31 was the number of goals Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in during his final league season in Madrid, scoring 26 times and assisting on five more goals.
Mariano Diaz was bought for €30 million (£27m/$35m) and inherited Ronaldo’s number seven shirt, but had none of the traits of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, finishing the season with just three league goals. Madrid were able to convince Zidane to return to Real, but replacing Ronaldo’s goals still remains their biggest priority.
Karim Benzema was far and away the club’s most potent player, finishing with 30 goals in all competitions, his second-best season in 10 years at Santiago Bernabeu. He scored exactly a third of Real’s goals in La Liga, finishing with 21. No other player finished in double figures.
The French forward turns 32 this year, so is approaching the end of his career and the end of his successful spell in Madrid. He can still be relied upon by Zidane, but the coach needs someone new to take over and provide the goals the team has been desperately lacking.
Serbian striker Luka Jovic is Real’s main target in attack this summer, Goal understands, with the 21 year old seen as a possible partner for Benzema like Ronaldo was, or even as a lone striker thanks to his excellent all-round ability and hold-up play.
However, he won’t come cheap for Los Blancos, with Eintracht Frankfurtdemanding €60m (£52m/$67m) for his services after signing him for just a tenth of that price from Benfica.
Jovic helped Eintracht reach the semi-final of the Europa League, where they were only beaten on penalties by Chelsea. He’s currently tied for the competition’s top scorer, with 10 goals in 14 games. He also finished joint-third in the top scorer race in the Bundesliga, netting 17 times in 32 games for Frankfurt as they qualified for the Europa League once more.
As a result, it is not surprising that Zidane has singled the young forward out as the player who can bring goals back to Santiago Bernabeu. Frankfurt legend Jan-Age Fjortoft has watched Jovic up close on many occasions and believes he would be the perfect fit at one of La Liga’s giants, backing him to improve even more with better players around him.
“He is one of the most talented young strikers in the world at the moment,” Fjortoft told Goal. “Those kinds of clubs should always be interested in those kinds of players. Jovic has scored more than 20 goals, he’s young, he’s powerful. He will certainly develop even more. He will get more mature. He is a guy that will score goals wherever he goes. Being in a team like this, he will score goals.”
Jovic also assisted five goals for his team-mates in one of Europe’s most dynamic attacks. Together with Ante Rebic and Sebastien Haller, they fired their way through Europe, exceeding all expectations under new head coach Adi Hutter following the departure of Niko Kovac for Bayern Munich.
The striker would find himself in a similar situation at Madrid, where strong striker Benzema could play a similar role to his partner Haller. Rebic usually slotted in behind the duo, but was given a licence to roam by Hutter, opening up defences to allow Jovic to get into space and get on the scoresheet.
Zidane’s Madrid have plenty of players capable of unlocking opponents but need to be more clinical up front if they are to return to the glory days of his first spell at the club. Jovic is exactly the sort of ruthless attacker needed to be the missing link for Los Blancos. He is able to score all sorts of goals, adept with both feet or with his head, timing his runs perfectly into the area to meet crosses and even willing to shoot – and score – from long range if there are no better options available.
Everyone who has played with him or against him tells the same story, describing how lethal Jovic is when the goal comes into range. Former team-mate Alexander Meier was impressed with the young Serb from the moment he arrived in Frankfurt.
“He is the best finisher I ever played with,” Meier told the Guardian. “Nobody from our team really knew him when he arrived. But in training you could see immediately that he’s just amazing in front of goal. He has everything. Heading, shooting, left foot, right foot. Inside the box he knows exactly where the ball will fall down. He was so young but already so cool and confident; you could tell he would score many times.”
Former Serbia international Savo Milosevic called Jovic a “natural-born killer”, while current international boss Mladen Krstajic said the forward Jovic most closely reflects is Barcelona‘s Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan finished with 21 La Liga goals this season beside Lionel Messi’s 36.
If Jovic can provide similar numbers at Barcelona’s main rivals, then he may finally prove to be the worthy replacement Real need for Ronaldo.
Kylian Mbappe and Paris St-Germain’s “shared history will continue next season”, say the French champions.
Mbappe won Ligue 1’s Player of the Year award this season
France World Cup winner Mbappe won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award on Sunday and hinted in his acceptance speech about “a new project elsewhere”.
When asked to clarify the comments, the 20-year-old said: “I said what I had to say.”
In a statement, PSG said “very strong links unite the club and Mbappe”, who signed from Monaco in 2017.
Having initially joined on a season-long loan, the deal was made permanent for a fee of around £166m, making him the second most expensive player in history behind team-mate Neymar.
He has scored 59 goals in 86 games for PSG, winning two league titles and one French Cup, but they were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Manchester United.
Mbappe is the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 32 goals.
The Argentine legend is in talks to stay on as the manager of the second division club.
Photo by Getty Images
Diego Maradona says he is open to staying at Dorados as manager if his terms are met.
The Argentine legend took over the club playing in the Ascenso, Mexico‘s second division, in the fall and twice got the team into the title game. Each time, Dorados fell short to Atletico San Luis, which earned promotion to Liga MX.
While Maradona’s contract expires in June of this year, he said he’d be willing to sign a new deal should owner Jorge Alberto Hank give him a war chest and clear out some of the players he no longer wants in the squad.
“I’m asking them for a two-year project with a budget to buy players I like,” Maradona told Univision after meetings with club directors in Culiacan last week. “I also have to clean out the players who aren’t currently going with the type of game we play.”
The manager said he’d like to press on but wouldn’t be offended if he and the club can’t reach a deal. He reportedly also has interest from a pair of clubs in the first division in his native Argentina with Newell’s Old Boys and Belgrano looking for a coach.
“If ‘Jorgito’ tells me that we can’t arrive at something, as good as friends as always, I’ll leave Culiacan with the best memory in the world,” Maradona said.
Maradona also said he wouldn’t apologize for his outspoken political views. He was fined an undisclosed amount by the league in April after dedicating a victory to embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
“Wherever I am, I’m going to keep loving Cuba and loving Venezuela. If you like it, good. If not, sorry,” he said. “Because I’m Maradona I’m not going to say it? On the contrary, I’ll put on a shirt and tie and say it again, OK?”
He expressed frustration with the fact that he has been denied a visa to enter the United States since failing a drug test during the 1994 World Cup but said he would rather get into the country to attend the Super Bowl than talk politics with current president Donald Trump.
A 31-year-old referee collapsed during a Bolivian league match high up in the Andes and died after being taken to the hospital.
Referee Victor Hugo Hurtado was surrounded by players and team doctors after collapsing on the pitch but later died in hospital. AP
The match between the Always Ready and Oriente Petrolero clubs was played at Municipal Stadium in El Alto, which sits about 3,900 meters (12,795 feet) above sea level.
The game was at the 47th minute when referee Victor Hugo Hurtado toppled backward and collapsed on the pitch. Players and team doctors rushed to his side and after a few minutes Hurtado was put in an ambulance and driven away.
Always Ready team doctor Eric Kosziner told reporters later that the referee suffered a heart attack on the field and then a second, fatal attack as he arrived at the hospital.
Ramon Calderon believes the Welsh forward is destined to head for the Santiago Bernabeu exits, be that on a short-term deal or a permanent transfer.
Photo by Getty Images
Gareth Bale’s ongoing struggles at Real Madrid have made it “impossible” for him to remain at the club, claims former Blancos president Ramon Calderon.
The Wales international was returned to Zinedine Zidane’s plans for a final day clash with Real Betis on Sunday but was left on the bench despite the Santiago Bernabeu witnessing another forgettable 2-0 defeat.
Gareth Bale’s ongoing struggles at Real Madrid have made it “impossible” for him to remain at the club, claims former Blancos president Ramon Calderon.
The Wales international was returned to Zinedine Zidane’s plans for a final day clash with Real Betis on Sunday but was left on the bench despite the Santiago Bernabeu witnessing another forgettable 2-0 defeat.
Calderon believes such a switch could be possible, adding: “Maybe he will go on loan.
“It is a problem when the coach and player do not get along, you have to look at every option to find a solution.
“The problem is the salary, it is a high salary. He has not been lucky at Madrid since the beginning. Fans thought for the money he would be better than Cristiano and that was really impossible.
“It is a divorce that is difficult to solve. They will find a loan or a transfer for perhaps a low amount of money.”
