Inter Milan sack Gasperini

Gian Piero Gasperini

Inter Milan have sacked their coach Gian Piero Gasperini after just games in charge. Gasperini was appointed in the off-season following the departure of Leonardo to Paris St-Germain, he is the first ever manager of the club to lose his job without recording a single victory.

Although the Inter owner, Massimo Moratti, had been disappointed with defeats in the Italian SuperCup, to Milan, and Champions League, to Trabzonspor, the final straw arrived last night when Inter lost 3-1 to newly promoted Novara side playing only their third Serie A since 1956. Inter also lost their league opener away to Palermo 4-3, before playing to a boring goalless draw at home with Roma on Saturday.

“Internazionale can communicate that this morning, at the training base in Appiano Gentile, first-team training was led by (the assistant coaches) Daniele Bernazzani and Giuseppe Baresi,” said a statement this morning on the club’s website. “The team thanks Gian Piero Gasperini for the efforts he showed in carrying out his role, and express regret over this breaking of the relationship with the manager.

There has been criticism of Gasperini’s preference for a three-man defence, with suggestions in recent days that his players have rejected his tactical ideas. Moratti had defended the manager this morning saying: “I do not believe Gasperini will stay … (But) I do not believe that the problem is his relationship with the players.”

“What did I not like about the defeat to Novara?” Moratti continued. “When you lose you don't like anything.”

Source: Guardian

Vincent Enyeama dropped from Nigeria squad

Vincent Enyeama

Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has been dropped from the Super Eagles squad which will take on Guinea in a crucial African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier next month.

The Lille stopper’s omission comes after an outburst directed at the coach Samson Siasia.

Enyeama along with John Mikel Obi and Victor Anichebe had row with the coach over the team’s mode of travel for an Afcon qualifier against Madagascar. The trio demanded that the Super Eagles fly on a bigger aircraft directly to Antananarivo rather than on a chartered flight with a stop in Congo Brazzaville.

They were all subsequently dropped from the Argentina friendly in India and have been excluded since then from the national squad.

Enyeama, who was a star for the Super Eagles at last year’s Fifa World Cup in South Africa, apologised earlier this month to Siasia and Nigerian fans, but voices in Nigeria have kept asking for him to be left on the sidelines seeing as he has been relegated to the bench at his French side Lille.

Siasia has named three keepers – Dele Aiyenugba, Austin Ejide and Chigozie Agbim – to vie for the number one jersey but Aiyenugba, who has been in top-form recently, is expected to start between the sticks.

Flying save at the 2010 World Cup

Nigeria must beat Guinea with a two-goal difference to secure the lead in the group and a direct spot in next year’s Afcon tournament.

Siasia has also included five new faces which will join the squad ahead of Ghana’s friendly in 11 October: Ugo Ukah, Gege Soriola, Emmanuel Ekpo, Nosa Igiebor and Nnamdi Oduamadi.

Nigeria squad for Guinea tie

Goalkeepers: Dele Aiyenugba, Austin Ejide, Chigozie Agbim

Defenders: Joseph Yobo, Taye Taiwo, Dele Adeleye, Elderson Echiejile, Chibuzor Okonkwo

Midfielders: John Mikel Obi, Obinna Nsofor, Joel Obi, Fengor Ogude, Uche Kalu, Ahmed Musa

Strikers: Peter Utaka, Ikechukwu Uche, Peter Odemwingie, Chinedu Obasi, Brown Ideye, Ekigho Ehiosun, Emmanuel Emenike

Players to join the squad for the Ghana game: Gege Soriola, Emmanuel Ekpo, Nosa Igiebor, Nnamdi Oduamadi and Ugo Ukah

Springbok team to face Namibia

The Springboks have made five changes to the starting line-up for their Rugby World Cup Pool D match against their neighbours Namibia in Auckland on Thursday.

Wing Gio Aplon, scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, utility forward Willem Alberts and tighthead prop CJ van der Linde will all get their first starts of the tournament while Bryan Habana returns from injury to resume his role in the No 11 jersey.

Four players – locks Victor Matfield and Johann Muller, centre Jean de Villiers and flyhalf Butch James – are still unavailable for selection due to injury and have not been considered for the match.

In attempt to keep legs fresh Springbok coach Peter de Villiers have moved Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez and flanker Heinrich Brüssow to the bench while wings JP Pietersen and Odwa Ndungane and tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis were rested altogether.

In one other change on the bench, Chiliboy Ralepelle has been included in a match 22 for the first time replacing Bismarck du Plessis, who is rested.

The match on Thursday will kick off at 8pm New Zealand time (10am SA time).

Springbok team

15. Pat Lambie, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Schalk Burger, 6. Willem Alberts, 5. Danie Rossouw, 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. CJ van der Linde, 2. John Smit (captain), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Replacements: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. Tendai Mtawarira, 18. Francois Louw, 19. Heinrich Brüssow, 20. Fourie du Preez, 21. Ruan Pienaar, 22. Juan de Jongh

Firing Wenger is not an option

Firing Arsene Wenger is not an option according to Arsenal’s chief executive officer Ivan Gazidis.

Gazidis’ defence of the Arsenal manager comes after the Gunners’ 4-3 loss away to struggling Blackburn on Saturday, their second successive away defeat after that 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Manchester United at the end of August.

Gazidis was responding to subsequent suggestions that Wenger’s methods no longer suit the modern game

Arsenal have made their worst start to a campaign in over half a century but Gazidis says criticism of the club and the manager is a result of dangerous “short-termism” and that in the long run Arsenal are on course to thrive

Last season Arsenal were in contention for the league crown but stumbled to a fourth place finish.

Overall it has been a tough few months for Arsenal who have now won just three of their 16 Premiership matches and have lost six of their last 10 league outings. The gunners have just one win from their last 10 away games.

But Gazidis was in defiant mood over the Wenger’s future.

“(The criticism of Wenger) is part of this black and white perception: that you're either flying high or a broken failure,” Gazidis said.

“He didn’t suddenly become a bad manager. To have him portrayed as some kind of idiot who is out of touch is profoundly damaging, not simply for Arsenal nor particularly for Arsene, but for football. It’s nonsense based on the need to always create a mini-crisis ... we are incredibly fortunate to have a manager who has a vision of what the game can be.

He added: “To have a manager that thinks about the future is relatively rare. There is genuine unity of purpose at Arsenal. We are fully supportive of each other. I think the lack of division (between the board and the manager) sometimes infuriates people.”

There have been calls for Wenger to open the chequebook in light of of Arsenal’s recent struggles.

However Gazidis said that for Arsenal to attempt to match the spending of teams such as Manchester City and Chelsea would be counterproductive. “Firstly because it would simply drive prices to another level so it wouldn't achieve anything. Secondly it would not be sustainable.”

He said Arsenal should be congratulated for not trying to keep up with the extravagant spending of rivals and that to do so would be to jeopardise the future of the club and of football. He said that in this regard Arsenal are role models because other clubs are striving to become as carefully run as Arsenal. “I don’t think clubs are moving away from Arsenal, I think the opposite is true... we are ahead of the game. We are where other clubs want to be,” he said.

“We have made a tactical adjustment but the strategy remains the same,” he said. “We still strive to develop young players but in the last transfer window we sprinkled the squad with some experience too. However, bearing in mind what we did earlier in the window (with the recruitment of players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson) the squad is younger than it was before the window.”

Ireland 15, Australia 6

Ireland 15-6 Australia