THIS WEEK
Inter Milan's Success
Fiorentina Fan News
Roma let go of players
Opening day sees stadiums filled up to the max.
Record breaking contracts for Ronaldo, Crespo, Weah and Batistuta.
Udinese Sign all-star Yugoslavian striker -Mijatovic
Delvecchio Goals sink Milan
AC Milan signs a couple american league players
Vieri nets two goals and a win for his club
Jose M. Rodriguez speaks out (Lazio Interview)
Knudsen's Red Card
Zola back in form
Roma-Lazio match preview
Peter Kaszas Interview (Parma)
Sampdoria Introduce their Bigger-stadium
Bari Youth players set to play
Bologna Sign Keeper Schmeichel

THE CLUB NEWS

THE TRANSFER NEWS

FIORENTINA SUFFER LOSS TO INTER MILAN
Fiorentina are away to AC Milan this week after losing a close fought game with INTER MILAN. Team Coach Tim Bridges said when Interviewed " I can`t believe we lost . I thought it was going to be a draw but that last minute winner of Inters was a very cruel especially as my team played brillantly". When asked for his thoughts on the AC Milan game he replied "I think we drew a very hard opening two games to the season and we definately need to get some points out of this game".He added " My team at the moment are still in good spirits and are looking to make amends for last weeks loss and I urge our fans to get behind us on saturday."

ROMA LET GO OF PLAYERS
By Roma Press
After signing many players from the transfer list, Roma decided not to offer certain players contracts because the club would fall into financial debt. So, abiding by the advice of the commissioner, Roma decided to let go of a certain number of players. The players that the club decided to keep were:
Van Der Sar, Ketsbaia, Simao, Zola Unfortunately, the club could not keep Peter Schmeichel and
Amavisca... Sarkis was under a lot of criticism because he let go of those players, but recent Roma results show that the club can go on without them.

BIG CROWDS SHOW FOR OPENING MATCHES

Large crowds of fans, holligans and supporters packed the stadiums this week to get a glimpse of their favourite teams in their season openers yesterday. Althought Opening days usually attracts large crowds, These have been the largest to date in the INSL. At Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, a record breaking 51,000 people were in attendance for the big clash between Inter Milan and Fiorentina. Even thought Fiorentina lost the match, the large gate earnings must have put a smile on the owner's face. Other big attendances included Delle Alpi Stadium in Turin and San Siro Stadium in Milan each with 50,000 people seated.

RECORD BREAKING CONTRACTS

Four super stars have recently signed giant contracts over $40 million Euros. These four players are Ronaldo signing with Inter for $69 million, Batistuta signing with Fiorentina for $42.9 million,
Crespo signing with Parma for $47.5 million and Weah signing with AC Milan for $48 million. These record breaking contracts have shown that managers have "deep pockets" and even untill recently still show no signs of letting up on the spending.

    Batistuta                 Ronaldo                 Crespo                 Weah

MIJATOVIC SIGNS WITH UDINESE

International Yugoslav striker, Mijatovic has signed a 4 year deal, worth over $28 million with Italian club Udinese. Mijatovic who spent the previous years of his career playing for Spanish club Real Madrid said he was excited about the new move. Besides Mijatovic, Udinese have also signed free agents Johansson, Neqrous and Pirlo from the freeagent market. However, Udinese have abandoned Neqrous due to differences in contract negotiations.

DELVECCHIO GOALS SINK MILAN
By Roma Press
Many sports writers expected the Milan-Roma game to be a cracker, with both teams showing themselves as real title contenders, certainly with each team having a star studed side to boast off. It was a very cautious start for both sides, with each team preferring not to take a lot of risks, many expected that the game would end in a draw, but it was one man who made the difference, and who managed to shush the loud cheers of the San Siro crowd, that man was Marco Delvecchio who gave Roma the win with his two goals. Delvecchio was very pleased after the game, and said that if it
weren't for the midfield, none of this could have happened.

AC MILAN GOES AMERICAN

AC Milan have announced the signing of two ex-MLS players, US international midfielder Harkes and Columbian veteran Valderrama. These transfers are sure to add experience to an already experienced Milan club who are Ironically ranked as the club with the highest age in avg. This news coming right after AC Milan's surprise lose to the new and improved AS Roma.
Valderrama

VIERI STINGS UDINESE WITH 2 GOALS

Italian Super-Striker Vieri scored twice against Udinese this week and secured the win for Lazio. Vieri who has been critisized alot during his career can at least breath a sign of relief after such an explosive start to the season as this one. Lazio Fans in Rome are already predicting Vieri to win the Golden boot, However on the other side of town fans of Roma cheer as their hero Delvecchio also netted 2 goals in his first appearence. Only time will tell, But at least for now fans from rome have something to cheer about especially since Lazio and Roma both won.
Striker Vieri

JOSE M. RODRIGUEZ SPEAKES OUT (LAZIO INTERVIEW)
This recent interview was conducted by reporters of the Newswire with the manager of Lazio, Jose Rodriguez.
Q: What chances do you think Lazio have of capturing the Cup? and why?
A: "We are doing our best to be one of the greatest teams in the history of the INSL. Our team is a team ready to do all the hard work. I think we can win the League and the Cup because we have one of the best groups of people working together (players and managers ) and we have the best fans. We have to give then all the satisfactions that they need this season."
Q: As manager of Lazio, Does your club put an emphasis on offence or defence?
A: "Soccer is about scoring goals. We have to entertain our spectators so we play to win and to score goals. Offence is our word."
Q: What do you think is the main strength(s) of the lazio team?
A: "Forwards of course. we have one of the best forwards in the INSL, Vieri. This is one of the best players that I have ever seen on the field. He scores goal very easily and he makes soccer something great and funny to watch."
Q: What do you think is the main weakness(es) of the LAZIO team?
A: "We have to work with our defence. At the moment we have four basic defenders but we need to reinforce this place. We have buy two new players for this position but they need to work hard to reach the level of the others. We have one very good team but if we won't win every competition that we play we need two good teams so to be the perfect team we need two or three new good players."
Q: Who are the key players in the Lazio organisation?
A: "The great one is Vieri but to score goals he needs some players in the midfields to give him good passes so Nedved and De la Peña (who is from the same town as the manager) are essential. In the defence we can highlight Mihajlovic and Nesta. All of them make up the axis of my team."
Q: What is Lazio looking to improve in the near future?
A: "We are looking for better defence and also looking to get youth players who can learn from the old masters that we have in our team."
Q: Apart from your own club, Lazio, which other clubs in your opinion look strong and might pose a threat to LAZIO?
A: "I think that this league is very hard because there are a group of teams that can fight for the cup. The most direct rival is Rome (from the same city and a big history of competence). The two Milans are other teams that can complicate our lives but we are sure that all of them will have to fight for second place."

KNUDSEN'S RED CARD
By Bari Press
Teammanager Mark V. has made no comment to the press with respect of the red card for forward Knudsen during the game with Sampdoria. The only statement Vissers made was that he was pleased that his team were able to win the game with 10 men. Knudsen himself has denied committing the foul which led to the red card. AS Bari are not going to fight the suspension however.

GIANFRANCO ZOLA BACK IN FORM
By Roma Press
Very few people were happy when Roma bought Zola from Chelsea, certainly because of his old age, but Sarkis thought otherwise. The Roma manager believed in Zola, and let him play the first two games completely, Zola repaid him with two great goals against Sampdoria which sealed another three points for the team, and set them on a great 100% winning start. Zola is expected to be playing constanly for the club, and hopefully continue scoring goals....
Striker Zola

ROMA - LAZIO (EAGERLY AWAITED DERBY)
By Roma Press
The stadio Olympico is expected to be packed for a great game between rivals A.S Roma, and S.S Lazio. Both teams having started very well in the league with Lazio winning their first game and Roma winning the first two games.That is why both sides come into the game with a high morale and a 100% winning record. Roma will be exhausted from their first two games against Milan and Sampdoria, but the Roma manager believes his side is still in competitive form. Another eagerly awaited duel is that of Christian Vieri and Marco Delvecchio , one of them could become the league's top scorer, especially since both of them scored two goals in their opening games. So, Roma-Lazio could well be the match of the week!!!

PETER KASZAS INTERVIEW (PARMA)
This recent interview was conducted by reporters of the Newswire with the manager of Parma, Peter Kaszas.
Q: What chances do you think Parma have of capturing the Cup? and why?
A: "I think Parma will finish in the Top 5. Parma has some really good players: Asprilla, Sensini, Thuram. Note, that Parma has a star in every position. Also, we have some young talents: Crespo, Veron, Babayaro, Buffon. Parma's only problem is that the team doesn't have enough cash in hand (at least not as much as some other clubs). We will play clear-cut offensive football."
Q: As Manager of Parma, does your club put an emphasise onOffence or defence?
A: "If you want to finish on the top of the league, you can't play stalling."
Q: What do you think is the main weakness(es) of the Parma team?
A: "The only weakness is our goalie. We have a strong defence, though."
Q: Who are the key players in the Parma organization?
A: "Crespo, Veron, Babayaro, Buffon, Asprilla. All of them."
Q: In the pre-season Parma acquired Free agent Babayaro decisively over 6 other clubs, Why were you so focused on signing this player? What do you think he will bring to the Parma organization?
A: "Babayaro is actually worth his price. I wouldn't pay a cent more than $5 million, but that's OK."
Q: What is Parma looking to improve in the near future?
A: "I'd be interested in a good goalie."
Q: Apart from your own club, Parma, which other clubs in your opinion look strong and might pose a threat to Parma and your chances to the cup?
A: "Juve, Roma, Inter Milan. Based on the first few games, I think anyone can win it."

SAMPDORIA RENOVATE LUIGI FERRARIS INTO BIGGER STADIUM
Sampdoria have recently renovated their stadium to include over 63,000 seats. This move has made Sampdoria's Luigi Ferraris Stadium the largest stadium in the INSL and something for fans of all clubs to go visit. Sampdoria manager has been quoted as saying "Yes, over here in Sampdoria we think bigger is better. Hopefully the fans will feel the same way." In their last match, Sampdoria played host to Parma with a crowd attendence of 51,500 in the new stadium. Hopefully this new stadium will brighten Sampdoria's future.

YOUTH PROSPECTS BELIEVED TO MAKE THEIR DEBUT
By Bari  Press
It is rumoured that 17 year old talented midfielder Lafortezza and 19 year old defender Narciso will make their debut against Bologna. This could be a sign that Bari are willing to give young talented players a chance. Goalkeeper Nietti and defender Sordo are the only 30+ players in the squad.

SCHMEICHEL SIGNS WITH BOLOGNA
International Danish star Goalkeeper , Schmeichel has signed a 2 year deal, worth over $39 million with Italian club Bologna. Schmeichel who played for Manchester United in England for years, was transfered from Manchester last Night after serious talks. Schmeichel who is currently regarded as the World's best keeper, Has been quoted as being excited and ready for the move to Italian soccer. Besides Schmeichel, Bologna have also signed free agents Neqrous (recently released by Udinese),  and Doni from the free-agent market.
Schmeichel