Mario Balotelli has just been banished from the Manchester City first-team since the 1-0 loss at the hands of Arsenal a few weeks ago. It looked like the defeat would surely bring the hopes of winning the title for the first time in 44 years to an end for Manchester city. However, they have recovered sufficiently in order to stand with a chance to win the title with only one match remaining. It is interesting to know that Mario Balotelli has not played for the City team since the 1-0 defeat, which has put his participation in the Euro 2012 into doubt.

“Balotelli can’t afford to make any more mistakes, but I’m confident that he won’t. We need to give players with talent an extra chance and there’s no doubt that he’s a special talent. I disagree with anyone who argues that Toto Di Natale doesn’t deserve to be in the squad. He has scored almost 100 goals in three years and can be very helpful for us,” Prandelli said ahead of choosing his squad.

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This comes after Udinese player Piermario Morosini lost his life after collapsing on the pitch while playing for his on loan club Livorno. The player was on loan at the Italian Serie B side Livorno, who were playing against Pescara on Saturday. This news comes only weeks after the collapse of English midfielder Fabrice Muamba on the pitch during the match against Tottenham. Due to the increased safety measures adopted by the Premier league following the accident to Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, the medics were able to save Fabrice Muamba’s life.

Unfortunately, Piermario Morosini was not as lucky as Fabrice Muamba. He was sentenced brought dead at the hospital. Following the incident, all the matches in Italy were postponed during the weekend as a mark of respect. However, Italian Players Union (AIC) president Damiano Tommasi has said that the issue should not be left from here. Hence, the AIC will be holding a meeting in order to stress the importance of testing players prior to providing them new contracts for certain heart problems, which have proven to be genetic in nature.

“This leaves us impotent and disarmed. Something like this is inexplicable. We are waiting for more info, any comments right now feel out of place. We had a meeting scheduled for Monday, which has been postponed, but we will convene to talk about this tragedy and the issue regarding the safety of players. If in professional divisions there are certain guarantees, tens of thousands of players in the amateur divisions undergo very few tests,” Tommasi said on the La Repubblica following the death of Udinese player Piermario Morosini.

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Now, he has put the challenge of winning all of the remaining 10 matches in the Italian Serie A, which would help them target a place in the Champions League qualification. Roma’s chances of finishing in the third position looked to have come to an end after the defeats against Atlanta and Lazio. They recently won against Genoa, which has provided them with a great deal of confidence for the remainder of the matches according to Enrique. Even though Enrique admitted that Roma were not convincing against Genoa, the important aspect of the match was that they had secured the three points.

“The important thing after the derby was to win all 12 remaining games. We have earned two wins and that is very important for us. The table tells us that we’re sixth now and that is where we deserve to be. But there are still ten rounds to go and we need to be confident. There have been games that I was very pleased with and from the start of the season, the team has improved so much,” Enrique said after the Genoa match. Roma, though, were defeated in the weekend match against AC Milan at the San Siro.

Many racist chants have been made against black players playing for the opposition teams in the past and Juan has become the latest target of this chants. Damiano Tommasi, though, has criticised the fans behind the racist chants by saying that they should be ashamed of themselves and that it should be eradicated from the game totally.

“Unfortunately, a few people like to ruin a show. It’s always the usual argument: the rudeness of a few all pay the consequences. The position taken by the players was clear as ever,” Damiano Tommasi said after the match following the complaints of racist chants by the Roma player.

It was a match in which Lazio managed to come out on the right end of the 2-1 scoreline. Regarding the match, Damiano Tommasi said it was a good derby. “It was a derby scored immediately from the episode of rigor. Roma have stood up as the first leg in numerical inferiority … then won the team that drove more. The red Stekelenburg? It is clear that the game will change but as long as there is this rule that the decision to make,” Damiano Tommasi said after the match.

Hernanes opened the scoring for Lazio, but they immediately found themselves level after former Chelsea striker Fabio Borini scored to equalise, against the Betfair football online odds.

However, a second-half goal from Mauri ensured that Lazio took away all three points from this very important fixture for the club. Lazio are now just three points behind Juventus in the second position.

Meanwhile, Roma striker Fabio Borini has been named by the Italian press as their one big hope for the Azzurri at the European Championships this summer. According to the latest Euro 2012 Betting, Italy are amongst the favourites to win the tournament, but much will depend on how many goals Borini can score – whether he’s a Schillaci or a Luca Toni!

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Roma have 35 points on the board after having played 23 games this season, while Lazio are the club occupying the final Champions League position now. They have 42 points on the board after having played the same number of matches. Even though the seven-point advantage may seem insignificant, Lazio have been one of the best teams in the Italian Serie A this season. Hence, Walter Sabatini has said that it is vital for Roma to keep in touch with Lazio in order to have a realistic chance of finishing in the Champions League position.

“Roma must aim high, there is no doubt. We must do so immediately. If we had left Siena with the three points we would already be there to fight. But all is not lost and we will not give up, the Champions League is the goal for which we will fight until the end. We must always aspire to play our new brand of football,” Roma director Walter Sabatini said ahead of this week’s match with Parma. Parma are in the 12th place in the Italian Serie A, but come on the back of a good run of form.

Tommasi was working alongside Cannavaro on a publicity meeting for the FIGC – the Italian FA.

They arrived at Ho Chi Minh City from Bangkok and wer immediately greeted with a warm response from the locals. He is expected to visit the HCMC over the first weekend of January after being invited by Eximbank, who are currently sponsoring the event. A number of football fans arrived at the airport to greet the defender, who recently brought an end to the stellar career.

Fabio Cannavaro spoke after being received in such a warm way by saying that he has never experienced that such response amongst the Vietnamese fans. More than thousand fans queued up to see the Italian when he arrived at the airport.  “I know Cannavaro when he played for Parma over 10 years ago. His service helped the club rise to fame in the world, with the UEFA Cup title in 1998-99 season,” said Nguyen, a fan from the Tan Binh District.

He has been waiting all morning to get a glimpse of the player, who is probably the most well-known defender of all time along with Paolo Maldini. “I am surprised at the enthusiastic welcome of Vietnamese fans. I can’t imagine they love football and admire me like that. I am happy with it,” Cannavaro told the local newspaper.

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