Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will return to Juventus from Real Madrid on July 1 despite widespread supporter anger over the move.
The Serie A club, who are also interested in signing Werder Bremen playmaker Diego, said in a statement on Tuesday that 35-year-old center back Cannavaro, soon out of contract at Real, had signed a one-year deal.
Juve fans were upset by Cannavaro leaving for Real in 2006 when they were demoted for match-fixing, while other top players such as Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon stuck with the club for their season in the second tier.
A small group of fans have protested at recent matches against Cannavaro’s return after club bosses admitted they were in talks with the 2006 European and World Player of the Year.
PASSION
“I am sure I will be able to convince even the most skeptical fans thanks to my hard work, professionalism and passion with which I will approach this new adventure,” the World Cup winner said.
Cannavaro won two league titles in his two years at Juve, but they were both revoked in the match-fixing affair.
“Fabio is a world champion, a Ballon d’Or winner and a great man in the dressing room,” Juve sporting director Alessio Secco said in a bid to calm supporter unrest. “During the summer of 2006 the club had to sell him for urgent economic reasons.”
The Turin team, who sacked coach Claudio Ranieri on Monday and are at risk of slipping out of the automatic Champions League spots with two Serie A games left, are also hoping to sign Brazilian playmaker Diego from Werder Bremen.
IN THE AIR
German media said the deal was worth around 29 million euros (US$39.5 million) but the transfer was still up in the air despite weeks of talks, Werder’s general manager Klaus Allofs said.
“There are still open questions that must be discussed thoroughly,” Allofs told reporters in Istanbul ahead of yesterday’s UEFA Cup final against Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk.
Allofs ruled out any decision before the final, for which the 24-year-old was suspended.
Diego has steered Werder to the UEFA and German Cup finals with some exhilarating performances, which also attracted interest from Bayern Munich before they pulled out of talks last week.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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