Milan and Juventus are currently the top two teams in the Italian league with the Rossoneri ahead by two points but the Serie A champions have played two more matches than their rivals Juventus. Juve's positive run, the club is undefeated this season in official play, is due to a number of factors such as a solid defensive record and a midfield marshaled by veteran Andrea Pirlo with the aid of Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal.

Big blow for AC Milan's title hopes as striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for three matches for his red card against Napoli, meaning he will miss the top-of-the-table clash with Serie A leaders Juventus.

Ibra was sent off midway through the second half of Sunday's 0-0 draw with Napoli at the San Siro after he slapped opponent Salvatore Aronica in an off-the-ball incident.

Editor's Note: This piece filed last week by Eric Giardini. The editors at TSG idiotically missed it floating in inbox ether...

Pirlo, the LL Cool J of Serie A...Reader's choice: "Don't Call It Comeback" or "Doing it and doing it and doing it...well."

If there is any weekend to pick-up your Serie A match watching, this is the one.

Italian league action resumed yesterday after a short break with a couple of interesting results. Inter Milan began the year with a resounding 5-0 hammering of Parma at the San Siro while high flyers Lazio were thrashed 4-0 by Siena.

In what he termed as his best display ever with the club, a visibly happy Claudio Ranieri praised his side for their 5 star performance.

With reports emerging about an agreement between Milan and Manchester City outcast Carlos Tevez, there are many who believe the Argentina striker will be a big addition to the star studded Rossoneri squad. However, the Citizens have yet to negotiate with Milan and there is no guarantee the transfer will go through during the January window.

Clive Mason/Getty Images(Bleacher Report) Joe Cole has endured a rough time at Anfield. From a red card on his debut to spending the season on the fringe with just not enough quality or luck to break into the side, he has simply had enough.
Earlier this week Kenny Dalglish said that he would not stand in the player's way of making a move in order to have first team football on a regular basis and the manager looks to have kept his word.

Serie A champions Milan continued their dismal form in league play after falling 2-0 to rivals Juventus. Milan's coach Massimiliano Allegri did not offer excuses when he referred to the defeat in Turin as the worst performance of the season by his players. As for Juve, this was by far the club's most significant win of the season and Antonio Conte's biggest triumph as a coach.

All summer, we've heard rumors of Kobe Bryant signing in Europe to play basketball during the NBA lockout. On Friday, those rumors became reality when Kobe Bryant agreed to join Virtus Bologna. The Italian league team will pay the Los Angeles Lakers superstar $3 million to play a total of ten games over 40 days.

STARTERS
The only way Dallas is going to be able to fill the center of their defense left by the departure of George John is to sign Paul Ringo.
dN
UEFA says Carlos Bocanegra is eligible to play for Rangers in Europa League against Maribor who had filed an official complaint that he did not have a proper work visa for last weeks game.

Despite being written off across the global football media, Arsenal players continue to believe that this might just be the season they end their six-year trophy drought as long as they make it a point to defend together.

The Gunners started their Premier League campaign with a disappointing goalless draw away to Newcastle but manager Arsene Wenger immediately highlighted that a clean sheet away from home has to be lauded.

The agent of Alberto Aquilani has dismissed reports linking his client with a move to Sunderland this summer.
Speculations in the English media claim the Black Cats are considering strengthening their squad by signing the Liverpool midfielder.
However, when asked about the link with Sunderland, Aquilani's agent Franco Zavaglia said to Tuttomercatoweb.

AC Milan is the latest Serie 'A' club to take an interest in Alberto Aquilani, according to reports.
The Liverpool midfielder has spent the season on loan at Juventus, and whilst the player hopes to make the switch permanent both parties are yet to reach an agreement over the permanent fee for the player.

AS Roma have become the first major Italian team to have foreign ownership after a group of American investors signed a deal to buy the club.

The consortium, led by Thomas DiBenedetto, have agreed to buy a 67% controlling share of the club for 70.3m euros. DiBenedetto is also a partner in Fenway Sports Group, the U.

Before the AC Milan away game I wrote a piece entitled How To Beat AC Milan. Today I'll do the same for tonight's opponents Real Madrid. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending whether you enjoy my 1000 word updates this won't take very long because the simple answer is we can't.

The European leagues are entering their last stage, and one can begin to see the shape of the champions more or less in many of them:In Germany, Borussia Dortmund destroyed 4th placed Hannover 96, and are 7 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with six matches left. They have had an extraordinary season, and it would be a pity if they don't win it.

Napoli 4 Lazio 3. San Paolo stadium is once again the volcano it used to be under Maradona. El Matador is the best player in the Italian league. Naples never looses faith and wins again in the last 5 minutes of the game after having been led 2-0 and 3-2. Will Naples, the underdog, win the calcio?

Tottenham vs AC Milan White Hart Lane, March 9, 2011- 9/3/11- 19.45 UK Final score:- Tottenham 0-0 AC Milan ( Tottenham win 1-0 on aggregate) Tottenham Hotspur survive a nervy night against Italian league leaders AC Milan to book their spot in the last eight of the Champions League. Milan dominated the fixture, but Spurs [.

Italy's elite clubs are struggling in the Champions League and have struggled since 2000 despite two trophies won by Milan and one by Inter in the last decade.

Italian clubs were the dominant force in the 1990s with Milan and Juventus winning the Champions League with Juve reached three consecutive finals.

AC Milan vs Tottenham San Siro, Milan- February 15, 2011 Final score:- AC Milan vs Tottenham 0-1 ( Peter Crouch 80′) Peter Crouch's late goal gives Tottenham Hotspur a priceless away win plus a clean sheet against Italian league leaders AC Milan, who had a late goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic disallowed.

The UEFA Champions League resumes this week with the first four matches of the Round of 16 stage to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday. The other four matches will see their first leg encounters kick off next week and we shall look at those games at the appropriate time. For now Stoppage Time International Football Blog weighs up this week's mouthwatering ties.

New boss Gary Speed takes charge of Wales for the first time tonight as his side faces the Republic of Ireland in the newly formed Nations Cup.
The former Wales skipper, who has only four months managerial experience with Championship side Sheffield United, will go up against Italian legend Giovanni Trapattoni; winner of seven Italian league titles and five European tournaments – including the European Cup with Juventus.

By James Dixon

My favourite strip is the Sampdoria home kit of 1990-92. There are actually two slightly different kits, as the 1991-92 version has the Scudetto shield on the left breast following Samp's Serie A title win. However, it seems churlish to distinguish between the shirt worn winning the Scudetto and the shirt that recognises that triumph.

Roma boss Claudio Ranieri has revealed he is open to returning to the Premier League as Liverpool manager amid speculation the club's board will sound him out over the prospect of succeeding Kenny Dalglish at the end of the season.
Ranieri has been linked with a return to England on several occasions since he was sacked as Chelsea manager in 2004, having guided the club to the Champions League semi-finals and second place in the Premier League.

One was last years Italian league golden boot winner, the other is a word-wide known Hollywood actor...and it just so happens that they look a like.

2010 was a fantastic year for Diego Milito. He was Inter Milan's top scorer and was lucky enough to win the treble scoring two goals in the Champions League final in a man of the match peformance- with Jose Mourinho at the helm.

It was a great year for soccer, in the United States and abroad. Here are a few of the leading story lines:

— Lionel Messi: The FC Barcelona and Argentina star proved his worth on the world's stage, dominating Europe and the Spanish La Liga.