Ancelotti insists no bitterness towards Chelsea owner Abramovich

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti holds no grudge against Roman Abramovich over his dismissal.

Ancelotti was axed at the end of last season.

"I thought I could stay longer at Chelsea," he told the Daily Mail. "I hoped to, because I felt really good there.

"I was not happy to leave this club and to leave these people. I had a good relationship with the players. I felt we could go on to enjoy more success. But this is football and I knew this before I went there.

"I want to say thank you, to Roman Abramovich, to the players, to all the people I worked with there.

"The first year was fantastic. The second year was not so good. I am not bitter or angry. Absolutely not. I consider Chelsea a really fantastic club.

"Look, when I was in Milan everything was fantastic but I knew that one day it would come to an end. Even after being a player there. Even after the success I also enjoyed there as a manager. In the end you have to leave.

"I also had other experiences like that in Italy. I had been sacked before. Sometimes it can happen that the owner is not happy and he wants to change things. All the great managers have been sacked. Managers before me at Chelsea were sacked. Fabio Capello was sacked by Madrid after winning the title. Amazing, I know, but this is football.

"Never, however, on my c.v. have I been sacked during the season. That is different. I have only ever been sacked at the end of the season. I am proud of this!"

Source: Tribal Football

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Claudio Ranieri replace Gian Piero Gasperini as the coach of Inter

Claudio Ranieri has been unveiled as the new coach of Inter, replacing Gian Piero Gasperini, who was fired earlier this week following Tuesday evening's 3-1 defeat at Novara. The Giuseppe Meazza club has confirmed the appointment of the 59-year-old on its official website.

"Claudio Ranieri is officially the new coach of Inter. The tactician has signed a contract that will keep him with the club until 30 June 2013," a statement on inter.it reads.

As Goal.com revealed on Wednesday afternoon, Ranieri was close to the Inter job and he has now inked a deal until the summer of 2013. He will lead the team for the first time during Thursday afternoon's training session.

"Everybody at Inter is pleased to welcome Ranieri at the club and wish the coach and his staff all the best."

Ranieri had been out of work ever since he left Roma in February 2011. He previously worked at clubs such as Juventus, Parma, Valencia, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, Napoli and Cagliari.

The Roma born coach will be officially presented during a press conference on Friday.

Source : goal

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Poland ready to tackle football hooligans

source img (CNN)

In preparation for co-hosting next summer's Euro 2012 football championship, Poland has been transforming itself.

With help from EU funding, new airports, roads and impressive stadia are all set to be completed well in time before the first match kicks off in Warsaw on June 8.

From the infrastructure to the event itself, organizers are now focusing on the matches that will be played in four of Poland's cities.

"Now we are looking at organizational issues and the most important in that is safety. Poland is not more dangerous than other European countries, "said Adam Giersz, Poland's Minister for Sport and Tourism.

Great strides have been made in eradicating violence and hooliganism from football matches across Europe, but it remains a concern and on-going problem in many countries, including Poland.

The Polish Cup final in May between Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznan was marred by violent scenes and UEFA, European football's governing body, warned the Polish Football Association after hooliganism during the country's international match against Lithuania in March.

However new laws on assembly and who can enter stadia were passed earlier this year and led to numerous arrests.

"They are already frightened because they were already arrested," said Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Warsaw's mayor.

"They were punished, some of the leaders were already punished by the courts and so I think (Euro 2012) will be ok."

Poland has looked to the UK for examples of how to improve safety around football matches.

"Our new safety law is based on the British system," said Giersz referring to the way English football clubs and UK government enacted numerous measures to remove a violent minority from attending football matches.

"The main points are to get rid of anonymity. Everyone at the stadium must be recognized by name and surname."

It is hoped that the face-recognition technology being trialed that can identify banned hooligans will be ready in time for the competition and augment other security measures, such security cameras and restricting access around stadia to ticket-holders.

The country will be under the spotlight in June, but many believe the planning and measures taken by Poland's government and the event's organizers will leave a positive legacy.

"I think new the stadiums in themselves will create more interest in football," said Krzysztof Dowhan, coach of Legia Warsaw.

"Fans will be able to enjoy the sport in more comfortable surroundings. Also I think more players from abroad will come to play in Poland which will in turn raise the standard of our game."(CNN)

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