Viola facing extinction

Debt-ridden Fiorentina denied Serie B place

Once led by Gabriel Batistuta, Fiorentina was a match for the best teams in Europe. Phil Cole/Allsport

MILAN (Reuters) -- Former Italian champions Fiorentina have been refused a place in Serie B for next season and are facing bankruptcy.

Italian Football League president Adriano Galliani said the only chance the city of Florence has of maintaining a presence in professional football is if a new club is formed and is granted a place in the third or fourth division.

"The old Fiorentina doesn't exist anymore and it is vital that a new club is born to represent Florence," said Galliani.

The troubled club, relegated from Serie A last season and in administration, have reported debts of around 22 million euros and the federal council of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) met on Thursday to discuss what level the team will be allowed to play in next term.

A spokesman for Fiorentina, who were playing Champions League football just three seasons ago, told Reuters that the club had not been granted permission by the council to play in the second division, Serie B, next season.

"We are not in Serie B, that is official. At the moment the council is looking at hypotheses about us playing in Serie C," said the spokesman.

Three Serie C clubs face uncertain futures -- Anastasia, Fasano and Lecco who were not registered for their leagues due to their financial positions.

Fiorentina president Vittorio Cecchi Gori promised he would find the necessary cash before Thursday's deadline but so far there has been no sign of the capital injection needed to save the club.

Galliani confirmed that Ternana, who finished 17th in Serie B last season will have their relegation overturned and stay in the second division in place of Fiorentina.

New club

The option of a new club has been floated by local politicians and FIGC president Franco Carraro said he had asked the federation to assess whether it is possible to leave the door open to a possible new club.

"Today is a terrible today because a club with great tradition, a real part of Italian football has not been able to be signed up to the championship," said Carraro, "It is a defeat for all of us.

"It would be a mistake to start laying blame at this moment and I have asked the council to weigh up all the possibilities. There is a reasonable possibility they could be included in Serie C2 but it is less easy to imagine C1," he said.

The club has a number of international players, such as Portugal's Nuno Gomes, Yugoslav Predrag Mijatovic and Italy international Enrico Chiesa, who in normal circumstances could have been sold to pay off the debt.

But, with many Italian clubs suffering from a shortage of cash, the transfer market is quiet and the knowledge that the players would be available on a free transfer should Fiorentina go bust has also acted as a disincentive to potential buyers.

Last season's relegation was only the second time since World War Two that the Florence club -- Italian champions in 1956 and 1969 -- have gone down to Serie B.

Just three seasons ago the club were playing in the Champions League, beating the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United while being coached by current Italy boss Giovanni Trapattoni and led on the field by Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta.

Film producer Cecchi Gori had to sell many of the club's top players merely to compete in Serie A last season, with Italy goalkeeper Francesco Toldo and Portugal midfielder Rui Costa following Batistuta out of Florence.

Juventus begins title defense at Piacenza

MILAN (Reuters) -- Italian champions Juventus will begin their title defense at Piacenza when the Serie A season starts on September 1.

Fixtures for the opening day announced by the Italian Football League on Thursday also handed promoted Como a tough trip to AS Roma.

Inter Milan, without a title win since 1989 and pipped to the scudetto by Juventus on the final day of last season, start their campaign with a home game against promoted Empoli.

The first clash of top teams comes in the fourth week of the season when on September 29 Lazio face AC Milan.

Inter Milan will host Juventus on October 20, while the first Rome derby sees Lazio face Roma on October 27.

The first Milan derby, which could see Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldo of Inter and Rivaldo of AC Milan come face to face, is scheduled for November 24.

Exact dates for the games could be changed once the television schedule has been agreed.

Bologna coach, player questioned about alleged fixing

TURIN, Italy (AP) -- The coach and the Argentine striker of Serie A team Bologna were questioned Thursday by a Turin prosecutor investigating the alleged fixing of a league match last season.

Coach Francesco Guidolin and striker Julio Ricardo Cruz were summoned as witnesses to be questioned in Turin's courthouse, according to news reports.

Court officials said that Turin prosecutors have been looking into a possible sport fraud related to the Torino-Bologna league match which ended in a 1-1 draw at Delle Alpi stadium.

The investigation was started after lip-reading, aided by television slow-motion, suggested that Torino's defender Fabio Galante asked a teammate "to let them score."

Shortly after Cruz tallied Bologna's equalizer. Galante has long denied to have ever suggeted his teammate to fix the match.

Inter wins three-team preseason tournament

TRIESTE, Italy (AP) -- Inter Milan, fired by goals of its Italian striker Christian Vieri, won the TIM Cup preseason soccer tournament featuring two other Serie A powerhouses, league champion Juventus and AC Milan.

Inter collected four points out of two 45-minute matches.

Vieri scored both goals -- one on a penalty -- in Inter's 2-0 win against crosstown rival AC Milan at the Nereo Rocco stadium in Trieste Wednesday.

Inter, without World Cup star Ronaldo, held Juventus to a goalless draw in a previous match.

Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko scored the winning goal for AC Milan in the match against La Juve.

AC Milan Brazilian goalkeeper Dida made some decisive saves before getting a red card for handing the ball outside the penalty area.

This match was less than friendly for Juventus Dutch midfielder Edgard Davids and AC Milan Romanian defender Cosmin Contra who were ejected after only four minutes for trading kicks and punches.

In August, both AC Milan and Inter will be playing Champions League qualifying matches.

The Italian soccer season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1st but may be postponed as some clubs are facing deep financial problems.

Reggina's Nakamura draws praise

ROME (AP) -- Reggina's newly signed Japanese star Shunsuke Nakamura won high praise Thursday for his impressive performance in a pre-season warmup match in northern Italy.

"The imaginative play of Nakamura boosts Reggina's game," wrote Rome's sports daily Corriere dello Sport.

"He played very well, his improvements are impressive," echoed Reggina's coach Lino Mutti.

Reggina, a newly-promoted Serie A club, signed the Japanese star for the next campaign.

With Nakamura and Paraguayan Carlos Paredes on the starting lineup, Reggina scored an easy 8-0 win against an Aosta valley amateur team Wednesday.

Batistuta's contract renewal will depend on performance

ROME (AP) -- AS Roma president Francesco Sensi said the extension of Grabriel Batistuta's contract with the Roman club, which expires next year, would depend on his performances in the upcoming Serie A campaign.

"Batistuta is coming from a disappointing season. Extending his contract will depend on what he will show on the field," Sensi said.

The 33-year-old Argentine striker is starting in his third season with the Roman club.

Meanwhile coach Fabio Capello insisted that Roma badly needs an aggressive midfielder such as Edgar Davids, the Dutchman currently with Juventus. Davids said recently he would be happy to join the Roman side.

The Italian transfer campaign continues through the end of August.

Baggio targets 200-goal mark

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) -- Veteran striker Roberto Baggio said his next career target is to reach the 200-goal mark in the Italian Serie A rather than regaining a place on the national team.

The 35-year-old star -- who will start in his 18th Serie A season with provincial team Brescia after a bright career with such powerhouses as Juventus, Inter and AC Milan -- has tallied 181 goals in league matches so far. He has also scored 27 goals with the national team and 32 in the European Cups.

Baggio, who considered retirement after being dropped from the Italian World Cup team this summer, said that rejoining the Azzurri for the 2004 European championships was a distant goal.

"My immediate target is to score 200 goals in the Serie A," said Baggio, one of the most popular Italian players ever.

Paper calls for punishing Davids, Contras

MILAN, Italy (AP) -- Italy's largest sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, on Thursday called for severe punishment of Edgar Davids and Cosmin Contras, who traded kicks and punches during a preseason tournament in Trieste.

The Dutch midfielder of league champion Juventus and the Romanian defender of AC Milan were ejected four minutes into a Tim Cup game Wednesday night. They kept on fighting in the dressing rooms.

Gazzetta lamented that their misbehavior during a friendly match in front of millions of television viewers, "was a shameful way to inaugurate the soccer season in front of the world."

Gazzetta called for a "harsh punishment" of the players by the league disciplinary commission and heavy fines by the clubs.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.