Italian Roundup

Milan VP called to face tax-evasion trial

ROME (Reuters) -- Adriano Galliani, the vice president of AC Milan, has been called to stand trial over allegations that his club evaded tax during the early 1990s, Italian media reported on Monday.

Galliani, who is also president of the Italian Football League, is accused of falsifying contracts and failing to declare earnings from the image rights of top players, including ex-Italian international defender Paolo Maldini.

Also under investigation are hockey and volleyball teams belonging to Fininvest, the holding company owned by the family of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi which controls AC Milan.

"I'm surprised to be accused of tax evasion and undeclared payments," Galliani was quoted as saying by Italian news agency Ansa on Monday.

"The invoices were entered regularly in the declarations of AC Milan's accounts."

The trial is set to begin on May 9.

This is not the first time AC Milan has fallen foul of Italy's tax police.

Last June an Italian court convicted former AC Milan players Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard of tax evasion during their time with Milan in the early 1990s.

The trio were given three-month prison sentences which were then converted into fines of 1,500 euros (US$1,465).

At the same time, Galliani and six other officials of the Serie A club and Fininvest were acquitted of false bookkeeping for the 1992 transfer of striker Gianluigi Lentini from Torino.

Cagni returns to coach Piacenza

ROME (Reuters) -- Piacenza have welcomed back Luigi Cagni as their coach after sacking Andrea Agostinelli on Monday following a humiliating 4-1 home defeat by Brescia at the weekend.

Piacenza, third from bottom with just 13 points from their 19 matches this season, are struggling to avoid relegation from Serie A.

Cagni said he was delighted to return to the club he coached from 1990 to 1996 -- a period during which Piacenza rose from Serie C1 to compete in the top division for the first time in their history.

"I got the call on Sunday morning and in the evening I met the president [Fabrizio Garilli]," he told reporters.

"I don't know why I love desperate situations, but it's the only thing that stimulates me. I know I've got very little time at my disposal, but I'll try to use it to the best of my abilities."

Cagni has his work cut out to overcome the problems left by his predecessor Agostinelli.

The January signings of midfielders Marco Marchionni and David Baiocco have failed to turn results around. The club has taken just two points from their last eight games.

Agostinelli was the fourth Serie A coach this season to lose his job after Torino's Giancarlo Camolese, Reggina's Bortolo Mutti and Como's Loris Dominissini.

Striker Bonazzoli turns Reggina into Pride of the South

ROME (Reuters) -- Reggina striker David Di Michele has said the arrivals of coach Luigi De Canio and ex-Parma attacker Emiliano Bonazzoli are behind a sequence of wins that have hauled the club out of Serie A's relegation zone.

On Sunday, the southern side followed up victories against Bologna and Lazio with a 3-1 win over Perugia, thanks to goals by Di Michele, Bonazzoli and midfielder Francesco Cozza.

Bonazzoli's strike was his second in two games since being acquired from Parma during the January transfer window.

"It's working fantastically with Bonazzoli, he's creating the right chances for me," Di Michele was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.

The striker also paid tribute to coach De Canio, who took charge in November after his predecessor, Bortolo Mutti, was sacked for winning just five points in his first eight games.

"Reggina are doing themselves justice," he said. "With Mutti there wasn't a game or organization."

Reggina's success is a boost to those concerned that Italy's North-South divide in wealth and power is reflected in the lack of southern representation at football's highest levels.

Of the 18 clubs in Serie A, Reggina are the only side to come from the country's deep south.

The situation is equally pronounced in Serie B, which is currently headed by four northern teams (Sampdoria, Triestina, Ancona and Vicenza), while four southern sides (Napoli, Bari, Cosenza and Salernitana) face the drop to Serie C1.

 

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