Diego Salvages Draw for Werder

Werder Bremen salvages a draw against AC Milan through Diego’s late game heroics to keep Werder’s hopes alive in the UEFA Cup Round of 32. The goal came in the 84^th minute of the match that saw David Beckham see action for the Italian club side only in the last minute and injury time.

The home side kept the pressure after the Italian side scored through a left footed volley by Filippo Inzaghi in the 32^nd minute. He collected the rebound after the initial header he had made was blocked by the Werder goalkeeper.  At the second half, a more determined Bundesliga squad came out to score against the visitors.

The away win was assumed to be locked up by Milan until the superb play by Diego saved the match draw. This is better than a loss, but the climb towards the UEFA final match would be much more difficult with the result. Should Werder Bremen continue the energy they had in the second half of this match, they can make their trek a little easier in the next UEFA Cup rounds.

Diego to Juventus?

Werder Bremen’s Brazilian midfielder Diego could be on his way to Juventus in the summer, as the Turin club plan ahead for Pavel Nedved’s imminent retirement, according to some reports.

Juventus president Cobolli Gigli has expresed the club’s interest in the player, and also said that the player wants to move to Juve: “Juventus like Diego, we are interested in him and this is reciprocal,” Gigli told the media.

“Juve are observing him, he is a good player, but I don’t think he will arrive in January. Maybe it might happen in the summer.”

As far as Werder are concerned, they remain confident the player will see out his contract:
“Diego has a contract until 2011 and we want to keep him. He is not for sale,” sporting director Klaus Allofs told newspaper Bild.

The player himself seems happy at Werder for now, and it remains to be seen if Juve can convince him to make the move: “I’m happy to know that there are some big teams interested in me and my way of playing football,” declared the Brazilian.

“I have a contract until 2011. Right now I’m not thinking about renewing and Werder did not propose me anything, at least so far. It’s true that I have offers from other teams, but I have not yet thought about leaving.”

“I don’t know yet if I will play in Italy,” he admitted. “There are teams which I like and I’m very interested in the Italian league, but for the time being I don’t know.

Ranieri wants Diego and Champions League

Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri has confirmed rumours that the club is interested in bringing in Brazilian midfielder from Werder Bremen.

“Diego? I will not say yes or no,” Ranieri told Juventus Channel. “Diego is very strong, he is an incredible player and we are looking at him. We have to value him in every way, I like him, but we need to see where he will fit within our well oiled machine. Bringing in a new player and getting him used to the set up will not be easy and it cannot be rushed.”

He also spoke about his ambitions for the current season, including reaching the Champions League final. “We will try, I will even pay to be there,” added Ranieri.

“We have to have the will and the dream of getting there. We hope to meet Chelsea while we are in good shape. The Champions League gives plenty of nervous moments and I hope my players will be ready.”

Ronaldinho inspires Brazil’s win

Former Barcelona midfielder and new AC Milan signing Ronaldinho inspired Brazil to a 3-0 win over Singapore as Brazil prepares for the Beijing Olympics. The ever smiling midfielder scored and made an assist as the former world champions cruised to a comfortable win.

Playing the entire 90 minutes, Ronaldinho showed glimpses of his brilliance by delivering a delightful back heel for Werder Bremen’s Diego to slot home on twenty minutes to make it 1-0. It was Ronaldinho who made it 2-0 when he scored from close range.

Over the last few months doubts have been circulating in the world of soccer concerning the Brazilians future in the game; many thought he could be at the twilight of his career but could this be the return of the king?