Socrates

Bonucci thanks Zenit for interest Sep 1, 2011 Leonardo Bonucci has thanked Zenit St Petersburg for their interest in him, but has promised that his focus is now on improving with Juventus. In the closing days of the transfer window, the 24-year-old centre-back was heavily linked with a move to the Russian Premier League side, but for his agent to confirm in the final hours of yesterday's deadline day that a deal had failed to materialise. Bonucci today told Juventus' official website:

Marotta content with Juve moves Sep 1, 2011 Juventus director general Beppe Marotta insists the club have strengthened over the summer, but he

No defensive worries for Juve Sep 1, 2011 Juventus

Lo "storico" gol di Fabio Capello a Wembley all'86' minuto. Fu la prima vittoria in assoluto dell'Italia in casa degli inglesi. Era il 14 novembre 1973.

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Marotta: 'Juve market is closed' Aug 31, 2011 Juventus director general Beppe Marotta concedes

Zenit offer too low for Bonucci Aug 31, 2011 Zenit St Petersburg target Leonardo Bonucci will, in all probability, remain with Juventus. The Russian club are keen on the centre-back and it is understood that they had an

Zenit St Petersburg reject Leonardo Bonucci swap offer for Bruno Alves A report claims Portugal international looks set to miss out on Serie A as Russian club will not accept an player exchange deal. Aug 31, 2011 Juventus' move for Zenit St Petersburg defender Bruno Alves appears to have stumbled as the Russian side are not willing to accept a swap deal with Leonardo Bonucci. Il Corriere dello Sport reports a transfer between the clubs before the end of the transfer window now looks unlikely. The Italians were hoping to convince Zenit to enter into discussions by inserting Bonucci as part of a swap move, but directors at the Russian outfit have rejected the proposal out of hand. Portugal international Alves moved to Zenit in January 2010 from Porto, and is admired and desired in Turin, but with the deal now appearing dead, Juventus are now considering a swoop for Rubin Kazan defender Salvatore Bocchetti, who is thought to be in talks over a move to Napoli.

Andrea Pirlo: Serie A has had major drop in quality The Italian midfielder has commented on the general standard of the league, as well as Juve's ambitions for the season ahead. Aug 31, 2011 Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo has spoken openly about the standard of Serie A, and believes there has been a major drop in quality within the league. Despite the likes of AC Milan and Inter being amongst the heavyweights in the Champions League and Serie A, Pirlo believes that the overall level of the Italian top-flight was low. Speaking with La giornalaccio rosa dello Sport, the 32-year-old stated: "There are better and more competitive leagues than ours. We have had a major drop in quality and we'll have to work hard to get back up there." Pirlo also expressed his understanding of the current strike action, which has pushed the start of the season back to September 11, and revealed that the players were desperate to get the campaign underway. "We wanted to play, some others didn't," he said. "The players did everything in their power to play the matches as scheduled, [but] the clubs decided otherwise." With the Serie A campaign now due to kick-off after the international period, Pirlo commented on what his new club, Juventus, had planned for the campaign ahead. The playmaker moved to Turin from AC Milan during the summer, and stated: "The main objective is to try and win something as well as qualifying for next year's Champions League. We really want to close the gap on AC Milan, who are the team to beat today, as are Inter ... we are working hard for this very reason."

Pirlo: "Italy like Ancelotti's Milan" Aug 30, 2011 Andrea Pirlo believes Italy

Bonucci and Bruno Alves close to swapping clubs Representatives from both teams are reportedly set to meet in Italy and conclude a deal which will see the Italy and Portugal internationals switch employers on a permanent basis. Aug 30, 2011 Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg are closing in on a player-exchange deal, which will see Leonardo Bonucci leave Turin to join the Russian club and Bruno Alves sign for the Italians, according to Corriere dello Sport. Negotiations regarding the centre-backs have long been in the pipeline, with reports of such a deal originally emanating in early August, but it seems that the transfer is finally nearing completion. The Russian outfit want to finalise the swap before the transfer window closes on Wednesday evening, the publication also states, as a delegation from Zenit will be instructed to conclude discussions with Juventus chiefs in Italy on Tuesday. It is thought that the deal will satisfy Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who is known to prefer a more experienced head in defence, and he should receive his man in the form of Alves, a full international for his native Portugal with a decorated club career, having won titles in his homeland and Russia. Bonucci, an Italy international, featured 34 times in Serie A during the 2010-11 campaign.