Coco the gossip and the triangle at Livorno

At his arrival in Livorno there are immediately girls waiting to see Francesco at his official presentation at Livorno.

Francesco, who was regularly seen on the covers of gossip magazines instead of football magazines thanks to his relationship with actress Manuela Arcuri, arrives in Livorno, where he runs in to his ex Manuela again who is currently dating an olimpic champion from Livorno : Aldo Montano! This coincidence inspired the Gazzetta dello sport to write the ironic title “And at last the triangle”. “If I run into him at the stadium” –Francesco says jokingly- I’ll shake his hand. I know that he is a friendly guy and if I get the chance I will be pleased to meet him. These are the coincidences of life, but I’m not embarassed”

Francesco explains that he just wants to talk about football.

“I want to go forward and I want to be seen just as a footballplayer. In this long period when I was unable to play because of my injury there has been lots of talk about my personal life, people seemed to have forgotten WHY I wasn’t playing”.

The left-back has a great desire to shut the mouths of all his critics who wrote him off in the past 2 years. “All the gossip made me sound like a superficial person – Coco continued- I want to show them all that I can return to the level I was at several years ago”.

translated from : http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Sport/2005/09_Settembre/01/coco.shtml

Donadoni's Livorno dare to dream

The success of Roberto Donadoni's AS Livorno Calcio has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the Serie A season. Having returned to the Italian top flight for the first time since 1949 only 16 months ago, the small team from the port town in Tuscany are now fifth in the standings, just two points off fourth position which brings UEFA Champions League qualification.

Milan memories
Tonight, AC Milan, the club Donadoni graced with such distinction for ten years of his playing career, winning five league titles and three European Champion Clubs' Cups, travel to the Armando Picchi stadium. Livorno are unbeaten in nine games, have won the last three, and will try to repeat last term's 1-0 victory over the Rossoneri to join their opponents on 34 points.

'Special place in my heart'
"The match against Milan is always special for me," said Donadoni. "I spent some fantastic years there and Milan will always have a special place in my heart. We know it will be very difficult for us but we will try to beat them as we did last season. Milan are a great side and [Donadoni's former team-mate Carlo] Ancelotti is a very good coach. I don't believe Milan are already out of the Scudetto race, even if they are nine points behind Juventus."

Spinelli praise
Meanwhile, Livorno president Aldo Spinelli has only words of praise for Donadoni following their brilliant start to the campaign: "I think he has something of [Arrigo] Sacchi and something of [Fabio] Capello, his coaches as a player. But he doesn't have to join a big club too quickly, though sooner or later he will follow the footsteps of Ancelotti, Sacchi and Capello - he is a great coach like them."

Coco comeback
Donadoni is not the only Milan old boy to make his mark at Livorno. Left-back Francesco Coco, considered the new Paolo Maldini when he made his Serie A debut with the Rossoneri aged 18, is finally playing regularly at this level after two dark seasons at FC Internazionale Milano in which he appeared only six times. "I want to thank Livorno and Donadoni because they have allowed me to prove many people wrong," said the 28-year-old, who has been capped 17 times by Italy. "I'm just aiming to return to how I was before my back injury and get back into the national team."

Protti honoured
Before tonight's game, the Livorno fans will celebrate a former hero, Igor Protti, who scored 119 league goals for the club before hanging up his boots last summer. Livorno have retired the No10 shirt in his honour. "My former team-mates are doing something extraordinary," the 38-year-old Protti said. "I have no regrets at leaving football just ahead of this fantastic season - I'm only happy for the team and I believe the dream of playing in Europe can soon become a reality."

taken from www.uefa.com