Barnetta a Fiorentina player?

According to firenzeviola.it the Italian team Fiorentina (semifinalists of this year’s UEFA CUP and qualified for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions’ League) are interested in buying our star player, Tranquillo Barnetta.

Leverkusen has no intention of selling the player for less than 15 million euros. AS Roma was also interested in the player some months ago but wasn’t willing to go beyond 8 million euros.

Barnetta’s agent, Wolfgang Voege, has stated that Fiorentina haven’t contacted Leverkusen yet but Barnetta, whose contract ends in 2010, has always wanted to play in the Serie A. Furthermore he said that Bayer Leverkusen has received a phone call from an Italian club.

According to tsr.ch, Barnetta got injured during the practice at the training camp in Ticino after a clash with Gelson Fernandes. We don’t know yet how bad the injury is but after losing Nkufo, Coltorti, Esteban, Dzemaili and Margairaz we can only hope that this won’t rule him out of Euro 2008.

Elsewhere Thomas Haeberli, who took the place of the injured Nkufo, will probably play the game against Slovakia. 34 years old, the Young Boys has scored 18 times and provided 11 assists this year. The Swiss media was expecting Kuhn to call the young Basel prodigy Stocker although the latter isn’t a natural striker.
Haeberli has only played once for the Swiss National Team, against the Faer Oer Islands.

Now everybody hail Bellinzona! The Ticino side completed a 5-2 aggregate win against Super League side Skt. Gallen in the final playoff that determined the 10th team in next year’s Championship. Bellinzona, a Challenge League side, gives Ticino the flavour of the Super League after 6 years absence. A Neri header at the 36th minute and a counterattack at the last minute with a Lulic goal were sufficient to confirme the 3-2 win in Ticino.
Skt. Gallen hadn’t been relegated since 1993 and at the end of the game the angry fans began demolishing the stadium (since the Espenmoos will be rebuilt anew). A sad and rare event in Swiss football where hooliganism isn’t a big issue.

The Swiss-Croatian Bellinzona coach Petkovic stated:
We’ve been playing well for 2 years. We deserve entering the Super League. For the team and for Ticino. I was very satisfied with the attitude of my players during the 90 minute battle.

However, the Stadio Comunale will need to have the standards required for a Super League stadium. The Ticino side might play the first part of the season in Basel.

Skt-Gallen - Bellinzona 0-2 (0-1)

Espenmoos - 11 300 spectators
Referee: Laperrière
Goals: 36th Neri 0-1. 92nd Lulic 0-2.

Skt. Gallen: Lopar; Zellweger, Koubsky, Schneider, Weller; Callà (81st Ciccone), Gelabert, Zé Vitor (63rd Costanzo), Marazzi; Aguirre, Ural.

Bellinzona: Bucchi; La Rocca, Mangiaratti, Carbone (5th Wahab); Miccolis, Moresi, Rivera (78th Raso), Lulic; Taljevic; Pouga (80th Belotti), Neri.

Last but not least Stefan Lichtsteiner, the right-back Lille player is in the 2007-2008 French Ligue 1 ideal squad:
Mandanda (Marseille); Chrétien (Nancy), Puygrenier (Nancy), Diawara (Bordeaux), Morel (Lorient); Lichtsteiner (Lille), Toulalan (Lyon), Abriel (Lorient), Rothen (Paris Saint-Germain); Benzema (Lyon), Niang (Marseille).