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Hoffenheim director of sport Ernst Tanner has said that Andreas Beck will remain with the Bundesliga outfit casting doubt over a move to Juventus after reports claimed the Italians were keen on him.

Beck was linked with the Turin outfit in January, before reports in May resurfaced regarding an offer from the Serie A club.

However, Tanner has said the 24-year-old will not be leaving during the summer transfer window.

"I expect that Andreas Beck will play for us next season," Tanner told the press.

Reports suggested the Turin-based side had five million euros ready for the Hoffenheim full-back who is tied to his club until 2012.

Juventus is said to be in talks with Lazio for right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, but president Claudio Lotito warned his player will cost around 12 million euros.

But Juve sporting director Giuseppe Marotta is hoping to close business with a 10 million euro payment.?

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Labels: Andreas, Goalcom, Hoffenheim, Juventus, reveals, summer, switch, unlikely

TURIN, Italy (AP)—Former Juventus captain Antonio Conte says he’s fulfilling a dream by becoming the coach.

Conte was appointed as the new coach after agreeing to a two-year deal with the two-time European Champion on Tuesday.

“It feels like I’m coming home as I have always dreamed of coaching this team,” Conte said. “We have a good base to build on in the squad. We didn’t challenge for the title last season and that has left some of the players a little deluded. We need the right type of motivation for next season because we have a very good squad.”

Juventus has already been active in the transfer market and brought in World Cup-winning midfielder Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan.

Even though Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has promised a sizable transfer budget, the likelihood is that Conte will continue to rely on veterans Alessandro Del Piero and Gianlugi Buffon to lead the side.

“Del Piero and Buffon are still very useful for the team,” Conte did. “They are proven winners and have a great work ethic.

“We will have to have a proper look at our transfer targets and find players that fit into how I want the team to play.”

Conte joins Juventus from Siena, which he guided to promotion to Serie A this season. It was the second time he led a team into the topflight, after Bari was promoted in 2009.

He replaces Luigi Delneri, who failed to take Juventus into Europe with a seventh-place finish in the league.

It completed an underwhelming season in which Juventus was eliminated from the Europa League at the group stage despite drawing all six of its games.

“We want to be winning and we want to get back to doing so under Antonio Conte,” Agnelli said. “He is the first piece of the jigsaw that will get us back to winning ways.”

Conte has twice been linked to the Juventus coaching post, but lost out to Claudio Ranieri in 2009 and Ciro Ferrara in 2010.

He played for Juventus from 1991 until he retired in 2004 and scored 44 goals in 419 games. He was part of the team that won the 1996 Champions League, the 1993 UEFA Cup and also helped the club to five Serie A titles.

Conte was also in the Italy squad that reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and scored one of his two international goals on the way to Italy finishing the 2000 European Championships second.

“The main objective for me is to put the team in a position to challenge for trophies,” Conte said. “Our history demands we do so. We need the right attitude and approach to work and then we can return to where we should be.”

Labels: Antonio, coach, Conte, Juventus, named

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says coach Luigi Del Neri must be shown faith by the club's board of directors and keep him at the Bianconeri.

The shot-stopper believes the tactician was given a chance to perform, and should be allowed to until the end of the season.

"I think he [Del Neri] should stay," the 33-year-old told Tuttosport. "The directors gave their full faith in the coach, and he should stay until the end of the season.

"When a players walks onto the pitch, it does not matter whether they like the coach or not. Their focus is on doing their role, which is the reason why they get paid. The remainder of the problems stay away.

"All the players hold Del Neri in high esteem, and up until the win against Inter, everyone was saying that he had had a good season. We now need to approach every match as if it were a final, and work out the outcomes in a month or two when the season ends."

The custodian believes his team-mates must keep their heads up for the remainder of the season, and not act as if all hope has been lost.

"We need to go onto the pitch without the air of feeling as if we are at a funeral," he expressed. "We need to remain optimistic and happy to show the coach and the fans that we want to achieve something important."

The Bianconeri are set to face league leaders and rivals Milan this weekend, and Buffon is hoping the side can end their two-match losing streak and defeat the Rossoneri.

"If on Saturday, we can find our way, we can change the way our season will finish, ending it on a high. Should we lose, we will be repeating the same mistakes that we did last season," concluded Buffon.

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Labels: Buffon, coach, Gianluigi, Goalcom, Juventus, Luigi, Remain, season, until

Luciano Moggi is certain Juventus have run aground and their is no way out as that sinking feeling floods in.

The former transfer director set out his concerns and called for change after witnessing a passive approach towards objectives.

Writing in his Tuttomercatoweb.com column, Moggi stated: "I am sad to comment on Juventus' way of working and I don't agree with the choices made in the winter transfer market.

"The names brought in only reflect the level the Bianconeri are at already, they are a team at the good end of mid-table.

"They cannot invent themselves to be leaders, just like the players cannot pretend to be champions.

"People like Andrea Barzagli and Alessandro Matri are not mediocre players, but neither are they champions.

"I was also surprised with Luigi Del Neri's comments after the Palermo loss. He spoke about referee errors, but he was not able to explain his technical-tactical debacle as he raised a smoke screen."
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Labels: Again, Goalcom, Hopefuls, Juventus, Luciano, MidTable, Moggi, Wrong