First of all I am jealous that Fiorentina went out and inked Alberto Gilardino and that Marco Borriello appears to have been bought back completely by Milan to replace Gila since Napoli so desperately needs another proven striker. Much to my hope and wish sources state that that Udinese striker Antonio DiNatale isn’t going to Roma as rumoured but actually back to his native Napoli. Man alive…can you imagine Lavezzi and DiNatale in the same starting lineup? Toto scored 17 goals in 35 games this past season and just imagine him in Azzurri blue at the San Paolo? I can dream can’t I?

Napoli appears to be checking out Porto left back Marek Cech. I have one of my Portuguese sources doing a background on Cech but from all accounts, he is quite talented and was on the team that won the Portuguese title this past year. It appears that Cech is interested in playing in Napoli as a result of fellow Slovakian Marek Hamsik’s influence. With Domizzi as good as gone, Cech may be the utilimate replacement. More to come.

It appears that keeper Gennaro Iezzo is only willing to leave Napoli if he is guaranteed no chance of starting next year and will only accept a move to Juve or Roma to back up Buffon or Doni respectively. I still don’t see him staying and can see him moving to Juve so as to keep Buffon rested from Italian league play in order to keep him sharp for Champions League play.

Rumour also has it that Napoli will strengthen their midfield by acquiring current Empoli midfielder Luca Antonini, who is also co-owned by AC Milan. The 25 year old was a rock for the Tuscan club during in the 2006/2007 season but struggled with the rest of his teammates this past season as Empoli suffered the torture of relegation. Antonini was goal less in 32 matches.

Oh by the way, my whipping boy Mirko Savini is close to signing with a Dutch club (see ya) and Dalla Bona’s agent stated that his client has likely played his last game with the club….big surpise.

More to come……

Roberto Sosa, Maurizio Domizzi and Ezequiel Lavezzi (and his fiancee) all started to crack this week. Domizzi and Sosa were involved in an altercation in training when Sosa took exception to a rough tackle. I’m not sure Domizzi knows any other way to tackle. The reason he has quickly become a fan favorite in his two years in Napoli is precisely because he’s such a fierce competitor and would just as soon run you over as to say hello. Sosa and Lavezzi Domizzi came to blows (I know the Channel 4 story says they only traded “insults” but other reports commented on how the two were throwing haymakers) on the training ground at Castelvolturno. Kudos to Roberto Sosa for stepping up and being the first to apologize.

Coach Edy Reja and Diretorre Generale Pier Paolo Marino were said to be pretty upset and will look to clear the matter up today. They’ll also have to sort out a little trouble their star Argentenian playmaker got into this weekend. Lavezzi got into a car accident around midnight on Saturday morning and when the other people involved asked Lavezzi for money to pay for the damages, El Pocho went El Loco and his girlfriend/fiancee took off her belt and started kicking some ass with it. Priceless…and I thought belts were the exclusive weapon of Dads used when their son hosts a Senior Prom bash with 20 of his closest friends when he’s out of town. In any case, El Pocho has a lot of ’splaining to do. Thus far our tifosi have been shut out of seeing their squad play once already, they’re now banned from seeing their second straight road match and three of their best players are can’t control their tempers. I knew this season was going to be exciting. My hope was for more ‘top of the table’ excitement then this nonsense.

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Congratulations to Paolo Cannavaro for getting his first Azzurri callup. Fabio’s little brother has played a solid center back for the past year and a half (though, to be fair Domizzi has played better) and will train with Donadoni in preparation for Italia’s friendly against South Africa on Wednesday. We’ll see how much he plays as Donadoni has called in an “expiremental side” for this friendly (read:  the “B” team). Napoli hasn’t had a player feature for the Azzurri since March 1992 when Nando De Napoli played. De Napoli also holds the record for most appearances by a Napoli player for the Nazionale (49). It’d be more than nice to see Cannavaro actually get some time on the pitch.

Donadoni admits he’s looking at Napoli to potentially blood some new players for the friendly against Hungary on August 22. The likelyhood is that defenders would most likely get the call as Fabio Cannavaro will not likely be around too much longer with the national team, Nesta looks like he’s retired for good from the Azzurri and Grosso hasn’t earned and received consistent play at Inter. Donadoni admitted he’s interested in Paolo Cannavaro and Maurizio Domizzi and may look to get them their first caps in the Hungary friendly. Calaiò and Iezzo have also been mentioned as possibilities, but given the depth at striker and keeper in Italy, I’d put them both as extreme longshots to get a run out. The Azzurri have two crucial matches upcoming in their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign (September 8 against France and September 12 against Ukraine). It’s almost a certainty no one but the most experienced Azzurri players would suit up for either of those matches but simply having the national team coach talk about our players shows how far the squad has come.

* Marco Capparella’s agent confirmed he’s going to stay with the squad and I ask…why? Capparella made eight appearances last year, all off the bench, he’s going to turn 33 in March. He’s a lifelong Serie C1/C2 player who’s only played in Serie B for three of his fifteen professional years. Isn’t it going to be Montervino’s job to fetch drinks for Reja and Marino and organize the team picnic?

* Gargano is rumoured to have given up a chance to play for Valencia (and presumably more money) in order to wear the Napoli shirt. That’s awesome, Walter. Now freaking sign already and get yourself a European work permit so you’ll be ready when training starts in July. And it’d be really nice if you could play more than garbage time in the Copa America because I’d like to see you play instead of muddling through Spanish language sites to figure out what you can do. Gargano has been compared to Gattuso (no doubt by his agent) for his ball winning skills. Bring it on, Walter.

* Edy Reja has still not signed his contract with Napoli. Far be it for me to speculate as to why but…