There’s an air of satisfaction in the Napoli camp after yesterday’s Intertoto Cup first leg win over Panionios.

The Vesuviani are hoping to enter the UEFA Cup by the back door after finishing eighth last season.

Thanks to the Intertoto Cup, Napoli only need to beat Greek outfit Panionios to return to the European stage after a 14-year exile and their 1-0 win in Athens could prove precious.

“This result in our European debut brought great satisfaction to President Aurelio De Laurentiis and myself,” Coach Edy Reja enthused.

“It wasn’t easy to win this first game but I saw a positive mentality. We were lucky on a few occasions but we also created lots of chances.

“Qualification isn’t guaranteed, but the 1-0 win away is worth double and home advantage means a lot to us.”

One of the stars of the show was Argentine new recruit German Denis, who has had an impressive pre-season.

“Denis is constantly improving and I saw him put in a strong performance,” Reja said.

“He is a very important element, but Manuele Blasi, Walter Gargano and Marek Hamsik were also very good.”

Sporting director Pierpaolo Marino was also delighted by the successful opener.

“It wasn’t easy to get a result in Athens,” he insisted. “Champions League regulars like AEK Athens, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos have struggled here.

“I see this more as the first round of the UEFA Cup than the Intertoto Cup and so far so good.”

Ref From channel4.com

Roma’s veteran defender Christian Panucci could be lured to Milan, according to rumours in the peninsula.

The 35-year-old is currently at Trigoria with the rest of the Roma players who began their pre-season training earlier this morning.

However, according to Il Messaggero, he could leave his teammates to return to Milan, where he plied his trade between 1993 and 1996.

The paper suggests that the Rossoneri have a two-year deal waiting for the Azzurri star and that Vice-President Adriano Galliani has made contact with his Giallorossi counterparts to discuss a possible transfer.

Panucci’s current contract at the Stadio Olimpico expires at the end of June 2009, which would leave him without a deal at the age of 36.

A switch to Milan would provide Panucci with the security of an extra year’s earnings and would ensure that he could close his career at the highest level.

Ref From channel4.com

Palermo boss Stefano Colantuono was encouraged by his side’s spirit in their emphatic pre-season victory over Nockberge yesterday.

The Rosanero endured a miserable campaign last time around and have made sweeping changes in the summer market.

The new men seemed to be settling in well during a 9-0 hammering of Austrian minnows Nockberge, which included a double for Brazilian new boy Tulio De Melo.

“The spirit is right and I can only be happy,” Stefano Colantuono declared after the final whistle.

“I didn’t take any notice of the number of goals we scored but the way we played.

“What mattered to me was to see how we would manage to move as a team and how we imposed ourselves on the attack.

“We haven’t worked much on tactics in the first few days of our pre-season but I saw that the little we have done has sunk in well.

“It’s obvious that there is a lot to improve on but this was encouraging.”

De Melo was the subject of a tug-of-war with Parma and Colantuono concluded with an assessment of the rising star.

“It was important for him to score,” he stated. “But he needs to grow and keep getting better from a technical point of view.”

Ref From channel4.com