The Serie A 2008-2009 schedule are now released. The season will begin on August 31st and end on May 31st. There will be three midweek rounds slated for September 24, October 29, and January 28. The winter break will be from December 21-January 11. Serie A will also come to a halt three times for the National Team, who will be undergoing World Cup 2010 qualifying. Those dates are September 7, October 12, and March 29.

The Coppa Italia will begin on August 9th, with the second round being played August 17th. The third round is August 23rd, and the fourth round will begin the 2 legged ties (September 18 and October 2nd). The Round of 16 will be November 12, and December 3, 10, and 17. The Quarter-finals will be January 21 and February 4th, with the semi-finals March 4 and April 22. The Final will be Wednesday May 13, 2009, at a venue yet to be decided.
The Italian SuperCup between Roma and Inter will be played on Sunday, August 24. The Lega Calcio has temporarily named San Siro as the venue, but both clubs have expressed interest in playing the game abroad, and New York (The Italians call it New York, but it’s really New Jersey-Giants Stadium) is the most likely venue. The SuperCoppa was held at Giants Stadium back in 2005, Juventus beat Milan on penalties. I was there and it was a great experience, I would love for it to be held here again.

Ref From www.italy.theoffside.com

England: Portsmouth, Everton, Tottenham (first round proper); Manchester City (first qualifying round)
Scotland: Motherwell (R1); Queen of the South (Q2)
Northern Ireland: Glentoran, Cliftonville (Q1)
Wales: Bangor City, The New Saints (Q1)
Republic of Ireland: Cork City, St Patrick’s Athletic (Q1)
Spain: Valencia, Sevilla, Real Racing Club Santander (R1)
Italy: AC Milan, Sampdoria, Udinese (R1)
France: Nancy, Saint-Etienne, Paris Saint-Germain (R1)
Germany: Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund(R1); Hertha Berlin (Q1)
Portugal: Benfica, Marítimo, Vitória FC (R1)
Romania: Rapid Bucuresti, Dinamo Bucuresti, AFC Unirea Valahorum Urziceni, Politehnica Timisoara (R1)
Holland: Feyenoord, Ajax, Heerenveen, NEC Nijmegen (R1)
Russia: CSKA Moscow (Q2)
Ukraine: Metalist Kharkiv (R1); Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Q2)
Turkey: Kayserispor (R1); Besiktas (Q2)
Greece: AEK Athens, Aris Thessaloniki (Q2)

(full list available at uefa.com/competitions/uefacup)

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf is still hoping to play in the Premier League before he ends his career.

The 32-year-old Dutchman has played for Ajax, Sampdoria, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, and has been linked with a move to Arsenal in the past.

But speaking to BBC London 94.9 Seedorf said: “I’d always love to come and play in the Premier League, but things just don’t happen like that.

“I’ve never touched the Premier League yet, but let’s say you never know.”

Seedorf added: “Opportunities come and go, when I was close to coming to England with Manchester United or Arsenal when I was at Sampdoria I went to Real Madrid.

“You cannot be everywhere, I’ve been playing in Spain and Italy. For now I’m in Italy and I’m always following with a very special eye the movements in the Premier League because at the moment it’s an example for everybody.”

Seedorf was not part of the Netherlands squad at Euro 2008, and has instead dedicated much of his summer to humanitarian work including the Goal4Africa campaign.

He has organised a benefit match at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on 12 July to bring together some of the world’s best footballers for the Global Kick Off Event.

Seedorf explained: “I’ve talked to John Terry and he was very keen. Andrei Shevchenko said yes already, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, but Ryan Babel unfortunately got injured.

“Sergio Ramos, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gatuso and Alessandro Nesta are all very keen to come. We know of course there are responsibilities for their teams, as they all have to train. So I’m also asking all the coaches at all the clubs to help free the players to come and play this match and help this project and make a difference for a lot of kids.”

Ref From BBC SPORT