Agent says Fabio Quagliarella will stay at Juventus despite the potential arrival of Roma's Marco Borriello

Fabio Quagliarella's future at Juventus does not depend on the potential arrival of Roma's Marco Borriello, the player's agent has indicated.

Italian sources suggest that Juventus is closing in on the Italian striker, with a meeting between the two clubs scheduled for this week.

Borriello's arrival would push Quagliarella, who has so far made just eight appearances this season, further down the pecking order at Juventus, but the 28-year-old is not thinking about leaving the club.

"If Borriello joined Juventus, it would create a problem for the current Roma player because he has to gradually win the confidence of coach Antonio Conte," Beppe Bozzo told Sky Sport 24. "One thing is certain, Fabio will stay at Juventus and he is very happy with the way things are going for him."

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Napoli 3-3 Juventus and the best five Serie A games of 2011

That Italy has the most representatives in the last 16 of the Champions League has shocked many who still mistakenly regard Serie A as inferior to both the over-hyped Premier League and the two-horse race that is La Liga. 

However, for those who have been following Italian football over the past 12 months, the presence of three sides in the knockout stages came as no surprise. The competitiveness and standard of football on show in Serie A this year have been outstanding and we think that has been reflected in our choices for the top five games of 2011. 

However, feel free to make use of the comment box below to let us know if you agree with our choices or simply want to share some of your favorite moments of the year.

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Antonio Conte: Juventus has exceeded all expectations

The 42-year-old revealed his satisfaction with the results shown by the Old Lady so far, praising the commitment of his players, and also had a word on upcoming opponent Udinese

Juventus coach Antonio Conte is of the opinion that his team has exceeded all expectations so far this season.

The Old Lady sits top of Serie A, courtesy of a 15-game unbeaten run. The Turin-based outfit has yet to taste defeat in the league this season and has a two-point cushion over AC Milan and Udinese.

"So far Juve have gone beyond all expectations, including mine and we are in a beautiful moment just now," Conte said at a press conference at Vinovo.

"Even though the title is handed out in May and it only matters where we are then, I must say the boys are currently doing something extraordinary."

"After 15 rounds the numbers are important and our success has been possible thanks to the efforts of the players, who have embraced my idea of ​​football. The big credit goes to them.

The 42-year-old coach also shared his thoughts about the game against Udinese on Wednesday.

"It cannot be considered a surprise that Udinese are challenging AC Milan for the Scudetto after what they achieved last year. We have great respect for them, but we will not go there to roll over as this is foreign to our way of thinking."

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18 December, the day of the Piedmont derby

The first meeting of Juventus and Novara in 55 years could only fall on 18 December. In the 42 previous encounters between the sides, two of these have been played on this date, with both games contested in Novara.

1938 saw the two teams play out a goalless stalemate, while the second clash in 1949 resulted in a five-goal thriller. Giampiero Boniperti scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 Juventus victory. The striker hit two in the first-half, responding instantly to the hosts taking the lead. Silvio Piola grabbed a Biancoazzurri equaliser, before Boniperti struck again to clinch victory.

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Final focus

The Bianconeri have returned to Vinovo just hours after yesterday’s 2-0 success over Novara. Antonio Conte’s men conducted an early training session to prepare for Wednesday’s showdown with Udinese – their final encounter ahead of the festive break.

It was business as usual for those who featured against the Biancoazzurri: a warm-down to begin the week in the best possible condition. The remainder of the squad, including yesterday’s suspended duo Bonucci and Vidal, underwent a routine workout.

Just one further training session remains before the team travel to Udine. Tomorrow will see Conte hold a pre-match press conference from Juventus Center at 1:45pm.

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Nedved: “Havel, a Czech legend”

18 December 2011 proved to be a sad day for the Czech Republic. Vaclav Havel, a political activist who successfully fought against his nation’s communist regime, passed away at the age of 75. The first president in the post-communist era oversaw the initial step of the country’s divide to form Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The death of the writer and influential figure has caused widespread sadness amongst the Czech population. And today Pavel Nedved sought to pay tribute to his nation’s former leader.  

“It’s a sad day for the Czech Republic,” said Pavel. “He represented the freedom that we gained in 1989, and it was truly down to him. He was the first post-communist President. He was a legend for the Czech Republic and everyone adored him.”

Nedved then reflected on the past and recalled the historic moment in 1989: “I was 17 years old and I still lived in Pilsen. I went to school and, with my classmates, I followed the events of those days with great attention. It was clear that something important was happening and, thanks to his revolution, Havel brought us freedom.”

The Bianconeri director concluded by emphasising Havel’s warmth when the two met 15 years ago: “It happened in 1996, when our national team came second in the European Championships. He was the President in office and came to greet us after the final. Along with the whole country, he was proud of the squad and hugged everyone. The gesture meant a lot to us, as did his presence.”

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2012: Juventus’ hot season is coming

Juventus are set to begin the New Year in glorious winter sunshine. Antonio Conte’s men will kick off their mid-season preparations in the United Arab Emirates before moving onto Saudi Arabia.

Following the game against Udinese and a brief period of rest, Friday 30 December will see the squad make the trip to Dubai to commence a winter training camp.

The Bianconeri will then transfer to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday 4 January, where they will face local side Al-Hilal in Riyad at 7:15pm local time. The game has been arranged as a farewell to Arabian star Mohamed Al-Deayea.

While Conte's men will be far from Italy, the unwavering efforts of the Bianconeri media team will ensure that fans are constantly kept informed of every development from the training camp. By simply browsing Juventus.com or accessing the club’s official social networking pages (Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube), all Juve supporters will have the opportunity to follow the team’s progress through articles, posts, tweets and exclusive videos.

The final whistle in Riyad will signal the end of the tour, with the side then flying directly to Brindisi ahead of the championship restart. Lecce provide the opposition in Puglia on Sunday 8 January.

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Juventus in the lead

ROME - Juventus returned to the top of Serie A following a 2-0 victory at home to Novara on Sunday, while Inter Milan's revival continued as they won 1-0 at Cesena to climb to fifth place.

Juve's win enabled them to leapfrog AC Milan, who had taken over at the top by beating Siena 2-0 on Saturday, but Udinese could draw level with Antonio Conte's side if they win at Lazio in one of Sunday's two late games.

Udinese host Juventus in an appetising final fixture of 2011 on Wednesday, when the matches cancelled on the season's opening weekend due to a player strike will finally take place.

Juve laboured to impose themselves against their Piedmont rivals Novara, promoted from Serie B at the end of last season after a 55-year absence from the top flight.

Novara defended valiantly but were always chasing the game after Simone Pepe converted a low cross in the fourth minute to claim his fifth goal of the season.

Fabio Quagliarella, preferred in attack to Alessandro Matri, made the game safe with Juve's second goal in the 75th minute.

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Udinese faces Juventus in battle for the league

MILAN: Unfancied Udinese faces Serie A leader Juventus on Wednesday in a top of the table clash that could reveal much about the sides' title chances. Udinese lost ground to Juventus on Sunday when it was held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio while Antonio Conte's men beat Novara 2-0 to move two points clear at the top of the league.

AC Milan, which is level on points with Udinese, can go provisionally top when it faces Cagliari tomorrow. Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin recently said his main target is to avoid relegation, but striker Antonio Floro Flores - who scored his first of the season against Lazio - has loftier ambitions.

The game against Juventus is a battle for the league and we want to fight for it right until the end," Floro Flores said. "I'm glad I got the goal because the coach is putting a lot of trust in me. I want to score lots more now.

The match - as well as the rest of the midweek's fixtures - should have been played on the opening day of the season and now takes on extra significance, coming just before the winter break. The first round of the Serie A season was postponed because of a players' strike. Something has to give at the Stadio Friuli where Udinese have won all seven of their games this season but Juventus turn up as the league's only team yet to lose a match this campaign.

Juventus missed several chances against Novara and Conte is keen to see his players be more clinical in front of goal."We have worked and will work a lot on this aspect," Conte said. "We'll try to capitalize on out chances more in the next game, also so I can avoid heart problems. "However, I prefer to have these problems than others. Now we want to close this positive year in the best of ways against Udinese.

Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic and defender Leonardo Bonucci, who were both suspended for the victory over Novara, return to face Udinese. Milan faces Cagliari, which slipped to 12th place after its 2-0 loss to Chievo Verona. The Serie A champion is looking to end the year on a high and knows it has a chance to be top over the winter break.

We have the right team to fight for the title," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. "We have strengthened the squad compared to last season and we will fight for it until the end. "Putting aside the match against Juventus, which it rightly won, we have done the best up until now. We won't give up.

It will be a special game for coach Massimiliano Allegri, who made his Serie A managerial debut with Cagliari, leading the Sardinian side for two years until his surprise dismissal in April 2010. Elsewhere, Inter Milan is looking to continue its recent revival. A drab 1-0 victory at struggling Cesena was Inter's fifth win in six games, a run of results that has pushed Claudio Ranieri's team up to fifth in the standings, 10 points behind Juventus.It hosts another struggling team on Wednesday as it entertai

ns rock-bottom Lecce, which has just nine points from 15 games.

Novara, which is also in the drop zone, plays Palermo, which sacked Devis Mangia yesterday following one win in five games. The other team in the bottom three, Cesena, travels to Atalanta. Napoli take on Genoa looking to arrest a miserable slide down the table. Walter Mazzarri's team lost 3-1 to Roma on Sunday and has now only won once in seven Serie A games.

It will be without key player Ezequiel Lavezzi after the striker injured his right thigh against Roma. Lavezzi will be sidelined for at least a month. As well as Cagliari vs. AC Milan tomorrow, it's also the Tuscan derby as Siena plays host to Fiorentina. Siena sits just two points above the drop zone, while Fiorentina is only three points better off.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, it's: Bologna vs. Roma, Lazio vs. Chievo, and Parma vs. Catania, where Maxi Lopez could be playing his last game for the Sicilian side. Maxi Lopez is likely to leave Catania in the winter transfer window - move to AC Milan has been touted. The striker left the field in tears when he was substituted midway through the second half in the 2-0 home victory against Palermo at the weekend. - AP

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Weekly Roundup

Bruno Alves over Hummels ?

Juventus are being paired with Zenit defender Bruno Alves once again. The player was the subject of a transfer bid in the summer involving Leonardo Bonucci, however a move failed to materialize. Various reports in Italy today suggest that Juventus will make another effort to sign the stopper with Leonardo Bonucci and Vincenzo Iaquinta being offered in exchange.

Juve join Milan for Tevez ?

It seems highly unlikely, yet the Gazzetta speculate that the agent of Carlos Tevez will meet with Juventus officials with a view to a winter move. The player is keen to leave Man City and with his agent having already met with Rossoneri Vice-President Adriano Galliani on Thursday and a move to Milan looks far more likely at this stage.

Juve scout Hummels ?

Juventus are interested in Borussia Dortmund stopper Mats Hummels. Sporting director Fabio Paratici was reportedly at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to watch the defender with an eye to signing the player, despite Beppe Marotta insisting that any signings in the winter transfer market would be low-key one's.

Sion Chief: "I'll call Del Piero"

Sion President Christian Constantin has confirmed his interest in signing Alex Del Piero once his contract ends in 2012.

“I have not yet talked to him, partly because I read he’d like to go to America,” Constantin told TMW.

“Of course I still believe in this move. We will play two games and then I’ll make contact.

“I can tell you now that I will call Del Piero in a couple of weeks. I’ll talk it over with him and see what he thinks about my proposal.”

Ogbonna move could still happen

Angelo Ogbonna's agent has suggested a move to Juventus may still happen, despite the players comments last week. Giovanni Branchini had this to say to Tutto Juve: “Everything is possible in football, The only thing that I am sure about is that Angelo didn’t say: ‘I will never join Juve’ as was reported.

“Ogbonna is too intelligent for that and even if he did think that then he wouldn’t be so foolish to say it out loud.”

“Angelo turned down a move to Serie A in the summer because he believed in Torino and Coach Giampiero Ventura,” Branchini continued.

“The results are proving him right and the club are finally getting the satisfaction that they have been waiting years for.

“Ogbonna is also maturing a lot and that’s why he’s now in the Italian squad. However, there are no transfer talks going on for him.”

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Giorgio Chiellini: Juventus satisfied with a point against under-strength Roma

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini claimed that Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Roma was very much of a case of one point gained rather than two points dropped.

The Bianconeri fell behind to a first half goal from Daniele De Rossi but drew level when Chiellini headed home on 61 minutes.

Roma had an immediate chance to retake the lead but captain Francesco Totti missed from the penalty spot, and Chiellini admitted afterwards that Juve were happy with a draw – even though they had been playing against a side decimated by suspensions and injuries.

"Given how it was [for us] at the start [of the game], we can talk about an important point," the Italian international told Sky Sport Italia. “It shows that despite falling behind we have the strength to recover."

Chiellini added that he felt his side was vulnerable on the counter, but pointed out that returning to the top of the table alongside Udinese was a positive for the team.

"Today we suffered too many counterattacks but, overall, it was a positive game for us because we have reached the top of the table again," he said. "Roma had great players in spite of their absentees this evening and, if we look at the names, they had only one youth team player [Federico Viviani] on the field. Of course, we came to win and we tried [to do that] right up until the 96th minute, but to call this a slip-up would seem excessive to me."

The point edges Juventus ahead of Udinese at the top of the table on goal difference, while Roma climbs to ninth.

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Juventus' Antonio Conte rues sloppy finishing against Novara

Juventus coach Antonio Conte has expressed his disappointment with his side's finishing in its 2-0 Serie A win at home over Novara on Sunday afternoon, but was pleased with the outcome of the game.

The Bianconeri created numerous chances to double the lead after Simone Pepe's early opener, but the team failed to make it 2-0 until Fabio Quagliarella found the net in the 75th minute to put the game to bed.

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