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      Italy wonderkid Udogie is hitting right notes at Tottenham after flying start – and Azzurri call-up may not be far away

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      DESTINY UDOGIE was born in Verona, the setting from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – and it is fair to say the Spurs fans have fallen in love with the left-back already.The Italian, 20, born to Nigerian parents was actually signed last summer from Udinese for £15million.
      A young Destiny Udogie at Hellas Verona. Credit: Andrea Molinari of Gianlucadimarzio.com
      But with Antonio Conte already having Ivan Perisic and Ryan Sessegnon on the left, it was thought best that the whizkid return to the club that sold him for a season-long loan.
      Now he is flourishing in the Premier League but not in the position the club originally signed him for at wing-back under Conte, but as an inverted full-back in Ange Postecoglou’s attack-minded, 4-3-3 system.
      Supporters have been hugely impressed with rapid Udogie’s composure and talent on the ball, becoming an auxiliary midfielder at times, as well as his defensive discipline.
      Udogie has been a revelation so far this season
      He has already grabbed two assists in the top flight and at such a tender age, his potential is huge.
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      Yet with the focus primarily on new boss Postecoglou, plus James Maddison and Yves Bissouma stealing the limelight, Udogie’s quick impact may have gone under the radar for fans outside the club.
      The defender’s last name is pronounced ‘ooh-doggy’ and his Nigerian first name of Iyenoma translates to ‘Good News’.
      His dad Franklin has been a driving force in his career, never missing a home game of his son’s back in Italy even on a Sunday when Udogie Snr would attend church. 
      But it was actually his mum Kate who first encouraged his passion for the game after noticing, as Udogie himself told SunSport in Perth this July, that “when I was a baby, I was kicking everything I saw around the house”.
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      Then when Kate was taking older brother Uwa to football practice, she convinced the coach to allow a tearful Destiny to play too.
      Kate told Gianlucadimarzio.com: “Destiny couldn’t stop crying. He wanted to be with Uwa. So I asked the coach to let them train together. He was four years old, Uwa was five. That’s how it all started.”
      Destiny quickly impressed while at local side Nogara, with one on-looker from affiliated club Atalanta, not believing the youngster was actually six by the way he played and, according to Franklin, wanted to check his documents just to be sure!
      Nonetheless, it was a case of try, try, try again for Udogie when it came to joining hometown side Hellas Verona, who rejected him twice after trials.
      Allegedly, it was only thanks to the father of an older team-mate who played in Destiny’s brother’s team alerting the Hellas to the future Spurs star’s talents that he finally joined the Venetian side.
      Udogie played up the ranks with Verona before a move to Udinese in 2021, initially on loan and then permanently.
      His fantastic season with the Bianconeri, netting five Serie A goals, alerted Spurs and Inter Milan but it was the former who won his signature.
      A young Udogie with his family. Credit: Andrea Molinari of Gianlucadimarzio.com
      Back he went to Udinese for the campaign where he did not quite hit the same heights, performing brilliantly against the big sides like AC Milan and Napoli but less well against the lesser sides, as the team won between October and March.
      There was also an incident with a car accident where Udogie lost control of his Mercedes around 3am and crashed into the front of a bar, destroying 12 chairs, three tables, two umbrellas, five large plant-holders and about ten plants.
      The owner described the damage as if “a bomb went off”. Udogie apologised and was fined.
      Udogie was kicking a ball around from a very early age. Credit: Andrea Molinari of Gianlucadimarzio.com
      Udogie, who idolised Real Madrid legend Marcelo as a kid, has certainly put any dip in form from last term well and truly behind him at Spurs, where he has hit the ground running.
      He has fit in extremely well into Postecoglou’s team – and the same can be said off the pitch.
      Udogie is particularly close to fellow Italian and new signing Guglielmo Vicario, who has described the left-back as like his “little brother”.
      But the huge tennis and basketball fan also gets on with pretty much everyone in the squad, helped by his laid-back character who appears unfazed by anything. 
      That latter attribute has certainly helped him put in some mature displays in the few games he has played so far, as has the fact that he will have had 80 senior games under his belt when he starts at home to Sheffield United on Saturday.
      Udogie in action as a youngster. Credit: Andrea Molinari of Gianlucadimarzio.com
      Postecoglou certainly seems to trust him already – the Aussie is a big believer in if you are good enough, you are old enough – and has been pleased with Udogie’s punctuality.
      The Spurs boss said: “He’s been great.
      “I think with Destiny, Micky (Van de Ven) and Pape Sarr, these 20-year-olds, 21-year-olds, and say to them look, ‘You’re not going to be judged on your performances in these early games, not by me, so just go out there and play’.
      “I think they’ve embraced that. They’ve enjoyed that freedom and belief that there was nothing that was going to happen out there that was going to say to me that they’re never going to be a player for this football club, because I was putting them out there.
      “But for them it’s not easy, just putting them out there in the Premier League. It wasn’t just one I was putting in, it was three or four.
      “We spoke about it as a coaching staff, for that first team selection, it could have been easier to go safer. Absolutely.
      “But we needed to change and we needed to challenge things. Guys like Destiny and Micky and these players who have not just gone in there and found their feet, they’ve gone in there and tried to smash it. That’s what I want.”
      Yet there is still some surprise within the club at just how well Udogie has taken to the Premier League, given most foreign signings, particularly young ones, need time to settle.
      His hot form is expected to drop off a bit, as most youngsters fluctuate with their performances.
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      But with the way he is going, it seems a first call-up to Italy’s senior side will not be far away.
      Indeed, reports from his homeland suggest Azzurri chief Luciano Spalletti sees Udogie as one of a handful of starlets he may bring into the fold next month. More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo ‘to take legal action against Juventus over £17m unpaid wages from Covid’ as team-mate withdraws case

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO is reportedly set to sue Juventus over a whopping £17MILLION in unpaid wages.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner agreed to defer his salary from the Italian giants during the pandemic to alleviate their financial woes.
      Cristiano Ronaldo agreed to defer his Juventus wages during the pandemicCredit: REX
      The Old Lady are now facing legal action from Ronaldo as they haven’t stumped up the cashCredit: Rex
      But the Old Lady have reportedly not made good on their promise to stump up the outstanding cash in a suitable time for Ronaldo.
      According to Sports Mediaset, both parties have yet to reach “an economic agreement” over the matter.
      Ronaldo, 37, recently requested “investigation documents from the Turin Prosecutor’s Office” in the ongoing Prisma legal case.
      And he’s upped the ante by preapring filing a lawsuit against his former club, who also asked ex-star striker Paulo Dybala to defer his wages during the pandemic.
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      Dybala has now decided not to take any action against them.
      News of Ronaldo’s possible lawsuit comes just days after former Juve skipper Leonardo Bonucci launched legal action against the club.
      The Italy international is requesting damages over the way he was frozen out of the club by manager Max Allegri.
      The defender was exiled from the first team and has requested “compensation for damages due to the alleged lack of adequate training and preparation conditions” made available to him afterwards.
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      Should he be successful, Bonnuci plans to donate all of the damages to charity.
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      Leonardo Bonucci is also suing JuventusCredit: REX
      Juventus are also dealing with a potential anti-doping scandal involving star midfielder Paul Pogba.
      The France international tested positive for synthetic testosterone after Juve’s 3-0 win over Udinese in August.
      Pogba, 30, has denied intentionally ingesting any performance-enhancing drugs and has blamed his positive test on a tainted supplement.
      His agent – Rafaela Pimenta – said: “We are waiting for the results of the counter-analysis and cannot say anything until then.
      “The only certain thing is that Paul Pogba never intended to break the rules.”
      Juventus will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Lazio to the Allianz Stadium. More

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      Paul Pogba is a huge talent but never learnt to live with the fame… now his career could be over

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      LIVING with fame is hard for some footballers. With Paul Pogba it is a revolving ordeal.Now just as we thought the Frenchman was settled with Juventus, that headline writers here could stop trying to find rhyming nouns with the Frenchman’s strange (to us, anyway) surname, up he pops again.
      Paul Pogba has tested positive for testosterone and his career could be overCredit: Rex
      This time with an alleged offence that could end his football career.
      The World Cup winner is reported to have had a positive test for testosterone, a drug that has been taken illegally for years in helping build muscle and bone mass.
      Sylvester Stallone uses it and look where it took him. Maybe Stallone and many other testosterone replacement therapy users also rather liked the idea of its association with increased aggression, violence and sex drive.
      For Pogba, if correct, it would appear to have been aimed at extra zip.
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      Whether the Italian authorities noticed a difference in his performances in matches for Juventus is doubtful but someone discovered evidence for a possible long-term red card.
      Pogba’s second time at Old Trafford was a mockery of his then-world-record transfer of £89million, paid in 2016.  His agent, the late ingrate Mino Raiola, was paid at least £27m by Juventus for his part.
      I’m reasonably sure he wasn’t from Mars but sometimes his colourful haircuts made me wonder what David Bowie would dream up for him.
      There were times when he could rule a match and on £15m a year so he should.
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      Pogba could be banned for up to four yearsCredit: EPA
      Karren Brady says Pogba has struggled to deal with fame and notorietyCredit: Getty
      United fans will judge whether he was good value. He did play three times for them as a lad in 2010-11 and 236 games with 39 goals in the six seasons after he returned from Juventus.
      United were rewarded with two trophies and a variety of upsets in and out of the dressing room.
      Because, by then, Pogba, such an independent spirit that in various times he fell out with Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho could be named alongside the world stars of football.
      He had been directed towards that target by his mother whose marriage split up soon after the family moved from Guinea to east Paris.
      Young Paul was a huge talent and the temptations to move from Le Havre boys’ team to one of the biggest clubs in the world were sufficient for him to sign at 16. Le Havre contested it but eventually went away.
      I suspect Pogba is not as self-confident as he appears. Karren Brady
      I suspect Pogba is not as self-confident as he appears. Surrounded no doubt by hangers-on and chancers, threatened with extortion by one of his twin brothers, kidnapped, often injured and derided, it would be surprising if he did not feel cornered by his notoriety.
      It says a good deal that he has never branched out from the only two clubs for which he has ever played.
      Fame is no protection, nor are yes-men as other stars discovered… from Paul Gascoigne to George Best to Diego Maradona.
      The glamorous lifestyle did not hide the weaknesses, controversy chasing them through the post-football years. Will Pogba go the same way? Now 30, he could be banned from playing for two to four years.
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      This is how he feels: “Sometimes I was just by myself thinking: ‘I don’t want to have money anymore. I just don’t want to play anymore. I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me — not for the fame, not for the money’.”
      It’s heart-breaking. More

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      Mystery as missing North Korean footballer dubbed The People’s Ronaldo ‘REAPPEARS’… but it could spell tragedy

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      A FOOTBALLER dubbed The People’s Cristiano Ronaldo has mysteriously “reappeared” after vanishing from the spotlight years ago.Former Juventus striker Han Kwang-song reportedly left Italy last month and returned to his native North Korea – but he might not have the warmest welcome back.
      Former Juventus striker Han Kwang-song, from North Korea, mysteriously ‘reappeared’Credit: Getty
      The 24-year-old reportedly left Italy last month and returned to his homelandCredit: Getty
      Han’s return could spell tragedy as he re-enters Kim Jong-un’s ruthless regimeCredit: Getty
      On Tuesday, sports expert Marco Bagozzi updated Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the Pyongyang-born’s latest whereabouts.
      “I recently spoke with Han Kwang-song’s close friend in Italy and he confirmed that he left mid-August,” he said.
      Marco added that Han’s Facebook Messenger account has been “unusable” ever since.
      Another source, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Asian news outlet that the footballer had left for Beijing in August and returned to his homeland with fellow North Korean residents.
      Read more on Han Kwang-Song
      The insider claims that on August 22, Han was one of 200 North Korean passengers returning from China in a state-owned Air Koryo flight.
      Jorn Andersen, who coached the North Korean national team, also told RFA: “He has not been in contact with me since last year.”
      The 24-year-old’s enigmatic “comeback” could spell some tragedy as Han re-enters Kim Jong-un’s ruthless regime.
      The promising striker could likely be deemed as a North Korean “defector”, meaning he could face harsh interrogation, a prison camp sentence, or worse – the capital punishment.
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      Lee Hyun-seung, a North Korean defector currently residing in the US, told Radio Free Asia that overseas workers or civil servants would be subjected to months-long political ideological training once back to their homeland.
      “When the border is opened and overseas civil servants and worker re-enter North Korea, there is a high probability that these people will receive intensive ideological training from various Government bodies for at least three months,” he said.
      “These include units of the Organization and Guidance Department, Propaganda and Agitation Department, State Security Department, and Party cells.”
      Han’s trip to Rome from Doha in 2021 was his last known journey, CNN reports.
      That same year, Han was accused of breaching UN sanctions as he may had been funnelling his £20k-a-week wage to Kim’s nuke programme, experts believe.
      Han, the first North Korean to score in Serie A, was considered a promising young talent and was previously linked with big money moves to Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Everton.
      But Al-Duhail released him from the multi-million-pound contract he signed in 2020 amid a sanctions-busting probe by UN officials.
      Athletes are not exempt from international rules that stop North Koreans earning money overseas in case it goes to fund Kim’s nuclear programme.
      Experts told The Sun it is likely Han would have been forced to send most of his hefty pay packet back to the North Korean regime – which would have been in a blatant breach of UN sanctions.
      The promising striker could likely be deemed as a North Korean ‘defector’Credit: Getty
      Han could face harsh interrogation, a prison camp sentence, or capital punishmentCredit: Getty More

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      I’m known as the David Beckham of Asia but I quit football to make rice wine… now I’m worth £28million

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      WHEN thinking of glam footballers like David Beckham, many fans may think about the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Antoine Griezmann.However, Hidetoshi Nakata is perhaps more comparable to Beckham than any other footballer.
      Hidetoshi Nakata quit football to pursue a career in Japanese rice wine makingCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Nakata has been dubbed the David Beckham of AsiaCredit: Getty – Contributor
      Nataka retired at Bolton weeks after the 2006 World CupCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      On the football pitch, Nakata made a name for himself in the Serie A with an eight-year spell in Italy yielding a league title and Italian Cup.
      The Japanese attacking midfielder also holds the record for most goals by an Asian player in Serie A history.
      But it is his work away from the pitch which truly distinguishes him, although it was far from a straightforward journey.
      Nakata retired from the beautiful game when at Bolton under Sam Allardyce aged just 29, after admitting his passion for the sport had evaporated.
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      His decision rocked Japanese football, coming just weeks after the nation’s exit from the Brazil World Cup in 2006.
      However, the former Japan footballer of the year and three-time Ballon d’Or nominee realised after hanging up his boots that he had an alarming lack of knowledge about his home country.
      Nakata had left Japan aged 21 to pursue his career in Europe, and insisted he needed to educate himself to “become a better Japanese person.”
      He told CNN in 2018: “I played because I loved [it], but I was losing a bit of passion for football.
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      “My people came to stop me but I said: ‘Please cut my contract. I don’t need any money anymore, just let me leave.’
      “All my life I just played football, basically. Every country I went, people asked me about Japan but I didn’t know anything about it.
      “That’s a part of my life, so I need to become a better Japanese person.”
      During his deep dive into Japan’s culture, which took over seven years to complete, Nakata visited all 47 of Japan’s prefectures – equivalent to an English county.
      His mission yielded the desired results, with Nakata finding a particular interest in sake, otherwise known as Japanese rice wine, and turning it into a business with his own label “N”.
      Fashion guru Nakata is a regular at Louis Vuitton showsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Nakata strikes various sponsorships to promote the Japanese sake industryCredit: AFP – Getty
      “There are most amazing crafts and agricultural products all over Japan, but I was especially fascinated by the uniqueness of sake,” he explained to Forbes.
      “It is distinctively Japanese, made with the Japanese national mould koji for the last 2000 years. I thought sake deserved much more global attention.”
      Nakata visited over 400 sake producers, around 40 per cent of the total operating breweries at the time, before launching his brand at the Takagi Shuzo brewery in 2013 in the Yamagata prefecture.
      At launch a single bottle of sake cost between £1,570 and £2,350 a bottle from his brewery.
      As it turned out, he would be entering the industry shortly before an international demand boom, with Japanese sake recording the highest number of exports by both value and quantity in 2021.
      Indeed, between 2009 and 2021, Japanese sake saw a 590 per cent increase in value and a 269 per cent jump in quantity.
      Nakata was named by Pele’s list of the top 100 footballersCredit: AP:Associated Press
      Nakata has rubbed shoulders with legends such as RonaldinhoCredit: Getty – Contributor
      However, the industry is not without its troubles, with figures from the Japanese government showing at least 70 per cent of the nation’s breweries to be operating at a loss or small profit annually.
      Nakata says his brewery is one such business in the red, but insists his love for the industry is all the motivation he needs.
      He said: “I have devoted my last ten years to find ways to support the sake industry. And I have not made any money.
      “I am doing this because I love doing it. It just does not feel right to do something simply for making money or for reputation.”
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      It is Nakata’s love for sake that seems to be the driving force behind his motivations, striking a number of partnerships with global brands to promote the industry.
      One such sponsorship came with Kit-Kat, as they created a sake-flavoured Kit-Kat chocolate bar.
      Fashion is also high on his list, with Nakata being pictured at a Louis Vuitton Cruise show in early 2023, managing to stand out even among the plethora of Hollywood A-listers at the event.
      His appearance even had GQ salivating, describing Nakata as “low-key the best-dressed footballer on the planet”.
      ‘Low-key the best-dressed footballer on the planet’
      Nakata, who was named by late Brazil legend Pele as one of the best 100 footballers in the world, has not stopped with his sake passion project or fashion outings either.
      He has taken an interest to Japan’s tea industry – which is in a similar state to sake – and also enrolled as a faculty member at Rikkyo University.
      In 2020, Nakata taught marketing in traditional craft industries for a semester.
      On the move, he added: “I provided a space for the next generation to explore what they could do to support traditional Japanese culture.
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      “I learned from their fresh perspectives too.”
      And all of this has helped him cultivate a £28million fortune.
      One of Nakata’s sake sponsorships saw him create a sake-flavoured Kik-KatCredit: Getty – Contributor More

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      World Cup winner and AC Milan Hall of Famer became top rally driver after hanging up his boots

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      AC MILAN legend Daniele Massaro became a rally driver after retiring from football.The attacker enjoyed a decorated playing career with the Rossoneri while also featuring for giants like Fiorentina and Roma.
      Daniele Massaro became a rally driver after ending his football careerCredit: AFP
      He was part of a star-studded AC Milan team that won the Champions League twiceCredit: Getty
      Massaro won four Serie A titles during the late 80s to early 90s and the Champions League twice in 1990 and 1994.
      He also lifted the World Cup with Italy in 1982 and was inducted into the AC Milan Hall of Fame after hanging up his boots.
      Massaro ended his time as a footballer at Japanese side Shimizu S-Pulse but continued to compete in other sports.
      He swapped his studs for bare-feet when he captained the Italian beach football team soon after retiring.
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      The legend then had enough of scoring goals and became a top rally driver.
      Massaro raced in the Italian division for the Opel team.
      He competed twice in the prestigious World Rally Championship’s at the Sanremo Rally in 1998 and 1999.
      Massaro won two lesser races in 2000 while driving a Subaru Impreza.
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      The 62-year-old is now back working in football with AC Milan.
      He has taken a role at the San Siro involved in public relations.
      Massaro has had a go at punditry and is an avid golfer. More

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      I have the second-highest Fifa rating EVER but I bounced around between 12 clubs and have an accounting diploma

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      MATTEO BRIGHI possesses the second-highest Fifa rating of all time.The former Juventus midfielder was given a stunning 97 score on Fifa 2003.
      Matteo Brighi signed for Juventus in 1999.Credit: Alamy
      The midfielder starred against Juventus for loan club BolognaCredit: Reuters
      Despite the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Paolo Maldini being in their pomps, it was Brighi that was somehow the best player on the game.
      Brighi signed for Juve in 1999, and was not your typical wonderkid.
      Juventus had intended to have the teenage Brighi play for their youth team during the 1999-2000 season – but he insisted on staying at hometown club Rimini… because he wanted to finish his diploma in accounting.
      This meant that he remained in Italy’s fourth-tier, despite being among the country’s biggest talents.
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      After finally arriving in Turin he would feature just 12 times during the 2000-01 campaign, leading to him being loaned out to Bologna.
      His campaign at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara proved to be a defining one, as he earned Serie A’s Young Player of the Year award under future Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin.
      Brighi’s performances somehow earned him a 97-rating on Fifa 2003, making him the best player on the game.
      Oliver Kahn was second with 95, and Edgar Davids third on 94.
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      Only Ronaldo the following year with 98 ever earned a higher Fifa rating than Brighi.
      Despite the hype which led to frequent Fernando Redondo comparisons, Brighi wasn’t given another chance at Juventus.
      Instead 50 per cent of his rights were sold to Parma, where he struggled to maintain the same kind of form.
      A shy character, Brighi lasted just a year at Parma before being loaned to Brescia.
      Juventus bought him back in 2004 only to include him in a package to sign Roma star Emerson.
      Rather than give Brighi a chance, Roma then included him in another deal that saw them land Simone Perrotta – sending the former wonderkid to Chievo on loan.
      Brighi would spend three seasons with the Verona-club – even helping them to Champions League qualification.
      And after 94 appearances for his loan side, he was finally given a chance at Roma.
      He eventually earned a new contract in the capital and even helped them finish second in Serie A – going on to play 141 times for them before leaving in 2013.
      The rest of Brighi’s career saw him become something of a journeyman – turning out for Atalanta, Torino, Sassuolo, Perugia and Empoli, finishing his career with the latter in 2019.
      From the human point of view he is a splendid boyMarcello Lippi
      He even made a brief return to former loan club Bologna, but couldn’t recapture the magic of his previous spell there.
      While he didn’t win the big trophies that his peers did and only appeared for his country four times, Brighi still had huge supporters within the game.
      Legendary Italian boss Marcelo Lippi said of him: “From the human point of view he is a splendid boy, and from the technical point of view he is one of those diligent midfielders that every trainer would want to have.
      “To my warning, at the beginning of his career, he was praised so excessively that too many expectations were created around him.”
      Now 42, Brighi has previously admitted that perhaps he didn’t big himself up enough during his career.
      In 2013, he told Sky: “I like to work, not talk. Other players talk and sell themselves, certainly better than I do. I don’t blame them for it. It’s just not me.”
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      Carlo Ancelotti reckons Brighi could have gone even further in his career.
      His former Juventus boss said: “In some ways he looks like me – he’s a simple, linear player. He should only be less shy.”
      Brighi played against Arsenal in the Champions League for RomaCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      He also faced off with David Beckham in Serie ACredit: AFP More

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      Paul Pogba’s agent breaks silence on his failed drugs test after Juventus star is suspended

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      PAUL POGBA’S agent has broken her silence on the Juventus midfielder’s failed drugs test. The former Manchester United star has been provisionally suspended by anti-doping officials after they found traces of testosterone in his system.
      Paul Pogba could face a lengthy ban if found guiltyCredit: Getty
      Agent Rafaela Pimenta took on Mino Raiola’s clients after his death in 2022Credit: INSTAGRAM/Rafaela Pimenta
      Pogba has three days to respond to the test.
      In the meantime, his agent Rafaela Pimenta has issued a statement on the situation.
      She said: “We are waiting for the counter analysis and until then we can’t say anything.
      “The certain thing is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break the rules.”
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      The banned substance was supposedly found in the 30-year-old after Juventus’ first game of the season against Udinese.
      If found guilty to have broken the rules, Pogba could reportedly face a ban for up to four years.
      The length of the suspension will depend on whether there is evidence of him taking the substance deliberately.
      Testosterone is a hormone which makes bones tougher and increases muscle mass, therefore making you stronger.
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      It has also been known to boost haemoglobin, which is the protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the working muscles.
      And it can help people recover from injuries.
      Testosterone is found in various over-the-counter products at pharmacies and it occurs naturally in men.
      Tests on athletes look for unnatural forms of testosterone in people’s systems.
      Pogba re-joined Juventus in a free transfer last summer after his Man Utd deal expired.
      Injuries led to him playing just ten times last season and manager Max Allegri revealed the 2018 World Cup winner has already picked up another problem just three games into the new campaign.
      Pogba also admitted he considered retiring from football after he was the target of an £11million blackmail plot by his friends. More