De Canio Tempted By Juve
Wednesday 22nd November 2000
Udinese boss Luigi De Canio has welcomed the result of a poll showing
Juventus fans want him to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at the Stadio delle Alpi.
"Since I was a baby I have dreamt of working at a big club like Juve," he
said.
De Canio steered Udinese into the Uefa Cup last season after replacing
Francesco Guidolin - and the small Friuli club sit proudly near the top of
Serie A this term.
"It's an honour for me," De Canio said of the fan vote. "But at the moment I
am only thinking about Udinese. Serie A has just begun and we are in second
position. We can do great things in the future."
But he did not rule out a move to Turin in the future. "Everyone has these
dreams. But no-one has called me from Juventus - at the moment these are all
hypotheses," he added.
Udinese president Gianpaolo Pozzo revealed that there had been interest in
De Canio. "Many presidents have asked me about De Canio's contract. In
response, I can say he will stay with us. I don't want to think of any other
possibility. We have done all we can to keep him at Udinese."
De Canio's track record is impressive. At Pescara in Serie B, he took the
debt-ridden and unfancied team to within one point of promotion to Serie A.
Previously he had helped Lucchese avoid relegation to Serie C1 and taken
tiny Carpi to within two points of an unthinkable promotion to Serie B.
The tough-talking coach went on to deny that Giuliano Giannichedda and
Stefano Fiore - sold to Lazio over the summer - would go to the Rome club
when the transfer window reopens in January. "That's not possible," he said.
"Udinese are a well-organised club and Fiore and Giannichedda are much too
important for us. They will stay with us until June. We will not do any
favours for Lazio."
