ITALIAN GIANTS JUVENTUS have completed the signing of Palermo forward Paulo Dybala for a fee that could rise to €40million.
The Argentine striker, who will join for the 2015-16 campaign, was linked with a switch to the Premier League with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal said to be interested, while Juve’s Serie A rivals Inter were also thought to be contemplating a move.
And the highly sought-after 21-year-old, has opted to stay in Italy, penning a five-year deal with Massimiliano Allegri’s side, who have already completed a league and Coppa Italia double as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League final.
Dybala, dubbed ‘the new Messi’ by some, has been a star turn in a Palermo side who finished 11th this season, scoring 13 times in 34 Serie A appearances.
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He made the switch to Stadio Renzo Barbera ahead of the 2012-13 campaign and has scored 38 league goals during his three-year stay.
The fee is €32m over four years, with a further €8m depending on “certain conditions”. Juve face La Liga champions Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin on Saturday.
Head-to-head result decides Pool so Australia are through
Best Runner-up will need at least 10 match points + a better overall score difference if tied. NZ/SA both have 10 points in Pool C + score differences more than +60 ahead of Ireland’s [63 and 64 respectively]
So Ireland need NZ/SA to win convincingly and then to out score Italy by enough to make up the 60+ point gap less the NZ/SA points difference. So – if New Zealand beat South Africa by 20 clear points [+ deny them a try scoring bonus point], Ireland would need to beat Italy by 44 points
France v Argentina is also relevant. A French victory means that the best Runner-Up cannot come from Pool A. Both could finish on 11 points though if they get 1 and 5 points respectively from their match. In which case they would both qualify for the knock-out stages if either NZ or SA fail to get a losing point. If Argentina deny France any match points then France will finish with 10 match points and will have lost the game by at least a score difference of 8 so have on overall total of no better than 27. Ireland would have to beat Italy by 40 pointsto have that outcome covered….
@Solon Harrison: Fair play to you
@Solon Harrison:
Would you be willing to do my Taxes :::PLEASE :) :) :) :)
Does anyone know if Ireland can still go further in this competition if they beat Italy ? Are there quarter finals or only semis?
@Jack Hackett: Are chances are slim after yesterday’s result. My understanding of it is that the winners of the three pools, plus the best runner up, all make it through to the next stage-which is the cup semi-final.
Ireland (5pts) are currently 5 match points behind Australia (10pts), plus a hefty score difference (64pts). We would need England to hammer Australia and Ireland to hammer Italy if we were going to top the group at this stage.
Both Argentina (6pts) and New Zealand (10pts) are in better positions to also get the best runner-up spot as things stand too.
@Jack Hackett: Unless it’s changed this year.. There’s usually also playoff games to determine each teams ranking from 5 to 12 with 12th place being relegated. I presume if Ireland finish 2nd in group but don’t reach the semis we’ll be in the 5th/ 6th place playoff. Open to correction though.
@Captain NerbNerb: Hasnt changed. All 12 teams play 5 games and the ranking games determine the pools for next years competition.