����ֱ��

ROME: New Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti said on Friday that his seventh-placed team are capable of challenging for the Sere A title.
“Of course, I hope this team can still get involved in the title race,” he said Friday, on the eve of Juve’s game at Cremonese.
Spalletti, who succeeds the sacked Igor Tudor, added: “As we discussed with the players on Thursday, we must aim for the highest.
“And the highest is the Scudetto.
“Only nine matches have been played; there are still 29 left to play. That’s a lot of matches, and I’ve seen many things during my 30-plus years of career.”
Juventus have given Spalletti until the end of the season in the hope that the 66-year-old can secure qualification for next season’s Champions League. His contract runs until June 30.
Should he achieve that Spalletti will be given more time to help put Juve back at the top in Italy after being overtaken by Inter Milan and Napoli in recent seasons.
Spalletti was the man behind Napoli’s historic Serie A title in 2023 and has been one of the country’s most influential coaches over the past two decades, also performing above expectations at Roma and Inter Milan.
He added at his unveiling: “If I didn’t believe in this team, in its potential despite the difficult moments, why would I have agreed to sign an eight-month contract?
“I believe we can do good work, which requires availability, willpower, and self-discipline.”
Five months after his dismissal as Italy coach Spalletti is relishing being back in the Serie A limelight.
“In a club like this, ambitions are obviously high. We must compete in the Champions League.”
He had kind words for the man he placed, Tudor, who was sacked on Monday.
“I’m sure I will be taking over a team that is mentally strong and well-trained,” he said.

HONG KONG: Top seed Belinda Bencic pulled out of the Hong Kong Open quarter-finals on Friday as the Tokyo Olympic champion became the latest in a long line of players to suffer a late-season injury.
The Asian “swing” on the WTA Tour has been particularly hard hit by injuries and pullouts in recent weeks, placing renewed scrutiny on the demanding tennis schedule.
Bencic, who was ranked 421 in the world at the start of the season but has climbed to 11, was supposed to meet Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the last eight in Hong Kong.
“So disappointed to have to withdraw today from my quarter-final match here in Hong Kong due to my thigh injury,” said the 28-year-old Swiss, who won gold at the Covid-delayed Olympics in 2021.
“I’ve played a lot of tennis in the past few weeks and did everything I could to stay healthy, but it was not to be.”
Bencic beat Linda Noskova last weekend to win the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and cap a remarkable comeback, a year after returning to tennis from having a baby.
Noskova reached the final in the Japanese capital after Elena Rybakina withdrew injured ahead of their semifinal.
The tournament in Hong Kong was hit even before it began with the withdrawals of former world number one Naomi Osaka and the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Both ended their seasons early through injury.
Daria Kasatkina, who has won eight WTA titles, was also initially scheduled to compete in Hong Kong but she too brought the curtain down prematurely on her season.
“The schedule is too much, mentally and emotionally I am at breaking point and sadly I am not alone,” the 28-year-old, who this year switched nationality from Russia to Australia, said in early October.