Hellas Verona

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sport to a standstill – the 2019-20 Serie A season has been suspended since last month, with the most recent match on March 9.

There have been more than 69,300 deaths globally, with over 15,880 of those in Italy, a country which has the highest amount of fatalities in the world.

Amid negotiations with the Italian Players' Association (AIC) over player salaries during the league postponement, Setti told Sky Sport Italia: "Our position is very simple.

"We are in a war-like situation, so we need to sit around a table with calm, intelligence and openness, finding a solution that satisfies both parties.

"What's happening is immensely damaging for the whole world of football, so I trust there will be no problems finding a deal with my players, who are good people."

Serie A clubs could be allowed to finish the 2019-20 season as late as October, according to Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina.

Gravina said the proposed date of May 17 to restart Serie A remains a possibility, but he insisted it would be best to allow 2019-20 to finish much later this year if necessary, rather than declare the season cancelled.

"I hope to play again this season," Setti added. "Finishing the campaign would be a way also of giving joy to the population, because the Italian people are so in love with this sport.

"I hope that we can get the campaign concluded and be able to close this chapter to slowly get back to normality."

Gabbiadini is the second professional player in Serie A - after Juventus and Italy defender Daniele Rugani - to contract COVID-19.

"UC Sampdoria announces that Manolo Gabbiadini has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)," a club statement read.

"Gabbiadini has a slight fever but is otherwise fine. The club is activating all isolation procedures as set out by the authorities."

In a post on Twitter, Gabbiadini wrote: "I've tested positive for coronavirus. I want to thank you all for the many messages I've received. I also want to let you know that I'm fine, so don't worry. Follow the rules, stay at home and everything will work out."

Gabbiadini played 61 minutes of Sampdoria's 2-1 triumph over Hellas Verona on Sunday, a match that was ordered to be played behind closed doors.

Following the news of the former Southampton player's positive test, Verona cancelled all upcoming activities.

"Hellas Verona FC announces that, following the Sampdoria statement regarding Manolo Gabbiadini's positive test for COVID-19, any scheduled competitive activity is suspended until further notice," a statement from the club read.

"The club is taking steps to prepare all the necessary procedures."

The Italian government has suspended all sport until April 3 due to the outbreak of the virus and placed the country in lockdown, with all shops except food stores and pharmacies closing.

There have been over 12,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 827 deaths in Italy.

At a news conference, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed Sunday's fixtures in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, including the Hellas Verona-Cagliari and Atalanta-Sassuolo clashes, would not go ahead.

The move comes as part of preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus, officially named Covid-19, after two people died and dozens more reportedly tested positive.

Saturday's scheduled Serie B match between Ascoli and Cremonese was earlier postponed and up to 88 amateur football matches were also called off, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

In a short statement, Inter announced only that their meeting with Sampdoria at San Siro was postponed "to a later date".

The third-placed Nerazzurri sit six points behind Serie A leaders Juventus, who won 2-1 against SPAL on Saturday.

Sunday's three other games are expected to go ahead as planned.

Genoa are due to host title-chasing Lazio, with Torino to face Parma and Roma entertaining Lecce.

The outbreak of coronavirus in Italy forced four top-flight matches to be postponed over the weekend, including Sunday's clash between Scudetto hopefuls Inter and Sampdoria.

Italy's move came as part of preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 which originated in China, after two people died and dozens more reportedly tested positive.

Now, upcoming fixtures across Italy's leagues are in doubt, with Serie A leaders Juve scheduled to host Inter in Turin on March 1.

"I don't think that in just one week we'd be able to slow down the contagion so much that we could resume sporting events," Conte told Rai.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation and will evaluate. We'll see the evolution of the contagion and evaluate postponing all next week's matches."

Juve are a point clear atop the table following Saturday's 2-1 victory away at bottom side SPAL.

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 1,000th career appearance with a goal, scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flight match – matching a feat previously achieved by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.

In-form Lazio were also in action on Saturday and edged Genoa 3-2 to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 games, while Inter are six points off the pace with a game in hand.

Milan top Serie A after a fantastic start to their campaign, dropping points just once in a frantic 3-3 draw with Roma.

The Rossoneri's long unbeaten run in all competitions came to a shuddering halt on Thursday, however, as they suffered their first defeat in 242 days, going down 3-0 to Lille in the Europa League.

Milan have scored 14 times in the league this term – behind only Inter (15), Atalanta (17) and Sassuolo (18) – while Pioli's side have conceded only five goals, tied with Juventus for the second-fewest in the division. Sunday's opponents Hellas Verona have the league's best defence, conceding just three times.

However, after finishing sixth last season, Pioli believes the plaudits Milan had received prior to their defeat to Lille were over the top, although he claimed the same can also be said of the subsequent criticism of his players, with Alessio Romagnoli and Theo Hernandez coming under particular scrutiny. 

"We create our own pressure and are very tough on ourselves, because we want to be ambitious," Pioli told reporters.

"We're not interested in what the pundits say. The important thing is to concentrate and try to win games.

"Criticism and praise are always excessive in football, so I am not remotely worried about Romagnoli, Hernandez or anyone else who is singled out.

"Our problem against Lille was that we weren’t sharp enough in our choices, didn't read the spaces they left for us, but we can analyse this and learn from it.

"We lowered the level of our performance against the wrong opponent, so we must be ready to step it back up again. [Sunday] is another opportunity to prove what we can do and show what level we are at.

"An off-day was bound to happen, we've played 10 games in 21 days, so we have to be ready to deal with that both mentally and physically. Against Lille, we found an opponent in great physical shape."

Milan have never lost a home league game against Verona, who have not won away in the league since January.

Azzurri great Rossi died at the age of 64 on Wednesday following a long illness.

Rossi's 1982 World Cup winning team-mates carried his coffin into the Santa Maria Annunciata Cathedral for his funeral and thousands gathered on the streets of Vicenza to pay their respects.

Reports emerged in Italy later in the day that Federica Cappelletti, Rossi's wife, had returned to their house near the Tuscan village of Bucine to discover thieves had broken in.

La Gazzetta dello Sport said several jewels and a Rolex watch belonging to former Juventus, Milan and Vicenza striker Rossi had been taken.

It was reported that none of Rossi's medals were stolen.

Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, tweeted on Sunday: "A more vile and disgusting act than this is truly unthinkable.

"The police must do everything possible to find those responsible. All my solidarity and closeness to the #PaoloRossi family."

Rossi was the leading scorer and best player in the tournament in the Azzurri's 1982 World Cup triumph in Spain.

Sports quiz aficionados of the future are likely to scratch their chins and rack their brains when trying to remember Wes Morgan as a title-winning captain.

Indeed, had any of these scenarios been presented as possibilities prior to the 2015-16 campaign, the orator of such suggestions would likely have had to contend with a fair amount of pointing, laughing and concerned looks.

And yet, despite pre-season odds of 5,000-1, Claudio Ranieri's cunning Foxes outlasted challenges from the Premier League's big hitters to complete a fairytale story that resonated throughout the world of football.

May 2 marks four years to the day since Leicester's moment of glory was confirmed after Tottenham's 2-2 draw with Chelsea, and to mark the occasion we have looked back at some of the most unlikely title triumphs in football history.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1977-78:

When Brian Clough took over at the City Ground in January 1975, Forest were languishing down in the old Second Division. A couple of years later Forest were promoted and under the stewardship of the maverick Clough they were crowned champions in their first season back in the top flight. Forest went on to win the European Cup in 1979 and 1980 in a golden era for the club.

HELLAS VERONA 1984-85:

In modern times Hellas Verona are known as a perennial yo-yo club, flitting between Serie A and B. But in the mid-80s, led by Osvaldo Bagnoli, they were top of a star-studded pile. In a league including Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Inter), Michel Platini (Juventus) and Diego Maradona (Napoli), a well-crafted Verona side sat top of the pile in a shock considered one of the greatest in Italian football.

SAMPDORIA 1990-91:

Just six years on, and with Juventus, Napoli (twice), Milan and Inter each having won the title, there was another surprise in Italian football as Sampdoria became champions for the first time. Yugoslav coach Vujadin Boskov had already led Samp to two Coppa Italia successes and a European Cup Winners' Cup before a strikeforce of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini inspired the crowning glory. Arrigo Sacchi's memorable Milan side fell short, while an Inter team including Italia '90 World Cup winners Jurgen Klinsmann, Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme were third.

DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA 1999-2000:

Barcelona and Real Madrid may presently have a stranglehold on LaLiga, but back in the 99-00 campaign it was Deportivo, a modest provincial club in the south-west of Spain, that rocked the apple cart - in part thanks to the financing of former president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro. A squad including Roy Makaay, Pauleta and Flavio Conceicao celebrated a famous LaLiga title.

WOLFSBURG 2008-09:

Bayern Munich have historically ruled the roost in the Bundesliga, yet there were five different winners in eight seasons between 2001-02 and 2008-09. The last of those saw Wolfsburg crowned champions for the first time in their history. A 5-0 rout at Hannover was followed by a 5-1 hammering of Werder Bremen in the final game of the season to emphatically complete the job, with Bayern two points back in second. The goalscoring exploits of Grafite (28) and Edin Dzeko (26) were crucial for Felix Magath's side.

AZ 2008-09:

Turns out 2008-09 was a year for upsets. AZ's own success story was described as "my little masterpiece" by Louis van Gaal, who had joined in 2005 after the pressure cooker of life as Barcelona coach. A 28-match unbeaten run was pivotal for AZ, who were champions for just the second time, as they romped to glory ahead of more illustrious names in Dutch football.

MONTPELLIER 2011-12:

Paris Saint-Germain are the modern powerhouses of Ligue 1, but it was a different story in 2011-12, PSG's first season under their wealthy Qatari owners. And rather than the capital giants triumphing, it was unfancied Montpellier celebrating an unlikely success. PSG invested for the future by bringing Carlo Ancelotti to the Parc des Princes in December 2011 and the likes of Kevin Gameiro, Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez had arrived in the close season. But on the back of Olivier Giroud's 21 goals, Montpellier celebrated their first – and as yet only - top-flight triumph, finishing three points clear of PSG.

LEICESTER CITY 2015-16:

It was an achievement that forced ex-England striker and famous Foxes fan Gary Lineker to present the first episode of the following season's Match of the Day in his pants (albeit only brief-ly). With N'Golo Kante's tireless performances in midfield, Riyad Mahrez's wizardry on the wing and Jamie Vardy's scoring exploits, the Foxes lost just three times in an unforgettable season and finished 10 points clear of Arsenal in second. The usual challengers may have endured plenty of misery but nothing will ever take the shine off a remarkable achievement.

Ronaldo has been self-isolating since testing positive for COVID-19 while on international duty with Portugal and missed Juve's 1-1 draw with Crotone in Serie A last weekend and their 2-0 Champions League win over Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday. 

Pirlo revealed on Saturday that Ronaldo remains unavailable, though Juve were waiting on the result of the 35-year-old's most-recent test to see if he could return to training.

The Bianconeri have only played 13 Serie A matches without the Portugal captain since his arrival prior to the 2018-19 season and their win percentage in those games stands at 54 per cent, while they have been victorious in 73 per cent of league fixtures when he does play.

One forward who will feature on Sunday, however, is Dybala, who made his first appearance of the season against Dynamo and is set to start against Verona. 

Dybala played 33 times in Serie A last season, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists, but a thigh injury limited his game time this term. 

"We had time to rest after the trip to Dynamo Kiev, so apart from Giorgio Chiellini, everyone else is available," Pirlo told a news conference.  

"As of last night [Friday], I had no news on Ronaldo's COVID status. We all had swabs this morning, including Ronaldo at home. He is definitely out of the match against Hellas. 

"I can confirm Dybala will start tomorrow. He had the right progress in training and it's only fair now that he starts the match. 

"I always said it was an issue of time, as he had the injury, then a virus on international duty. The two times he was on the bench without coming on, it was because we'd gone down to 10 men. He played in Kiev as a substitute, it's only right that he starts tomorrow." 

While Dybala and Ronaldo have been absent, Alvaro Morata has performed well, scoring three goals in the past two matches. 

"This is why we signed him," said Pirlo. "We knew he was a great player who provided us with different tactical options, he knows Dybala well and I think they can happily coexist in the same line-up. 

"With Atletico Madrid, he had recently been accustomed to playing largely on the back foot, so there were 80 metres in front of him to go on the counter-attack. 

"We try to keep the ball, work on the position of the body when receiving a pass, pressing to free up a man. We work for each other to ensure we can move the ball quickly." 

Juve appeared set to open up a six-point gap at the top of the table when Cristiano Ronaldo scored for a club-record 10th successive league match in the 65th minute.

But Fabio Borini levelled with a clever finish 14 minutes from time and Giampaolo Pazzini completed the unlikely turnaround late on, converting a penalty after Leonardo Bonucci had deflected Marash Kumbulla's header onto the crossbar with his arm.

If Inter and Lazio win on Sunday, a solitary point will separate the top three in Serie A, and Sarri had forceful words at full-time.

"This team has been accustomed to winning comfortably over recent years and we need to get it into our heads that we cannot afford to waste points," Sarri told DAZN.

"Hopefully we'll learn the lesson, because we have been talking about it for quite a while. It's difficult, because the team trains well but then can't rise to its full potential during matches. We have to find a resolution to this.

"The mind is most important. If that's not engaged then you aren't going to be on the mark tactically. Similarly, if your mind is also not 100 per cent engaged, then the physical stuff won't follow either.

"We need to realise that winning cannot to be taken for granted. We must work harder, get dirty when we need to and not relax.

"Verona deserve immense credit for the first 30 minutes, but we deserve the blame for the final half-hour. They showed great intensity – we didn't, it's that simple."

The defeat was Juve's second in three games and third in their previous five away league matches. 

Italy's top flight is to get back underway from June 20, all being well, with the Coppa Italia semi-final second legs and final to be held during the week prior.

It means four of Europe's top-five leagues are committed to finishing the coronavirus-disrupted campaign, with only Ligue 1 having declared the season over.

Ahead of the return of the action, which includes a true title tussle, a fight for Europe and unease in the bottom half, we look at the story so far of 2019-20...

What is the state of play?

It's hardly a surprise that Juventus were top when the season was suspended in March, but this has by no means been a procession towards what would be a ninth consecutive Scudetto.

Simone Inzaghi's Lazio are just a point behind, while Inter, who have a game in hand, are a further eight points back.

Antonio Conte's Nerazzurri were beaten 2-0 by Juve in their final match before the season was halted, but while the title looks a touch beyond their reach, there would be little sense in writing them off entirely.

The race for Europe is similarly close. Free-scoring Atalanta are fourth but only three points above Roma, having played one game fewer, while only five points separate Napoli in sixth and Bologna in 10th. Milan, Hellas Verona and Parma are all in need of some improved form, though.

At the bottom, Brescia and SPAL look to be fighting a losing battle, but no side in the bottom half of the table could realistically declare themselves safe. Lecce are 18th, level on points with Genoa, but it's Torino who are enduring the worst form of all, losing six league games in a row to slide to within two points of the drop zone.

What have been the big controversies?

The return of football, for one.

There has been plenty of uncertainty around whether or not Italy, one of the world's hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, would sanction the resumption of the league. Indeed, Brescia owner Massimo Cellino has been outspoken against the idea from the start and branded the decision to declare a return date "crazy".

There is also concern around kick-off times as we move into the Italian summer. Umberto Calcagno, the vice-president of the Italian Footballers' Association, told La Repubblica there was "no way" the organisation would support matches taking place at 16:30 local time in June and July, when average temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celcius.

Even before the league was suspended, confusion reigned. When Parma were due to face SPAL in early March, players were sent back to the dressing rooms minutes before kick-off after sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora recommended all matches be stopped. The game eventually went ahead, 75 minutes late, with SPAL winning 1-0 in front of empty stands.

Juve might be top of the table, but things haven't been going swimmingly for Maurizio Sarri this season, either. The Bianconeri have often produced rather turgid displays and relied on individual brilliance from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo to see them through, and they only won four of their final eight games in all competitions before the enforced break.

Ronaldo's frustrations have boiled over at times. There have been suggestions of discord between the head coach and the 34-year-old, who was angry at being substituted last November and was caught on camera telling Paulo Dybala "We're left alone out there" at half-time of their Champions League last-16 first-leg loss to Lyon.

Who had momentum before everything stopped?

Juve's results have been sufficient to keep them top and the convincing 2-0 defeat of Inter on March 8 was a real statement of intent, but Lazio, unbeaten since September in the league, are the real form team.

Led by 27-goal man Ciro Immobile, their run of 16 wins from their past 18 games has come in stark contrast to city rivals Roma, who have lost five of their past nine in Serie A to lose ground on Atalanta in the Champions League race. As for Milan, some bright January form tailed off in February and their season is in danger of petering out, although they are level at 1-1 with Juve after the first leg of the Coppa semi-final.

Lecce's improved form has left SPAL and Brescia looking forlorn at the bottom, but Torino should be particularly concerned - their last points came on January 12.

Which clubs have had it toughest during the COVID-19 months?

Although the most high-profile confirmed coronavirus cases came from Juve, where Dybala, Blaise Matuidi and Daniele Rugani were infected, other clubs have had higher figures.

Fiorentina returned six positive tests this month, while Patrick Cutrone, German Pezzella and Dusan Vlahovic were all confirmed as having contracted the virus in March.

There were also confirmed positive tests at Sampdoria, one at Atalanta and one at Torino, while Milan director Paolo Maldini and son Daniel both had the virus.

All clubs have, of course, been hugely impacted by the loss of earnings during the suspended season.

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina said to Riparte l'Italia this week that "more than €500million has already been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown".

Rossi, the leading scorer and best player in the tournament in the Azzurri's 1982 World Cup triumph, died this week at the age of 64 following a long illness.

Thousands flocked to Vicenza's Stadio Romeo Menti, where Rossi's coffin could be seen by the public, on Friday to pay their respects.

Many lined the streets as the former Juventus, Milan, Vicenza and Hellas Verona striker's body was transported to the Santa Maria Annunciata Cathedral.

There was applause from those who gathered outside before Marco Tardelli, Alessandro Altobelli, Antonio Cabrini and Giampiero Marini were among those to carry the coffin into the cathedral.

Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Roberto Baggio were also among the mourners on an emotional day.

Rossi's son Alessandro carried the coffin - which had an Italy shirt with the number 20 and Rossi's name on the back, along with a Vicenza scarf, draped on top of it - out of the cathedral with members of the 1982 World Cup squad following the ceremony.

The funeral was also shown live on television in Italy.