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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9UeeinfcOA

Conte: I never considered quitting Italy

It was reported that the Azzurri boss was upset by a perceived lack of support from Serie A clubs but he says he has no intention of ever resigning

Antonio Conte has reiterated that he never considered quitting as Italy coach, adding that will never walk away from the job.

It was reported that the former Juventus coach was ready to resign after being upset by having to cancel an Azzurri training camp later this month because of the refusal of some Serie A clubs to release their players.

However, Conte has denied wanting to stand down, revealing that he considers coaching his country a true privilege.

"I never floated the idea of leaving the national team and I never will," the 45-year-old told reporters at a festival on Friday.

"As a child, everyone dreams of playing in Serie A and then the national team - I managed that. And now I'm coaching the national team. I'm proud of that.

"It's a great honour to be Italy coach. Now the dream is to win with the national team."

Conte won three successive Serie A titles with Juventus before resigning in July and then taking charge of the Azzurri a month later.

Italy have won three of their four games since Conte took charge, with only a 1-1 draw against Croatia in November ruining the coach's hot streak.

Klopp: Dortmund rebounded brilliantly to 'slapstick goal'

Elkin Soto's strike after just 60 seconds of play silenced Signal Iduna Park but the hosts came storming back to triumph 4-2 over their relegation rivals

Jurgen Klopp hailed his Borussia Dortmund players for the way in which they responded to the concession of a "slapstick" early goal in Friday's "big win" over Mainz.

Struggling BVB found themselves 1-0 down after just under 60 seconds of play at Signal Iduna Park, with Elkin Soto netting from outside the area in spectacular fashion after a defensive mix-up involving centre-half Neven Subotic and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.

However, Dortmund came storming back in the second half, with goals from Subotic, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nuri Sahin earning the hosts a 4-2 win that moved them away from the Bundesliga's drop zone and up to 14th place in the table.

Klopp, whose team achieved their first back-to-back Bundesliga wins since the start of September, is now desperately hoping that victory over a relegation rival can belatedly kick-start BVB's season.

"We deserved to win," the BVB coach told reporters after the game. "This was a big win for us as it was was a six-point game.

"But the severity of our task is unaffected. The whole season remains a big challenge for us.

"The beginning of the game was horrible, with Mainz scoring in the first minute. The goal was slapstick; it was a terrible start.

"But we responded very well. We knew that we would come back if we just kept playing our game. I said to my team: 'If we play as a collective, we are really, really strong.'

"We knew we would create the chances if we continued to play well and stay on track and, in the end, we scored great goals, so all is well."

Dortmund, who have finished as runners-up for the past two seasons, will be hoping to make it three wins on the bounce when they travel to Stuttgart on February 20.

Neymar's look gave him away, says Asenjo

EXCLUSIVE: The goalkeeper was delighted with his penalty save and has hope that the away goal can help inspire a comeback at El Madrigal

Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo has claimed that he knew in advance where Neymar was going to place his penalty after denying the Brazil international from the spot in his side's 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.

Manu Trigueros' goal shortly after half-time has handed Marcelino's men a potential lifeline heading into the second leg, even though efforts from Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique gave the hosts a comfortable victory at Camp Nou.

Things could have been even worse for Villarreal, though, as Neymar got the chance to add a fourth goal after being allowed to take a penalty by Messi, only to see Asenjo save his attempt.

"I saw where Neymar was going to kick it right from the beginning," the Villarreal shot stopper told Goal.

"He has taken similar spot kicks before. In the end, it was his look that gave him away.

"I always study our opponents before a game and this was the result.

"Penalties are never easy. You are alone on the goal line and have to make a decision that's right sometime, but completely wrong another time."

Villarreal came close to causing a major upset at the start of February, when they were edged 3-2 by Luis Enrique's men in La Liga , and Asenjo accepted that the counterattack method they deployed on Wednesday had not been as effective, before stressing that the tie is not over just yet.

"In La Liga we did a lot of damage, but Jeremy Mathieu and Gerard Pique were in control at the back this time," he added to Canal Plus.

"Manu Trigueros' goal gives us life in the competition. In front of our own fans at El Madrigal, we'll see what happens.

"The result is complicated and a negative, but it also leaves us with the door ajar to spring a comeback.

"On Wednesday, it was a magnificent match and we had opportunities to get a better outcome than the 3-1 defeat. But no one's under any illusion it's out of our grasp.

"If we do things right at El Madrigal in the second leg then we can turn around the tie."

Villarreal host Barca in the return leg of the semi-final on Wednesday March 4, with the winner to face either Athletic Bilbao or Espanyol.

Pique of their powers: Barcelona building revival on renewed defensive rock

COMMENT: The much-maligned centre-back is on song after a difficult couple of seasons and has been key to the Catalans' recent renaissance

Things weren't looking good for Gerard Pique. Struggling for form and benched by coach Luis Enrique late last year, the defender's future at Barcelona appeared uncertain. But now he is back on song and his assured performances in recent weeks have given the Catalans a new-found and much-needed solidity in defence.

Pique was left out for three games in a row by Luis Enrique in November, punished by his coach after he was caught by television cameras using his mobile phone in the second half of Barca's Supercopa de Catalunya game against Espanyol in Girona.

That had followed an incident with a stink bomb in pre-season. Luis Enrique was not impressed.

Back then, the centre-back himself admitted he was no longer the player he had been in previous seasons.

"I am not one of the best defenders in the world right now," he said. "Getting back to being one of the best is a challenge. I have to get that back, but I am sure that with Luis Enrique I can achieve that."

Finally, he has. The defender was caught out by Giovani dos Santos in the recent league game against Villarreal, but has been consistently excellent in recent weeks, easing concerns in what has been a problem position for the Catalan club since the decline of Carles Puyol and Pique's own distractions.

The 28-year-old was at his best again on Wednesday as Barca overcame Villarreal 3-1 in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at Camp Nou and scored the third goal with a header from a corner - his fifth of the season.

"It's not for me to say," Pique replied to the Canal Plus reporter after the game when asked if he is now one of the world's best once again. "But I feel comfortable, I feel good and I'm happy. The game is open for the return at El Madrigal."

It shouldn't have been. A missed penalty by Neymar means Barca take a two-goal lead to the return next month when it could and should have been three. Lionel Messi, who won the spot-kick, let the Brazilian take the penalty and the 23-year-old saw his effort saved by Sergio Asenjo.

"We make the list of penalty takers, but then the players decide," Luis Enrique said afterwards. "But it is a good result and we will go to El Madrigal to win the game."

And on Pique's performance, the Asturian added: "His contribution is very impressive. The way he brings the ball out of defence is excellent. He is a vital player."

Indeed, with Pique often absent from the starting line-up earlier this season, Barca missed the Catalan's ability to bring the ball out from the back and turn defence into attack. They suffered at both ends. And with his defensive displays now much improved, the Blaugrana look much more secure when they charge forward in numbers.

His revival has matched the team's renaissance and, after a troublesome start to the season, Luis Enrique's side are now just 180 minutes from a first trophy since 2013. Pique, undoubtedly, is integral to that turnaround.

Martinez: Ivanovic should have been sent off for headbutt

The Serbian defender escaped a dismissal, whereas Gareth Barry was given his marching orders, much to the frustration of the Everton boss

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has hit out referee Jonathan Moss for failing to send off Branislav Ivanovic in his side's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday, before slamming Jose Mourinho's men for their behaviour toward the official.

The visitors looked set to secure a point after Tim Howard produced a string of saves on his return from injury to frustrate the Premier League leaders on Wednesday.

Chelsea were not to be denied, though, as Willian's deflected strike a minute from time ensured Jose Mourinho's side remain seven points clear at the top of the table.

The winner came just after Gareth Barry had been shown a second yellow card for a challenge on the Brazil international, which resulted in a mass confrontation where Ivanovic grabbed James McCarthy by his neck and seemingly headbutted his opponent.

Martinez was furious with Moss' decision not to punish the Serbian defender for his action, while he was not impressed with the Chelsea players' behaviour toward the referee, either.

"Ivanovic's behaviour is wrong. He grabs McCarthy around his neck in a very forceful manner then puts his head against him. James doesn't react a single bit," he told BBC Sport.

"If you want to be on top of the law that's a red card and we got nothing out of that moment.

"Every time a player loses a challenge it feels like the weight of the world is on the referee's shoulders and he feels he needs to react. To give Barry a second yellow card because of the reaction from Chelsea's players is disappointing.

"They surrounded the referee and their conduct was a real shame. It created a little bit of belief for Chelsea and the goal came as a consequence of that. It was a very scrappy goal - if you don't have the momentum often they don't end up in the net."

While Howard performed heroics for the visitors, Petr Cech also showed his class by twice denying former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku and Martinez was left to rue those missed chances.

The Spaniard said: "We were in control. We had clear-cut chances, the best ones of the game - they needed world-class saves from Petr Cech.

"It's a shame we couldn't convert the chances. It's a huge disappointment. Our performance deserved a positive result."