Football: Italian League: Platt facing problems

SAMPDORIA, WHO this week appointed David Platt as "supervisor" (he has no coaching qualification) in an attempt to arrest their slide towards the Serie A relegation zone, play host to Milan in tomorrow's live game on Channel 4.

Platt, whose appointment is the subject of official protest, faces a tough task at Sampdoria. They slid to 14th (of 18) in Serie A after a 5-2 larruping at Lazio last Sunday. However, despite selling Juan Sebastian Veron, the brilliant Argentinian playmaker, to Parma, the Genoan outfit still have, in Ariel Ortega, the Argentine playmaker, a world-class match-winner. Samp will be without the suspended defender Alexandro Grandoni, while the strikers Vincenzo Montella and Zoran Hovicic are injured.

Milan have looked a better side this term since Alberto Zaccheroni, the man who inspired Udinese to rise above their station, joined them as coach, bringing Oliver Bierhoff, the German striker, with him.

Zaccheroni has had problems imposing his 3-4-3 formation on George Weah and Mauricio Ganz, Bierhoff's strike partners, principally because both players covet Bierhoff's place as centre-forward, and have been reluctant to go wide and feed crosses to exploit the German's awesome aerial power. However, despite their personnel problems, Milan are second after beating Vicenza 1-0 last week.

ITALIAN LEAGUE: Tomorrow's other games: Cagliari v Bologna, Empoli v Parma, Juventus v Salernitana, Lazio v Udinese, Perugia v Fiorentina, Piacenza v Bari, Vicenza v Venezia. Tomorrow night: Internazionale v Roma.