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Outspoken Zeman goes on the offensive

On the field Roma have already delighted the neutrals with their positive football, playing with Zeman's trademark 4-3-3 formation.

Roma, who host Bologna on Sunday in Serie A, gave the outstanding performance of the championship so far in winning 3-1 at Inter Milan last time out.

"Abete's not my enemy, he's the enemy of football," Zeman said in an interview with Sette, a weekly magazine published by the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"There have been some improvements in football but I think that's more because of the fear of being found out than doing the right thing," he added, referring to Italy's match-fixing scandals.

"We need some positive examples."

"A suspended player can train, but I don't think a coach serving a lengthy ban should be able to train his players," he said.

The 65-year-old, who has lived in Italy for more than 40 years, is one of Italian football's most widely travelled coaches although he last coached in Serie A with Lecce in 2004/05.

Zeman's replacement at Pescara, Giovanni Stroppa, is widely being tipped by Italian media to be the first coaching victim of the season if his side lose at home to Sampdoria.

Palermo have already started with successive 3-0 defeats, although volatile club president Maurizio Zamparini has promised that coach Giuseppe Sannino is not under threat ahead of Saturday's home game with Cagliari.