KEY POINTS:
Wellington Phoenix bosses have turned down the chance to play Italian giants Juventus in the capital at the end of the month.
Juve have won the Champions League twice, the Uefa Cup a record three times and Italy's Serie A on 27 occasions - as well as having
an estimated 150 million fans worldwide - but it wasn't enough to convince Phoenix bosses to sign up to a match.
The Phoenix have been approached by a number of match agents since their wildly successful game against David Beckham's LA Galaxy last December and one offer that came in March was to take on Juventus.
The Italian giants will play Melbourne Victory in Melbourne on May 30 and the Phoenix were approached to piggyback that match.
The A-League has become a significant target for top sides to consider after the success of the Galaxy games in Sydney and Wellington. "We have been approached by agents for Juventus but we decided we wouldn't go ahead," Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata said. "We didn't believe we could sell out the stadium. We don't have the Italian population to entice a big crowd, unlike Melbourne where it should sell out."
About 32,000 packed into Westpac Stadium - a record for a football match in New Zealand - to watch Beckham and his LA Galaxy side beat the Phoenix 4-1 last year.
It was a match that cost Phoenix owner Terry Serepisos $2 million in match fees and costs. He has said he "broke even".
Pignata said hosting Juventus was in "that vicinity" and this was one of the major factors in turning them down.
"We have to make it worthwhile for us commercially," he said. "Given our market we felt we couldn't fill the stadium and recoup our money and we didn't want to charge astronomical prices to make up for it.
"Even if we do sell the stadium, it is only 35,000 and 4000 of those are members, so we wouldn't make any money out of them."
Another thing that might have turned the Phoenix off was the fact there are no guarantees some of their biggest names like skipper Alessandro Del Piero, Serie A's leading striker David Trezeguet, former World Player of the Year Pavel Nedved and the world's best goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, will tour with the side. Those involved with their national sides in Euro 2008 are not expected to make the trip.
The Phoenix have also fielded a tentative approach from Scottish giants Celtic, who have All Whites striker Chris Killen on their books, for a match but this had not progressed far.
The Phoenix had also been in talks about playing the LA Galaxy again when they tour in November, this time at Eden Park in Auckland.
But the Auckland Regional Council and Oceania Football Confederation are now in negotiations for them to play an Oceania All Stars XI skippered by Wynton Rufer at Mt Smart Stadium.
The Phoenix are expected to make a tour of their own when they head to China to take on Chinese Super League teams in June.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix are in dispute with English League One side Hartlepool over striker Joel Porter, and the matter is now with the Professional Footballers Association.
The Phoenix had been tracking Porter for some time and had agreed terms on a three-year deal. But Hartlepool don't want to let the 29-year-old go and announced on their website yesterday that they had taken up the option of another year on Porter.
