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Article 2 – October 2008
*The return of Champions League football brought goals galore to Europe this week, but the big news came once again in the transfer market, with England legend David Beckham expected to complete a temporary return to European football at the start of the January transfer window.
The 33 year old former England captain is set to sign for Italian giants AC Milan in a three-month loan deal that will make him eligible to play for the club in both domestic and UEFA Cup fixtures. It is believed that Beckham will return to his current club LA Galaxy in time for the start of the 2009 MLS season in March, but is keen to prolong his England career by playing alongside such star names as Kaka and Ronaldinho in one of the strongest leagues in World football, Serie A.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho has openly expressed his desire to return to England when he eventually leaves the San Siro club. However, the former Chelsea manager is still in his first season in charge of the Serie A club and has insisted he has no plans to leave Milan in the near future. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has a three year contract in Italy.
Elsewhere, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas fuelled further speculation about his future by revealing that he was courted by a major Italian club in the summer, and that a move would have proved ‘interesting from an economical point of view’. It is largely thought that any decision on his future will depend largely upon the fortunes of his current club in this campaign. The Spanish pass master has already been linked with a move to ‘the richest club in the World’ Manchester City, AC Milan, and his former club Barcelona.
Barcelona have hit the headlines themselves this week, with the news that they are planning to launch a bid to land a franchise in America’s MLS in the forthcoming seasons. The bid is in association with FC Boliver, who are already linked with the Spanish club, and would see a joint attempt to create and control a club in the city of Miami. The MLS currently has 14 teams, with two more expected to join by 2010, and a further two by 2011.
This week’s Champions League action saw Barca thump Swiss side FC Basle 5-0 in Group C, with Chelsea edging Roma 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in Group A, and Athletico Madrid and Liverpool drawing 1-1 in Group D. Elsewhere, the pressure on Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri after a poor domestic start was eased with an impressive 2-1 home win over Spanish giants Real Madrid. Bayern Munich strolled to a 3-0 victory over Fiorentina, and Arsenal hammered Fenerbahce 5-2 in a thrilling game in Turkey.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Futera or www.futera.com
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