He's back!

Just where he belongs...European soccer, playing in front of fans who actually know what kind of player he is!

David Beckham started training this week with AC Milan after players returned from their Christmas break. He'll give them the extra boost they need to stay on top in the Serie A and advance in the Champions League. Playing for Milan will also help him be in better shape to make Capello's 2010 World Cup squad.

Just in time to play against Manchester United...Welcome back!

The secret is out!!!

This explains why Real Madrid let Arjen Robben go to Bayern Munich!

Many sources say the transfer of Robben to Bayern was the first step to get Franck Ribery in a Real Madrid uniform next season. Madrid has yet to collect the 25 million Euros from Robben's transfer, meaning this is part of what will cost Madrid the transfer of Ribery, estimated between 50 an 60 million Euros.

Apparently, there's already a verbal agreement between the two clubs for this transfer to be made after this season is over. The 25 million that Madrid has not received serves as a "deposit", so Ribery, if transferred, could only be to Real Madrid. In the event Ribery signs an extension with Bayern Munich, they will be required to pay Real Madrid the 25 million, plus interest for this season.

It's only mid season, but there are also rumors Real Madrid will be going after Andre Santos, Nemanja Vidic, and David Villa, Kun Aguero, or Wayne Rooney next summer. There seems to be an agreement already in place for Santos to be transferred next summer, if not this winter.

Real Madrid for sale?

Not quite.

Spanish media reported over the weekend that Manchester City's owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is preparing an offer of 1 billion Euros to purchase Real Madrid. That's right, 1 BILLION!!!

There is speculation that the offer might even exceed that amount. Mansour is a member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi, and since they own pretty much all the oil in the world, he has the money to spend.

It seems that Manchester City is just not enough for Mansour and his petrodollars. The problem is that Real Madrid is not a privately owned club. It's an entity made up of tens of thousands of members who would have to agree to such a deal. Basically, everyone you see at the Santiago Bernabeu every weekend during Real Madrid's games, those are the people who own the club. The word "Club" here really means a club, not just a soccer team. They have many other sports' teams such as basketball, handball, and indoor soccer, and many other arenas, so I think this would all have to be included in the deal.

Not only that, these members would have to first change the club's legal statutes and amend the article that states the club cannot be sold. With that said, this purchase will be impossible to say the least.

Today, a source close to Mansour has denied these reports made by Spanish media, saying he's focused only on Manchester City and trying to improve the team so they can be one of the best teams in Europe.

Man City has a new boss

Manchester City fired coach Mark Hughes after the team's 4-3 win over Sunderland this past Sunday. The club hasn't played well lately and they've had some unfavorable results in their last few matches. Man City's new owner, Sheikh Mansour, spent millions of his petrodollars to bring top players to the club such as Robinho, Tevez, Adebayor, and Touré, but Hughes just wasn't up to the job of taking the team to the next level.

On Monday, chief executive Garry Cook announced the hiring of former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini. This is a good signing for the club and following his previous experience at Inter Milan, Mancini hopes history repeats itself. "In Milan there are two big teams there fighting for supremacy and silverware and here it is the same. I like the challenge of that," he said.

Mancini will bring his own staff to the club after Man City cleaned house by also firing all of Hughes's assistants. With all the players in the team, Mancini might be the man who will take the fight to the big 4 in the Premier League. He's experienced, understands talent, and he's a players' coach, unlike Hughes. There was even a rumor of players rebelling against Mark Hughes if he continued to coach the team.

I think Mancini will put Man City over the top, meaning more success in the Premier and European competitions, which in turn will attract more big name players who would want to play for the club. This is the same process Chelsea went through before they became the powerhouse club they are today. Has Abramovich and Chelsea finally met their match?

Lionel Messi and Marta...FIFA World Players 2009!!!

Lionel Messi was named the 2009 FIFA World Player!!! Messi is the first Argentine player to win the award for the best player in the world.

After winning the Balon d'Or, it was expected that Messi would also win the world player award. Not only did Messi win the award, but he won by a landslide! After the vote from coaches and team captains from 147 national teams, Messi took the award with 1,073 points, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 352 points, Xavi (196), Kaka (190), and Iniesta (134).

I think this will be the first of many, and possibly consecutive, player of the year awards Messi will take home in the future. Cristiano Ronaldo is probably his main rival for the award in the years to come, but he's nowhere near the player Messi is. That's right, I said it!!!

And a bit of history was also made on Monday night. Marta was awarded the FIFA World Player trophy for the best female soccer player in the world, and this is the 4th consecutive time the 23 year-old Brazilian international has won the award! No other player in the history of soccer, male or female, has won this award 4 times, much less winning it for 4 straight years. She's so good and so much better than any other female player (and even some male players if you ask me), that you can bet she'll be the winner of this award for the next 5 years, at the very least!

Barcelona...Officially the best club in the world!!!

If anyone thought it was going to be easy, then you were wrong. It took Barcelona 120 minutes of play to defeat Estudiantes La Plata for the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

As it has been for the past few years, the 2 finalists were the Champions League winner (Europe) against the Copa Libertadores winner (South America). It's my personal opinion that regardless how good European clubs are, they usually struggle playing against Latin American clubs. Don't believe me? Look at the finals from the past few years:

2005 -> São Paulo (Brazil) 1 – 0 Liverpool (England)
2006 -> Internacional (Brazil) 1 – 0 Barcelona (Spain)
2007 -> AC Milan (Italy) 4 – 2 Boca Juniors (Argentina)
2008 -> Manchester United (England) 1 – 0 LDU Quito (Ecuador)

This year, Estudiantes scored first, in the 37th minute, and it took Barcelona until the 89th minute to score an equalizer. The advantage European clubs have over clubs from other conferences is their conditioning level. This was clearly evident from the moment the whistle was blown to start the 1st half of Extra Time. In the 110th minute of ET, while players for Estudiantes could barely walk, Lionel Messi scored the winning goal with his chest from a cross by Dani Alves.

And with that, Barcelona makes history!!! This is the first time a club is able to win 6 championships in a single year: Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercup, European Supercup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

CAMPEOOOONES...CAMPEOOOONES...OLÉ, OLÉ, OLÉ!!! Vamos Barça!!!

2010 World Cup Ball

The 2010 World Cup ball was finally unveiled on Friday. The ball is called Jabulani, meaning "to celebrate" in isiZulu, which is one of the 11 official languages of host country South Africa.

The main idea behind the new design was the number 11. There are 11 colors to honor the 11 languages spoken in South Africa, 11 small triangles to represent the 11 different communities of South Africa (found on the edge of the 3 triangular designs), there are 11 players on each team, and this is also Adidas's 11th FIFA World Cup ball. The 3 triangular designs on the ball is meant to represent Soccer City Stadium, where the World Cup final will be played.

Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the new ball are the grooves that can be found all throughout the surface. Called "Grip'n'Groove", this new technology is an aerodynamic improvement supposed to help the ball fly straighter through the air without having the wind change the direction of the ball.

I really liked the new design of the ball and I think we're going "Jabulani" plenty of goals being scored with it during the World Cup.

2010 World Cup Groups

The groups are set for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Here are the results from Friday's draw:

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
Korea Republic
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Korea DPR
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

The group of death this World Cup is without a doubt Group G. We can assume Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal can get 3 points by beating Korea DPR, and after that, I believe Brazil is almost a lock to advance. This leaves Portugal and Ivory Coast to fight for the 2nd spot. That means one of the most important games during the group stage will be when they play each other on June 15th.

It's a bit early for predictions, but the front runners to win it all in my opinion are definitely Brazil, Spain, England, and defending champions Italy, in this order.