AC Milan 1 AS Livorno 1

In a first half that saw chances on both sides, Milan began to establish the upper hand in the later stages. Beckham had chances from open play and from set plays, Ronaldinho hit the post, but it was Ambrossini who put the ball in the back of the net in the final minute of the first half. A fine cross from Beckham had the goal keeper fumbling, and Seedorf may have been instrumental in blocking the keeper whilst Ambrossini fired home - the first half finishes 1-0 to Milan.
In the second half, Milan started well, Huntelaar almost doubling their lead. However it was Livorno who scored in the 52nd minute catching the Milan defence standing still. The game continued at high tempo with Milan probably having the better possession and chances, but unable to find the back of the net. Inzaghi came on for Flamini in the final stages signaling Milan's intent to score a winning goal, having suffered losses in the last two home games.
Beckham earned himself another yellow card in the last few minutes for a 'professional' foul, the game went into four minutes of extra time which ended up as more than six minutes, but despite all the pressure that Milan put onto the Livorno goal, there were no further goals to be found, the game finished 1-1, and Livorno will be considerably happier with the result than Milan.

Milan 0 Udinese 1

In the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Milan are beaten by Udinese. The team picked is quite different from the normal Serie A side and did not feature David Beckham, and some of the other big names. Abbiati had a fine first half in the Milan goal, keeping Udinese from scoring, but they finally broke through on 56 minutes. This takes Udinese to the semi-finals where they will play Roma.

In other news this week, Beckham has told reporters how much he is enjoying playing in Serie A again, and has talked about his intention of eventually buying an MLS franchise. This is the first time since beginning his stint in the MLS, that I have heard him refer to this option. It certainly seems to point to the fact that despite being in Milan, the MLS still figures highly in Beckham's future plans..

Inter Milan 2 AC Milan 0

Beckham starts again in this all-important Milan derby. Inter get off to a devastating start by unlocking the Milan defence and scoring the opening goal after 9 and a half minutes. The start was fast and furious, Beckham drawing the yellow card our of the ref's pocket just three minutes into the game after a clumsy midfield episode.This was not last card to be shown by a long way and the ref looked close to losing control of the game when he rightly booked an Inter player for diving - the replay showed that the ref was fully justified, but the Inter player Sneijder decided to come up to the ref and ironically applaud him to his face, which is foolish enough... but you can imagine the look on Mourinho's face when the ref adjudged Sneijder to be guilty of foul and abusive language and promptly sent him off after just 26 minutes of the game had elapsed. Inter are now down to ten men in the most bizarre circumstances. On 40 minutes, the ref saw fit to send one of the Inter coaching staff to the stands too (ironically after an Inter defender won a free kick with another perfectly executed dive - the replay demonstrating no contact from the Milan striker).
The testy first half ends with AC Milan pushing their numerical advantage onto their Inter Milan rivals, but failing yet to threaten the Inter goal with any on-target shots and still trailing by an early goal.
The second half starts, and even with one goal in the bag, Inter face an uphill struggle without Sneijder who, for the first 20 minutes had looked very dangerous. Maybe this was in their mind when Inter petulantly delayed their arrival for the second half. AC Milan start strongly with a Beckham free-kick quickly followed by two corners, the second of which brought a fabulous reaction save from the Inter goalie, quickly followed by a well-struck but narrowly wide effort from the still very lively Ronaldinho. Milan had plenty of the play and chances to equalise, one of the better ones when Beckham crossed, only to have the ball headed over the crossbar on the hour mark. Inter had a couple of break-away chances, once hitting the goal post after 62 minutes, theatrical challenges punctuate the game as the Inter players sense a ref who may be looking to even things up. Against the run of play, Inter win a free kick on the edge of the box on 63 minutes and promptly score again, turning the knife in the sickened stomachs of the Milan players, leaving them half an hour to rescue the game. Leonardo waited until the last 10 minutes until Huntelaar came on, although many may have expected Inzaghi... However despite lengthy build-up play and long periods of prolonged posession, Milan were thwarted in their efforts to score. Even Ronaldinho had a wild shot over the bar with 6 minutes left on the clock. Milan were just too ponderous on the ball showing little inventiveness and urgency as the time whittled away to nothing, playing more like a team that was two goals up rather than two goals down against ten men.
There was more excitement on 91 minutes and Inter were down to NINE men when the ball was prevented from going in the net by a hand-ball. Ronaldinho stepped up, but failed to convert the goal with just 4 minutes of extra time left. This was the last significant action of a match which ended with huge disappointment for Beckham and the AC Milan team, only matched by the incredible feeling of triumph experienced by Mourinho's men.

Milan 4 Siena 0

Milan won their mid-week cup match 2-1 against Novara without Beckham and look forward the Coppo Italia quarter finals against Livorno on 31st January.
Milan made a quick start in today's game when Burriello found himself facing the keeper after a bad defensive error. He went round the keeper and was brought down, leaving the keeper red-carded and Ronaldinho with the chance to put Milan in the lead. This time there was no mistake, and Milan went 1-0 on the 10 minute mark.
Milan pushed home their one-man advantage and started to dominate the game. However, Maccarone managed to bundle his way through the Milan defence, but squandered the chance by shooting over the cross-bar on 25 minutes. Siena were punished for not taking their chance just two minutes later when Borriello got onto the end of a long cross over his shoulder and volleyed left-footed over the keeper and into the net from close range.
Milan continued to dominate the game and the possession only allowing Siena the occasional foray into their territory. The first half finished 2-0 to Milan who were looking very comfortable at home.

Milan continue to dominate the second half which threatens to stagnate, but Ronaldinho is animated and dancing towards the Siena goal at every opportunity. On 56 minutes, he is one-on-one with the keeper and is only prevented from scoring by the slightest touch from the replacement goal-keepers gloves. Ronaldinho pounces on chance after chance, looking more of a player than he ever looked last year. He finally gets his second goal when Beckham plants the ball on his head from a corner on 71 minutes, and the keeper is left floundering as the ball hits the net, 3-0 Milan and the game is up for Siena.
Siena don't completely give up and just a few minutes later have their best break yet down the left culminating in a very well-saved point-blank header. Siena were also denied a penalty when Maccarone went down in the area on 86 mins, but the replay showed little, if any contact and a dive that would certainly have earned a booking in a Premiership game...
In the final minute, a moment of glory and brilliance from Ronaldinho once again as he held the ball on the edge of the area, then shot across the box and straight into the far right hand corner past a flailing keeper for his third of the match - a well-deserved hat-trick for the most animated and hungry-looking Ronaldinho performance that I have seen playing in a Milan shirt.

Juventus 0 AC Milan 3

Once again, Beckham began the game in his familiar position the day after Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan made his on-loan debut for Everton in the English premiership.
The first half started fairly cautiously with neither Juventus or Milan really establishing the upper hand, and it was on 28 minutes that a corner was not dealt with by the Juve defence, the ball passed through the defenders on the near-post and fell to Nesta who made no mistake from all of 1 yard to put Milan 1-0 up.
The first half delivered no further goals, but like Wednesdays game, the tackles were flying in and the ref's whistle was kept busy. Beckham appeared to be fitting in well to the Serie A side, but was not as busy this time as in the previous game where he was often to be found in and around the penalty area.
The second half started in earnest as both teams sought out another goal. As a statement of intent, Juve brought on Del Piero after just 10 mins of the second half, but after 71 minutes Milan scored again from a corner to take them 2 up. Ronaldinho headed into the back of the Juventus net to give Milan a two-goal cushion. Milan kept possession for much of the remainder of the game much to the frustration of the Juve faithful who let of enough fire-crackers for the cameras to lose sight of much of the game. However, in the closing minutes, Beckham popped a lovely cross into the box for Ronaldinho to slot home for his second and Milan's third.
3-0 and an official 'assist' for the English star in what has been a very good week for AC Milan.

AC Milan 5 Genoa 2

Beckham returns to the field for Milan, pretty much where he left off despite vowing to play anywhere on the pitch that Milan needed him. He was in a familiar position doing a familiar job, some passes were wayward, but others were superb, as was some of the close interplay with his new team-mates.
After just 13 minutes Ronaldinho was expected to open the scoring when Milan were awarded a spot-kick, however this was one occasion when his weak penalty was reasonable easily saved...
Just two minutes later, Ambrosini lays off to Beckham on the edge of the box, but Beckham screws the shot some way wide of the right-hand post. On 24 mins, Genoa punish Milan's failure to score with a well-worked cross into the box, which was all too easily headed home by Sculli, 0-1 to Genoa...
on 31 mins, a lovely Beckham pass is laid off to Ambrosini who is brought down by the keeper, this time Ronaldhino shoots to the left and scores to bring the sides level.
A minute later Beckham pounces onto a loose ball whilst Borriello is asking for a foul, this time shaving the left hand post with a very well struck shot. Beckham continues to be a presence in front of goal but struggles to get the ball out of his feet for the final shot. On 37 minutes, Milan have a free kick halfway into the Genoa half, the ball is passed into the box from the right and shots fly in from several angles until eventually Silva finds the back of the net to put Milan ahead for the first time. Only a minute elapses before we find Beckham flashing a cross in from the far-right which narrowly fails to find a Milan boot.
The game is being played in earnest, there are plenty of tackles going in (and invariably plenty of falling to the floor clutching various parts of the anatomy...), but the score remains at 2-1 up to the half-time whistle.
After a mere three minutes played in the second half, Borriello is found in front of goal by Antonini - he slots it away to take the score to 3-1 and Milan are flying. Borriello again on the hour-mark, this time gets onto a searching cross, he is behind the defence and takes a flying scissor-volley and is somewhat fortunate to hit it into the ground and see it sail over the keeper and into the far left corner of the net - 4-1 in spectacular style - even the narrowest of chances are going in. However on 70 minutes, Gattuso wastes a chance after the ball falls into his path, but only two minutes later Ronaldinho finds a defenders hand in his face in the box and Milan have their third penalty of the night! This time, Huntelaar confidently puts the ball away for 5-1 to Milan.
At 75 minutes, Beckham leaves the field to rapturous applause from the Milan faithful - a somewhat more heart-warming response that the one he received on his return to California last year! Just three minutes later, Genoa get a consolation as Suazo gets free from the Milan defence and bangs the ball into the net for a final score of 5-2.
Does Beckham look at home? You bet he does... he is right where he should be to present the best possible case for inclusion in the England squad as long as he can remain injury-free.

Beckham on hs way to Africa Via Milan

David Beckham appears pleased to be back in Milan and talks down his recent foot injury as he resumes training with the Rossoneri.
As always cameras were snapping and there are reports that Milan have hired armed guards specifically to protect Beckham during his loan period in Italy.

Meanwhile Fabio Capello has been reportedly backing Beckham in an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport. Capello said: 'If Beckham plays and if he is fit I will certainly take him to South Africa. '
This is exactly what the player will be wanting to hear and he will no doubt be eager to get on the pitch. His first game could be Jan 10th against Juventus, but my money is on David wanting to make the squad for the earlier home game on Jan 6th against Genoa. Once again, football fans will have the opportunity to see one of the worlds great players in a befitting setting for a few months at least before the excitement of World Cup 2010 kicks in. The prospect of AC Milan with David Beckham in the squad promises a Happy New Year to Milan and England fans if all goes to plan.

Becks set to return to Old Trafford

Not for Man U, but for AC Milan as the two sides have been drawn to play each other in the Champions League in Mid-March 2010. Beckham has never returned to play against Manchester United since leaving the club in 2003 and can be assured of a warm reception.

There are a few hurdles to be overcome before this dream becomes a reality, Beckham (34) must remain fit, and has to be registered by AC Milan by February 1st as a member of the AC Milan Champions League squad as one of three additions allowed.

Manchester United do not have a particularly good record against AC Milan, and will be looking to stop Beckham and the AC Milan team in their tracks.

Beckham backs 2018 World Cup bid

It is well-documented that the England bid to host the 2018 World Cup has not been plain-sailing with Prince William being drafted in to the team, and now Beckham has been called upon to lend his considerable weight to the bid.
Having secured the 2012 Olympics, it seems the foot has gone off the gas a little and momentum has been lost. The bid has been criticised for it's lack of substance.
David is currently promoting the bid in South Africa where the draw for the 2010 World Cup group stages has just taken place. England's group stage is as below:

• Saturday 12 June, Rustenburg: England v USA
• Friday 18 June, Cape Town: England v Algeria
• Wednesday 23 June, Port Elizabeth: Slovenia v England

On the face of it, the draw looks good for England's chances of qualifying with possibly the USA being the biggest threat which is probably preferable to being drawn with France, Spain or Germany at this stage. However, there are three games to be played and anything may yet happen...

Sadly, during this promotional tour, David learned that his Grandad (Joseph West, 83) passed away, yet he has opted to stay on the tour as long as the funeral is not timed to take place before his planned return. Joseph is said to have been influential on the young Beckham's playing career. Also during this tour, David has spoken about his asthma which although no secret, has not been openly discussed before.

Beckham has also recently expressed a desire to continue playing for England as long as he is able, showing no intention of retiring from the international scene which seems to be the current trend amongst internationals. He also hinted that this coming stint in Milan would be his last separation of this type from the family, hinting at long-term plans to remain based in the USA where his family are now firmly rooted.

LA Galaxy 1 Real Salt Lake 1 (4-5 after penalties)

*MLS CUP FINAL 2009 - Seattle*

Beckham starts despite reports of a problem with his right ankle which seems to be a bit of a recurring theme over the last couple of years.
The first half was dominated by The Galaxy with Buddle, Donovan and Magee putting pressure on the Salt Lake goal. Beckham knocked in a dangerous corner that should have resulted in a goal. Meanwhile Ricketts in the LA goal was relatively untroubled. A sustained period of pressure resulted in a well-deserved goal for Magee on 40 minutes. Fed by Beckham from the midfield, Donovan crossed from right to left and Magee snuck the ball in at the left-hand post a great team move, and one of many in quick succession which seemed bound to result in a Galaxy goal. The goal seemed to wake Salt Lake up a little, but despite two minutes of added time, The Galaxy kept their 1-0 lead going into half-time.
In the first few minutes of the second half a loose back-pass saw Salt Lake running at the Galaxy goal seemingly bound the score, but Ricketts bravely threw himself at the strikers feet. The 50/50 collision looked bad and Ricketts looked like he may have hurt his hand, however thankfully for The Galaxy he was able to continue..
On 63 minutes, a goal-mouth scramble (a throw-back to old-style Galaxy defending) led to an equalising Salt Lake goal, the score now 1-1. The Galaxy have it all to do again and Donovan Ricketts still seems to be nursing a damaged right-hand, and has to be substituted. (later it would emerge that Ricketts had played nearly twenty minutes with a fractured right-hand)
The two teams slugged it out neither team really dominating, The Galaxy missing the flowing moves from the first half.
It was looking pretty much like it would go to extra time, but as the 90 minutes approached, 7 minutes overtime were announced. However, neither team could take advantage and the game was tied 1-1 after 90 minutes. The obligatory extra time could not prevent this game going to penalties and despite Beckham scoring in the first round, The Galaxy stalwarts Buddle and Donovan could not manage to convert allowing Salt lake to steal the day.
Real Salt Lake 5 The Galaxy 4, Salt Lake take the trophy and are crowned champions of the MLS, The Galaxy and David Beckham must wait for another year...

Brazil 1 England 0

A make-shift England side met the best side in the world in Qatar, and did not fold under the pressure. For the first half, an England side with only about three or four first choice players, held the Brazilians off and created some chances although the service to Bent up front was not good enough to seriously trouble the Cesar in the Brazilian goal. At the other end of the pitch, Ben Foster was under a little more pressure.

The second-half brought an early goal when Elano fed Nilmar a ball that cut out the defence and left him to head the ball neatly over Foster's head. Not long after the goal, Nilmar had picked up a bad chested back-pass from Wes Brown when his path was blocked by a flailing Foster. Foster was booked, but could easily have been dismissed (and surely would have been had the game not been a friendly). Bewilderingly, Luis Fabiano missed the resulting penalty and despite several other efforts on goal, the score remained 1-0 to the end.

Although not the score-line Capello would have wanted, nonetheless a fairly positive result considering the England players that were missing, also considering the heat and conditions on the day and, not forgetting the quaility of the opposition...
For the record, the main players missing for England includes:
Lampard
Gerrard
Terry
Glen Johnson
Ashley Cole
Joe Cole
David James
and of course David Beckham who was part of the winning LA Galaxy side which played just less than 12 hours before the England game.

LA Galaxy 2 Houston 0

As LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo met to battle out the Western Conference, the game started briskly with most of the penetrative moves coming from the Dynamo. Unfortunately though after about 15 minutes or so, the lights failed and the teams were forced into a protracted 'time-out' until the fault could be rectified. After a lengthy delay, the game restarted and The Galaxy began to play with a little more conviction.
A series of free kicks within the next ten minutes saw Beckham go close hitting the woodwork with the third effort. After the restart, the game became more of an end-to-end affair as LA sought to establish a foothold in the game. At the close of the first half, the score remained 0-0, overall Houston were looking the more dangerous side in attacking positions, but both teams had their chances.

The lights go out at the Home depot

The second half brought chances for both sides, but after just 5 minutes, the lights went off again right after Ricketts got hurt plucking the ball out of the air from a Houston cross-ball. The game continued eventually after another long break with neither team making a break-through. The game was turning into a stream of misplaced passes and errors constantly breaking play.
in the final 10 minutes, it looked like Houston pressure had paid off when they squeezed the ball past Donovan Ricketts, but the goal was disallowed.
Ninety minutes had already turned into about two hours with the lighting fiasco, yet the full-time whistle blew with the score stuck on 0-0. Extra-time began in the same vein, but after 12 minutes, a Beckham freekick caused havoc in the Dynamo penalty area, the ball was in the net and The Galaxy were 1-0 up. The final 15 minutes of this long drawn-out game began with The Galaxy having a goal in the bank and looking to finish the game off. The Dynamo having just 15 minutes to salvage something from the game...but it all went wrong for The Dynamo with just 12 mins to go when Gordon was brought down in the box and Donovan put the penalty away with consumate ease. There was no way back for Houston at this point despite rattling the cross bar of The Galaxy goal in the dying seconds of the game which ended with The Galaxy as fairly fortunate victors taking them through to the final next week as the Western Conference Champions.