Speculation that David Beckham has made a huge u-turn to sign a new deal with LA Galaxy is mounting today, following reports that he has turned down a switch to big spending Paris St. Germain in France. For a number of weeks now, Beckham has been linked with a return to European football with the club that has just appointed former Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti as its new manager.

The 2012 EURO's are slowly approaching, and just yesterday the groups for the initial stages of the tournament were drawn. Below are the resulting groups of the draw:


Group A
Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic
Group B
Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal


Group C
Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia


Group D
Ukraine, Sweden, France, England
As for just about every international tournament, a group of death naturally formed.

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has signed a new contract to stay in the role, meaning that he will coach the team throughout the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. Those over at casinos online .com note how Ireland secured their place in Euro 2012 with an excellent play-off victory over Estonia earlier this month of course and the Italian signing a new deal is a testament to the job he has done.

Cavani's precise headed goal from a corner.
Edinson Cavani punished Manchester City in the penultimate round of Champions League group stage games, scoring a double in the Italian side's 2-1 victory. As Bayern Munich sealed the first place of the group mathematically, now Manchester City must hope that Villarreal (last placed in the group with zero points) can hold Napoli at bay while Mancini's men try and defeat Bayern Munich.

Controversial striker El-Hadji Diouf has dropped down to the Championship to join Doncaster Rovers on a three-month deal. The move is still to be rubber-stamped but the Senegalese player has decided to sign for Dean Saunders' Yorkshire outfit after being released by Blackburn in the summer. The two-time African Footballer of the Year is well known in these parts after spells with Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland and Rangers and he has, of course, been in his fair share of trouble.

In the past, Lazio have always been lacking the final step to reach the "big" Serie A clubs. While the club has always been competitive under Claudio Lotito's control, they have never managed to push into the highest echelon of Italian football/soccer. Yet this season it seems that Lotito has created the perfect team.

Manchester City manager David Platt has spoken positively of Mario Balotelli's behaviour off the pitch, describing him as an ‘enigma' and praising his improved maturity. The Italian striker was in fine form at the weekend, scoring two goals as City hammered Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford, and he has certainly appeared to be more consistent at the start of this campaign.

Boca Juniors are hoping they can agree a deal to sign Manchester City's outcast striker Carlos Tevez, according to reports. The Argentine forward was suspended by the club earlier this month, following his refusal to come on as a substitute in City's Champions' League defeat to Bayern Munich. After that incident, Roberto Mancini has made it clear that Tevez will never play for the club again.

Roberto Carlos instructing Anzhi players
Roberto Carlos recently hinted at Anzhi's interest in more world-class European players.The former Brazilian full-back and current joint-manager of Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala has revealed he would like to bring Arsenal center forward Robin Van Persie to the club during the January transfer window.

It's been a long time since I've posted, but I've got something pretty cool for any fans of the FIFA videogame series. I was able to get a tour of EA Sports in Vancouver, Canada where the FIFA series was developed. Not only that, but I got to talk to the lead gameplay producer of FIFA 12, Aaron McHardy, about the new player-impact engine, precision dribbling, and tactical defending.

Scotland travel to Liechenstein on Saturday looking to keep their slim hopes of qualifying for Euro 2012 alive. Despite the assertions of manager Craig Levein, this campaign has been nothing short of a disaster for the Tartan Army and another major step back for the national team at a time when the quality of player available for selection is as high as it has been for some time.

I don't often watch the Bundesliga, and I rarely watch Bayer Leverkusen. Yet Eren Derdiyok's bicycle kick might be enough to turn me around, and make me into a Bundesliga fan.
Bayer Leverkusen were hosting Wolfsburg at home and drawing 1-1 after having taken the lead. In the 65th minute Derdiyok decided he wasn't interested in a draw, and so he performed a stunning bicycle kick winner.

While the football world has spent the opening period of the Barclays Premier League season purring over the form of the Manchester Clubs, Chelsea have slipped firmly under the radar and have almost been written off as title contenders.

It is true that both United and City have been the most impressive of the frontrunners so far and played the best football, but a quick look at the league table shows Chelsea tucked nicely in third place just three points behind the Manchester rivals.

Sturridge refrained from celebrating for both of his goals. Chelsea has been having problems getting into their groove this season while Manchester City is surrounded by the maelstorm of the Tevez fiasco. Yet both clubs displayed dominance this weekend, winning by four goal margins away from home. Chelsea defeated Bolton 5-1 while Manchester City broke down a dispirited Blackburn side 4-0.

Frustrated Forlan alongside triumphant Miccoli
The Serie A has been dominated by the two main Milanese clubs for a bit more than half a decade. While they have had some testing competition by the likes of Roma and Juventus, the past ten years have seen AC Milan or Inter Milan win the scudetto seven times.