Potential Real Madrid presidential candidates will be trying to decide whether Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is the player most likely to deliver them the majority of votes in this summer’s election campaign.

Ramon Calderon was forced out of the presidency earlier this month, setting the wheels in motion for another six months of rumours and speculation as rival candidates manoeuvre behind the scenes to take power at the Bernabeu.

The nine-times European champions are ‘owned’ by the thousands of club members rather than a small group of shareholders, and they get to chose their president every four years.

As a result, candidates need to splash the cash with full blown election campaigns complete with manifestos, lists of promises, advertising campaigns, and rallies to win over the voters and the local media. (more…)

It’s not totally confirmed yet but it looks like David Beckham is joining AC Milan on a short-term loan deal.

The LA Galaxy midfielder, desperate to keep his fitness up and impress England coach Fabio Capello during the U.S. close season, is taking a big risk in coming to Italy.

Milan generally do not play with wingers, especially 33-year-old ones who have never had a great deal of pace and are in the twilight of their careers.

They brought in Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko and Marco Borriello in the summer amongst others and there seems little room for a player who has no experience of Italian football and has been playing in a lesser league for a year.

After a dodgy start, they are looking like Serie A title challengers and coach Carlo Ancelotti, despite what exciteable chief executive Adriano Galliani says, may not want to rock the boat too much.

Does this mean Beckham’s plan to boost soccer in America has failed? Or is it a superb idea that will make sure he is on the plane to South Africa in 2010? (Assuming England don’t throw away a great start to qualification…)

After a second consecutive season without any silverware — and a humiliating 4-1 drubbing by arch-rivals by Real Madrid into the bargain – Barcelona have tried to stem the rising tide of criticism of the club by announcing that former club captain Pep Guardiola is to take charge of the team at the end of the season.

It’s quite a gamble.

Over the past two seasons, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Marco van Basten, Juande Ramos and Ernesto Valverde have all been mentioned as possible replacements for Rijkaard, but the club have rejected the tried and tested contenders and gone for old boy Guardiola, whose coaching experience amounts to nothing more than a single season in charge of the club’s reserve team Barça B.

Given his Catalan credentials and close association with Johan Cruyff’s “dream team”, the appointment of Guardiola will be welcomed by some of the Nou Camp faithful, but he is hardly the sort of figure you would expect to take charge of a big team like Barça when they’re going through a Galactico-style meltdown.

Guardiola’s appointment could be a sign that Barça now realise their attempt to pack the team with big-name players was a foolish one and that they may now try to recruit more low profile figures to replace the likes of Ronaldinho.

But it is a risky strategy to ask a coach as inexperienced as Guardiola to try and pick up the pieces, construct a new side and deliver success in his first season in the big time.

Real Madrid tried a similar approach with coaches like Mariano Garcia Remon and Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, but both ended up being turfed out as they struggled to deal with the pressure and expectation. In the end it took the experienced Fabio Capello to get the team back on their feet.

Will Guardiola prove the sceptics wrong and make a success of his first major coaching job? He’ll need time to do it, and that may not be available. Maybe it’s a healthy sign that the club has gone for a former player, hungry to make his name in coaching. Or is it a case of being too scared to appoint a coach like Mourinho, who might be too headstrong and independent? Give is your thoughts in the comments below.

FILE PHOTO: Pep Guardiola during his presentation as Barcelona B team coach in 2007. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

Two giants of European football, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich wrapped up their respective league titles with plenty of room to spare this weekend.

Real, the nine-times European champions, snatched a dramatic 2-1 win away to Osasuna in the teeming rain to clinch their 31st Spanish title.

Things were also getting soggy in Wolfsburg, after Bayern secured their 21st German league title, completed a domestic double for the third time in four seasons and celebrated by soaking each other with good Bavarian Weissbier (see photo above).

Neither side was seriously challenged on their way to their triumphs and they are both clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the domestic opposition.

But the celebrations will be that little bit more muted because neither side made their mark in Europe this season. Once again Real limped out of the Champions League in the first knockout round, while Bayern, who had to content themselves with participation in the UEFA Cup, were almost knocked out in the quarter-finals by humble Getafe and were then humiliated by Zenit St Petersburg.

What will it take for these two sides to become forces in Europe once again?

Real have not exactly been shy about buying in big names of late, while Bayern have a galactico coach coming in the shape of Juergen Klinsmann, and he will presumably want to strengthen the squad.

Would they better off sticking with what they’ve got, bringing on some youngsters and hoping to gradually build on their domestic triumphs? Or do you now need truly world class players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka to win the Champions League?

PHOTO: Combination of pictures showing Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld getting showered with beer by Luca Toni as they celebrate winning the German title in Wolfsburg, May 4, 2008. REUTERS/Christian Charisius