David Beckham will tread a familiar path once the MLS season is over, joining AC Milan on loan again for a five-month loan spell from January.

Milan have just announced the deal on their website (just in Italian for now), meaning any lingering hopes Premier League clubs had of changing the England midfielder’s mind have finally been dashed.

Milan sound thrilled:

“We are very happy to David Beckham in the red and black shirt again after the splendid experience of last season,” Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani told www.acmilan.com.

“We are sure that this period in Europe will help the player to take part in the next World Cup and then to continue his career at Los Angeles Galaxy, whom we thank for their help.”

Beckham’s main target is obviously the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as the Milan chief hints. Wonder if he’ll be on the plane…

PHOTO: Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham walks on the field during Game 1 of their MLS Cup western conference semifinal soccer playoff series against Chivas USA in Carson, California, November 1, 2009. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

(Updates after Parreira appointed)

Joel Santana arrived for what he thought was a routine review of his work with his South African Football Association bosses on Monday and within hours was packing his bags for a return to Brazil, ending his tenure as the 15th coach employed by South Africa in the last 17 years.

The run of poor results in recent internationals plus last year’s early elimination from the African Nations Cup qualifiers, had left Bafana Bafana in deep crisis, a team without any confidence or direction and running out of time before hosting the 2010 World Cup finals.

Santana had done himself few favours, first with his inability to learn passable English even after 18 months in the country and secondly his glib answers to increasingly concerned questions about the progress of the team. His side have looked listless and without direction in recent matches.

Santana was the second coach in the country’s Brazilian experiment, following Carlos Alberto Parreira as South Africa turned to the land of the five-time word champions for the expertise to mould their 2010 team.

Parreira has now returned to the job. He quit in April 2008 after his wife was found to have cancer. She has since recovered and he had indicated over the last days he would be interested in returning to the job.

There was, however, a clamour for a local coach to take over, with popular sentiment believing the experiment with foreign coaches has failed. In the past the deluge of callers to phone-in shows on radio and TV has influenced the decision of SAFA, which makes for a potentially dangerous decision-making.

The issue of Santana’s successor was discussed on Friday by the association’s leadership and Parreira will be in charge for the next internationals at home to Japan and Jamaica in mid-November. He will have six months to resurrect the country’s hopes of at least making it past the first round.

PHOTO: Carlos Alberto Parreira reacts during a match against Swaziland at Ellis Park in Johannesburg March 13, 2007. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

TUESDAY UPDATE:

The scores are in and it hasn’t been quite as bad a week as usual for most of the Reuters Panel. Still, we’re not tearing up any trees, as the big man would have said, so still plenty of chance to make us look like fools. Here’s the updated table:

Reuters Soccer Blog panel: Patrick Johnston 89, Paul Radford 77, Simon Evans 71 (shocker), Kevin Fylan 65, Mike Collett 64 (outstanding performance), Mitch Phillips 62 (another shocker), Miles Evans 60, Julien Pretot 57, Neil Maidment 43, Mark Meadows 42, Justin Palmer 36, Asia Sports Desk 35, Martyn Herman 7

Don’t forget to let us know your scores in the comments section, if you haven’t done so already. Remember: five points for getting the score on the nose; one point for the right result but wrong score.

Kevin Fylan

- - - -

If you are suffering a post-World Cup qualification hangover then fear not, the Reuters Soccer Blog Premier League predictions contest is back!

While Diego Maradona was sliding on his belly, our panel of so called experts were licking their wounds after a distinctly average few weeks with one notable exception.

Patrick Johnston had a stormer last time out to jump to the top of the standings. But like everything in football, controversy is never far away.

His stunning performance prompted Asia Sports Desk to sign Patrick in a multi-million pound transfer, leaving the predictions league referees with a real quandary.

When he goes off to work in Singapore, do we allow him to continue as an individual panel member or should he be consumed by Asia Sports Desk’s combined team?

Bottom side Asia are hoping they can steal his points but as yet no decision has been taken.

With some tough matches to call this weekend, Asia could well find themselves further adrift although bonus points will be awarded if their prediction that Burnley will have two players sent off in Sunday’s derby at Blackburn Rovers comes true.

Former contest leader Simon Evans and I are from East Lancashire and we know how niggly a Blackburn-Burnley derby can get…on and off the pitch.

So while maid streaks ahead among our outside contributors, here are the running scores for the panel with this weekend’s matches and predictions underneath. Please have a go yourself in the comments and let us know how you are doing.

Reuters Soccer Blog panel: Patrick Johnston 76, Simon Evans 68, Paul Radford 63, Mitch Phillips 59, Kevin Fylan 56, Mike Collett 50, Julien Pretot 48, Miles Evans 47, Neil Maidment 43, Mark Meadows 38, Justin Palmer 36, Asia Sports Desk 28

Saturday
Aston Villa v Chelsea: Patrick Johnston 1-1, Simon Evans 1-1, Paul Radford 1-2, Mitch Phillips 1-2, Kevin Fylan 1-2, Mike Collett 0-2, Julien Pretot 1-3, Miles Evans 1-2, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 0-1, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 1-1, Martyn Herman (very late new entrant) 1-2

Arsenal v Birmingham City: Patrick Johnston 3-1, Simon Evans 3-0, Paul Radford 4-0, Mitch Phillips 1-1, Kevin Fylan 3-0, Mike Collett 3-1, Julien Pretot 3-0, Miles Evans 2-0, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 3-0, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 4-1, Martyn Herman 4-0

Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Patrick Johnston 3-1, Simon Evans 2-0, Paul Radford 2-0, Mitch Phillips 1-0, Kevin Fylan 2-0, Mike Collett 2-0, Julien Pretot 1-0, Miles Evans 4-0, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-0, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 2-0, Martyn Herman 1-0

Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers: Patrick Johnston 2-1, Simon Evans 3-1, Paul Radford 2-0, Mitch Phillips 1-1, Kevin Fylan 2-1, Mike Collett 3-0, Julien Pretot 4-1, Miles Evans 1-0, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-0, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 4-0, Martyn Herman 3-1

Portsmouth v Tottenham Hotspur: Patrick Johnston 2-1, Simon Evans 1-1, Paul Radford 1-2, Mitch Phillips 0-2, Kevin Fylan 0-2, Mike Collett 0-1, Julien Pretot 1-2, Miles Evans 2-2, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-3, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 0-1, Martyn Herman 1-1

Stoke City v West Ham United: Patrick Johnston 1-0, Simon Evans 2-2, Paul Radford 2-1, Mitch Phillips 1-0, Kevin Fylan 2-0, Mike Collett 2-1, Julien Pretot 1-0, Miles Evans 1-0, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-2, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 2-0, Martyn Herman 2-1

Sunderland v Liverpool: Patrick Johnston 1-1, Simon Evans 0-2, Paul Radford 2-0, Mitch Phillips 0-2, Kevin Fylan 3-0, Mike Collett 0-0, Julien Pretot 2-3, Miles Evans 1-1, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-1, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 1-2, Martyn Herman 0-1

Sunday
Blackburn Rovers v Burnley: Patrick Johnston 2-1, Simon Evans 1-2, Paul Radford 1-1, Mitch Phillips 1-1, Kevin Fylan 0-0, Mike Collett 2-0, Julien Pretot 2-0, Miles Evans 1-3, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-1, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 2-0 (Burnley down to nine men), Martyn Herman 2-2

Wigan Athletic v Manchester City: Patrick Johnston 1-3, Simon Evans 0-1, Paul Radford 1-3, Mitch Phillips 1-0, Kevin Fylan 2-0, Mike Collett 1-1, Julien Pretot 1-2, Miles Evans 1-1, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 0-2, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 2-2, Martyn Herman 0-2

Monday
Fulham v Hull City: Patrick Johnston 3-0, Simon Evans 3-0, Paul Radford 1-0, Mitch Phillips 1-0, Kevin Fylan, Mike Collett 2-1, Julien Pretot 1-1, Miles Evans 2-0, Neil Maidment, Mark Meadows 1-0, Justin Palmer, Asia Sports Desk 3-1, Martyn Herman 0-0

PHOTO: A fan sits in the stands at Turf Moor stadium ahead of the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Everton in Burnley August 23, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Draw for the European World Cup playoffs:

Republic of Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

Two-legged ties to be played on Nov 14 and 18.

Is that the sound of a World Cup playoff shock I hear? France, 2006 runners-up, will have to beat Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland over two legs to reach South Africa next year and that is no easy feat.

The Irish were unbeaten in qualifying and drew with world champions Italy twice while with Trapattoni as coach they have the wiliest of wily foxes, whatever you think of his English.
 
We talked a lot on this blog about the controversy over seedings but it would be hard to separate Greece and Ukraine on paper let alone on the field.

Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo struggled in qualifying and just scraped the playoffs so let’s not discount proud Bosnia yet. Is Guus Hiddink destined for another World Cup with Russia? Let us know what you think in the comments.

PHOTO: France team, Oct 14. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

So now we know which European teams are in the World Cup playoffs and we have a pretty good idea of the seedings, though FIFA’s updated rankings out at the end of the week will provide confirmation ahead of Monday’s draw.

It looks like Russia, France, Greece and Portugal will be the seeded teams with Ukraine, Ireland, Bosnia and Slovenia playing them. After Argentina’s qualification in the final match against Uruguay, it looks increasingly likely that all the big teams will be there in South Africa.

But four days on from my blog on Sunday, the decision to seed the Euroepan teams in the qualifiers doesn’t look any fairer.

Doctor Mario, in a comment on that blog, said seeding was a reward for credits earned but it will take a long time for a new nation like Slovenia to earn enough credits to start a qualifying campaign on a level playing field.

That’s one of the reasons why it tends to be the same old faces making it to the finals. If you are Italy, France, Germany or Spain you know that in your qualifying group will have no other “elite team”, just a couple of second or third tier nations and some also-rans.

If you are someone like Wales, Israel or Finland you know you will have to pull off a series of upset wins even to finish second in your group. And if you do it your reward is to be seeded in the bottom half again in the playoffs.

How much help do France need? If they are not good enough to win a group comprising Serbia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania and the Faroe Islands where is the justice in giving them another helping hand in the playoffs?

They didn’t make the World Cup in 1994 and I don’t remember too many people complaining about a degraded tournament.

In fact Bulgaria, who qualified ahead of them and had a particularly woeful World Cup record, produced some of the most memorable moments of the finals as they went all the way to the semi-finals. Four years later, France won the World Cup.

The 1970 World Cup is many people’s choice as the best-ever tournament — it’s hard to see how it would have been enhanced had Argentina been there.

There is no asterix alongside the results of the 1974 and 78 finals saying * Note: England failed to qualify.

Everyone is saying that Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo, should be there next year because the best players should be seen on the world stage, but Portugal have played in only four of the 18 World Cups. They are hardly a fixture.

And where was the help for Ryan Giggs, George Best or George Weah, whose lowly-seeded teams never made it through.

And anyway, it’s not the point. It’s FIFA’s unexpected introduction of the seeding that has so angered so many people. If they thought that was the fairest way then they should have enshrined it in the regulations at the start of qualifying, shouldn’t they?

PHOTO: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after being injured against Hungary during their 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match at Luz stadium in Lisbon October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Borga

Unusually, the final night of European World Cup qualifying is a bit of a damp affair. Most of the groups have been decided, with by and large just the second-places, and play-off berths, up for grabs.

Undeterred, we shall keep you up to date with what’s going on in Europe as a prelude to the really serious business of the night … the decisive match in Montevideo, where Argentina are playing for their lives against Uruguay.

Here at Reuters Soccer Blog we particularly welcome comments, so please give us your views on how things are going as the actions progresses.

The above picture was the defining image of Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Peru in the rain on Saturday, and perhaps Diego Maradona’s tenure as national team coach to date.

For many in Argentina, Maradona’s reactions are indicative of an approach to the job that is too emotional.

Whatever he is really thinking, he often looks slightly bemused on the touchline when his team are not in control. He has been criticised for being unable to make the right substitutions, though he did pull a rabbit out of the hat with the introduction of mircale maker Martin Palermo, a striker who has been dubbed “the goal optimist”.

When Maradona celebrates he is like any fan and while his dive on to the sodden pitch after Palermo’s winner made for great pictures, the sports talk shows have been asking whether it was the image the national team manager should be giving.

The always elegant Cesar Luis Menotti, the coach who wrought a sea change in how Argentina’s national team is run when he took charge in 1974 and set the tone for two World Cup victories, is probably having nightmares watching the present side.

Yet here they are, one win away form clinching a place at the World Cup finals.

Might emotional Maradona yet have the last laugh?

PHOTO: Diego Maradona celebrates Argentineas winning goal in their World Cup qualifier against Peru in Buenos Aires, October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and for every FIFA marketing slogan there is a subsequent decision that can make fans wonder if world football’s governing body is being serious.

“Fair Play Please” is the current favourite but how, exactly, does that square with the decision to make the European zone World Cup playoffs a seeded affair?

Nowhere in the acres of pre-qualifying regulations was there a suggestion that the playoffs would be seeded but now the good people of Zurich have realised that some of the biggest names in the game could be involved in the November home and away matches, the new rule has been presented as a fait accompli.

So the eight teams in the playoffs will be seeded according to their FIFA ranking — conveniently avoiding the prospect of France playing, say, Portugal and one of the continent’s big guns being forced to miss out.

Unsurprisingly, the decision was not welcomed by the likes of Ireland – into the playoffs but likely to be seeded in the “bottom half”.

Bosnia were too busy celebrating making the playoffs on Saturday to worry about their structure but wouldn’t they be right in thinking they deserve as much a chance of facing, say, Greece or Slovenia as Russia or France?

The nine group winners got their reward in automatic qualification. Shouldn’t the best eight second-place teams (Norway look set to be the unlucky ninth-best runners-up who will miss out altogether) be left to take their chances having, in some cases, overcome tough seeding in the group the first time round to make it this far?

The arrival of bright new teams, and the chance for unfamiliar players to make names for themselves on the biggest stage of all, help keep the World Cup fresh and exciting. If the rules just make it more likely that the Big Boys always make it, the worry must be that the game and the tournament will end up being the loser.

PHOTO: Ireland’s Liam Lawrence reacts after their 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Italy at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Marcelo Bielsa’s feats – leading Chile’s national team to the third spot in the World Cup qualifiers and just one win from a ticket to South Africa 2010 – have turned him into one of Chile’s most beloved figures. Men say he should run for president; women rank the introverted coach a sex symbol.

His popularity is backed by numbers. A poll in El Mercurio newspaper ranks Bielsa the best trainer in Chile’s soccer history, above Nelson Acosta who took the team to the second round of France 1998 and Fernando Riera who led “La Roja” to the third spot in Chile 1962.

But passion for the Argentine transcends the soccer pitch and enters the realm of the altar.
In the most recent act of fervour, a group of fans is asking the Vatican to canonise him. The site asks fans to support the effort by lighting 100,000 virtual candles for “San Marcelino.”

Bielsa, who is pictured with a halo on an altar, wearing the red jumper of the Chilean squad, even has prayers in his honour. “Blessed San Marcelino, lead your serious glare towards our fans and fill our nation with your glory,” reads one of them. It adds: “The nation you’ve chosen to change history and bring only triumphs to La Roja.”

The site asks for three miracles from “the saint”: Chile’s classification to the next World Cup, reaching round two, and winning the tournament.

The first miracle could be granted if “Saint Marcelino’s” Chile beats Colombia in Medellin on Saturday. For now fans can only pray and hope the miracle is achieved and their team can come back to a World Cup after 12 years of purgatory.

Sunday update: I guess we can say, All that and then some, after Chile clinched qualification. Here’s how we reported it:

Chile qualified for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday, beating Colombia 4-2 away to secure their place after a typically audacious move from their coach Marcelo Bielsa.

With Chile trailing 1-0, Bielsa took off his out-of-touch playmaker Matias Fernandez after 32 minutes and within four minutes of the move saw his team go 2-1 up.

 

Chile, whose last World Cup appearance was in 1998, have 30 points from 17 games and are guaranteed a top four finish in the South American group with one match to play. The defeat meant that Colombia, eighth with 20 points, were eliminated.

Click here for the full story.

PHOTO: Chile’s coach Marcelo Bielsa listens to a question during a news conference at Santiago August 31, 2009. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Some of football’s biggest names, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are in danger of missing out on next year’s World Cup, as countries such as Argentina, Portugal and France struggle in qualification.

Most, if not quite all of them, may make it in the end, of course, but for a bit of pre-weekend qualifier fun, here’s my stab at a world XI wtill fretting over their places at South Africa 2010.

Think I’ve got it about right? Missed anyone out? Let me know in the comments.

Petr Cech (Czech Republic): The Chelsea keeper is arguably the best in the business, but the Czech Republic are currently fourth in group three and could be eliminated on Saturday if results go against them.

Patrice Evra (France): The left back could pick up his fourth consecutive Premier League crown with Manchester United this season, but he could miss out on the World Cup with France currently second in their group behind Serbia and hoping for a play-off place at a realistic best.

Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium): The former Ajax defender has enjoyed a superb opening to the season since completing a move to Arsenal, but he will not get the chance to showcase his talents in South Africa after Belgium were eliminated from their qualifying group.

Dmytro Chygrynskiy (Ukraine): Barcelona paid €25 million for the former Shakhtar Donetsk defender, but Ukraine will need to overhaul Croatia in Group Six for the centre back to stand a chance of playing in the World Cup.

Christian Chivu (Romania): The Inter defender was a €16 million signing for Serie A champions Inter in 2007 and has since won consecutive Italian titles. But his Romania side need to beat Serbia on Saturday for them to stand any chance of making the finals.

Javier Mascherano (Argentina): The Argentina captain is one of the most highly regarded holding midfielders in the world, but his team have suffered an accident-prone qualifying campaign that has left them fifth in their group, clinging on to a play-off place.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal): The World Footballer of the Year became the most expensive player in history when he completed his move to Real Madrid from Manchester United. With Portugal currently third in their qualifying group, he could be the biggest absentee from this summer’s tournament.

Lionel Messi (Argentina): The miniature magician has lit up pitches across Europe for Barcelona, but he is another who could be absent from South Africa, if Argentina cannot get results from their final two group games against Peru and Uruguay.

Franck Ribery (France): He was reportedly being lined up by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo after some devastating displays in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich. But France are currently four points behind Serbia in their group, and are likely to need the play-offs to make it to the finals.

Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo): The Togo international has courted controversy since leaving Arsenal for Manchester City, but has proved an instant hit at his new club. His country, however, are currently third in their qualifying group behind Cameroon and Gabon with only two games left to play.

Karim Benzema (France): The France striker’s move to Real Madrid was overshadowed by the signings of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, but he has made an early impact at the Bernabeu. He may not have the same effect in South Africa, however, with France needing to beat Faroe Islands just to guarantee a play-off place.

Coach: Giovanni Trapattoni: Trap is one of the most successful coaches in the history of club football having won 10 league titles in four different countries. But as manager of Republic of Ireland, he needs to beat the country of his birth on Saturday to stand any chance of winning the group and booking a spot in South Africa.

Let me know in the comments if you disagree with my choice…

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (L) and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shake hands before the start of the Champions League final soccer match at the Olympic Stadium in Rome May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Albert Gea