Chelsea want Michael Owen

Chelsea are considering a shock move for Michael Owen in January, The Sun reports.
Boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has been told he has around £10 million to spend on new players.
The Blues value the Newcastle striker, who is out of contract next summer, at between £3m-5m.
Scolari is keen to recruit a top-class striker to cover for Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
His first choice was Sevilla striker Luís Fabiano but his price tag of £25 million has made that move impossible.
There is concern at Stamford Bridge about Owen’s injury record but they will monitor his fitness and form in the coming weeks before deciding on an offer.
Owen, who earns £108,000 a week at St James’ Park, is unlikely to be offered a similar salary at Chelsea.
Financial restructuring and worries over the number of matches he has played mean a smaller deal will be offered.
A weekly wage of £60,000 could then be topped up by a playing bonus to £100,000.
Chelsea may face competition from Tottenham, who are also on the look-out for a striker.
Boss Harry Redknapp knows a move for Owen would be cheaper than signing Jermain Defoe, who is valued at £12m by Portsmouth.

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In Champions League, Juventus beats Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu

Alessandro Del Piero scored twice Wednesday to give Juventus a 2-0 win over Real Madrid to advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Del Piero, who also scored in the Juventus' 2-1 win over Madrid at Turin two weeks ago, scored in the 17th minute by curling a left-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Iker Casillas at Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

The Italy striker capped Juventus' first success in the Spanish capital in 46 years by scoring from a free kick in the 67th for his 41st Champions League goal.

New Argentina coach Diego Maradona came to watch Madrid's Argentine players, but it was Del Piero who stole the show.

"I'm pleased to have scored in front of Maradona. I hope Diego comes to watch us play more often," said Del Piero, who exited in the 90th to a standing ovation from 80,000 fans.

"I live off these types of emotions. I'm pleased the fans gave me that applause when I came off. This is a crazy stadium and it was a very important game for us. It's a good moment for me."

Juventus tops Group H with 10 points, four ahead of Madrid. Zenit St. Petersburg's 2-0 victory over BATE Borisov gave it four points and kept the Russian club in the hunt for the other spot into the last 16. Borisov has two points.

"Evidently, this is a stadium that brings me luck," Juventus coach Claudio Raniero said. "I had already won here with Atletico Madrid and Valencia when I coached in Spain. We wanted to advance and we did. Now we'll do our best to finish first in the group."

Last season, Madrid lost 2-1 at home to AS Roma to be eliminated from the knockout stages. Madrid had won five straight against Italian opponents before that.

Madrid had 17 shots but Juventus' back four overpowered the hosts inside the area so that only three were on goal.

"Fortune wasn't at our side on several occasions, but this is a Champions League game so you have to move on. There are still more games to play," Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said. "What we did, what we have to do, was much better than what I expected against Juve."

Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez lost the ball as Marco Marchionni set up Del Piero, who ran across the top of the area before scoring first with a low shot inside the near post.

Madrid defender Sergio Ramos volleyed over the crossbar in the 24th and Ruud van Nistelrooy fired high in the 37th as Madrid enjoyed the better momentum to the close the first half.

An injury-depleted Juventus didn't have many first-half chances. Amauri, who scored the winner at Turin, stole the ball from Heinze in the 41st only to have his shot blocked.

Juventus defender Olof Mellberg blocked Drenthe's shot in the 43rd after Guti had set the Dutchman clear down the left flank. Mahamadou Diarra then headed wide to close out the half with Madrid pressing for the equalizer.

"If we created more chances, it's because we were tactically phenomenal. We just didn't find the net," Schuster said.

The German manager was up out of his seat in the 52nd when Raul Gonzalez was muscled down in the area. But Madrid didn't get the call and felt hard done by several more similar instances.

Maradona, appointed coach on Monday, has traveled to assess the form of the European-based players he hopes will help the country qualify for the 2010 World Cup. He got a chance to see Gonzalo Higuain from the 65th after he replaced Sneijder. The Argentina striker shot over in the 70th with Juventus happy to sit back and defend. Madrid threatened with crosses from either flank, but the Italians cleared most efforts.

Del Piero took advantage of Madrid's poor communication to curl the ball around the defensive wall and leave Casillas flat-footed as the ball sailed into the empty side of goal.

"I'm unbelievably happy," said the 33-year-old Del Piero, who nearly had a hat trick after swiveling to flash a shot just wide of the post in the 87th. "We won, we played a great game and I scored goals. What could be better?"

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At Stadio Olimpico, Roma Surprised Chelsea with a 3-1

Roma, which are undergoing a severe crisis (coach Luciano Spaletti was given an ultiamtum), could finally get a 3-1 win over powerful Chelsea.

In the first half, the locals seemed to be slow and scary becasue of facing such a tremendous rival like Chelsea, which managed to take control of the match almost troughout at the whole game.

Still, the locals got tired of Chelsea's long, boring ball possession to start taking the "Blues" by surprise: it was former Chelsea player Christian Panucci who opened the score at minute 34 for Roma after profiting from a mistake at the guests' defense.

In the second half, Malouda was repalced by Drogba, Belletti was replaced by Joe Cole. But Vucinic kicked a tremendous shot to beat Petr cech and score the second goal for Roma.

Since then, the locals seemed to have recovered memory to start playing as they use to be. Vucinic scored the thirs goal at minute 58.

John Terry scored for Chelse at minute 75; definitely, it was the best day for the "Blues" since Deco was sent of for double yellow card.

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Beckham loaned to AC Milan for three months

MILAN, Italy - David Beckham will join AC Milan in January on a three-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to maintain his fitness and prolong his career with the English national team.

The former England captain’s stint in Serie A will begin Jan. 7, and he will rejoin his Galaxy teammates in March.

“He will have to go back to Galaxy by the time the MLS starts, and training before that,” Milan sporting director Umberto Gandini said Thursday. “David is committed to the LA Galaxy and the MLS. Only David knows his future, but for sure he has a commitment to go back to the MLS and fulfill that.”
Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said an agreement was reached Thursday with Beckham’s lawyers, although a contract is still to be written.

The 33-year-old midfielder is eager to play in Europe during the MLS offseason to remain fit and available for selection for England, which plays an exhibition at Germany on Nov. 19 before World Cup 2010 qualifying resumes in March.

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena declined to say what the Galaxy will get in return from lending Beckham to AC Milan, and that the loan was never sought for longer than three months.

“The terms of the agreement will remain confidential,” Arena said on a conference call with reporters. “In my view, this on the part of David was a purely technical rationale. He wants to continue to play for England. He wants to be in a good environment ... and what better environment can you be in than AC Milan?”

The Galaxy coach added that he wasn’t overly concerned that Beckham would get injured.

“When players don’t go 100 percent, they get hurt. David is a very experienced player, and knows when to go for challenges and when not to,” Arena said.

Beckham is one appearance away from matching the record 108 for an outfield player — held by 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the overall England record of 125.

“Milan has made a good acquisition,” said England manager Fabio Capello, who also coached Beckham at Real Madrid. “In Madrid, I dropped him from the team because he signed with Los Angeles. But he continued to come and train and I put him back on the team.”

Beckham will likely undergo medical tests Dec. 20 and be introduced a day later, when the club will unveil his jersey number. He is set to travel with Milan to Dubai for a midwinter training camp, which includes an exhibition.

Beckham’s first competitive game for Milan could come in the capital against AS Roma on Jan. 11.

He will become the first English player to play for the club since 1987, when Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley left the club.

Beckham will join a stellar midfield at the San Siro, including Italy’s World Cup champions Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, plus Massimo Ambrosini, Mathieu Flamini and Clarence Seedorf.

During the last MLS offseason, Beckham trained with Arsenal to keep fit, but did not play for the English Premier League club.

Beckham starred for Manchester United and Real Madrid before joining the Galaxy in January 2007 in a five-year deal.

After resigning the England captaincy following the 2006 World Cup, Beckham was briefly dropped.

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