Right after trading Dominic Oduro to New York for Dave van den Bergh, FC Dallas turned its attention to the MLS SuperDraft in hopes of finding youthful talent.

The franchise selected Michigan striker Peri Marosevic with the fifth overall pick last Thursday in St. Louis.

“We worked three months preparing for this draft,” said FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman. “When we got to this stage, we had a list of players that we wanted. And we were fortunate that it fell in for us that all three players that we drafted are players that were on our list.”

Marosevic scored 24 goals for Michigan in his three-year college career. “I am very excited to have been chosen by Dallas,” the nineteen-year old mentioned in an interview. “It will be difficult the first year as a rookie, but all I want to do is to work hard in practice, open the eyes of the coaches and show that I am ready to play professional.”

The top two picks of the draft were Akron’s Steve Zukuani and Oak Cliff’s Omar Gonzalez (respectively).

“It's funny, when we created our list, I had Peri No. 1 and Zukuani No. 2,” Hyndman narrates. “As it turns out, it worked out the other way. But the way the draft fell for us, Peri was still available when we had our pick.”
 

Last Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned FIFA’s world player of the year in Zurich. 

The star winger Ronaldo helped United win the Premier League, the Champions League, and the world club championship titles in 2008. With this trophy the Portuguese player has assembled an impressive collection of accolades, adding this award to the European Player of the Year, FIFPro, and he was also selected number one by the worldwide player’s union.

"It's another overwhelming moment in my career,” said the 23-year-old who received the award from Brazil’s legendary Pele. “It's a tremendously emotional moment and a dream come true. I'd like to dedicate this to my family.”

After he received the award, the savvy Ronaldo paid tribute to the guidance of his manager: Alex Ferguson. “It's also true that the manager always has an important role to play. It was a great season for me and for my club, and the coach was important for me because I learned a lot for him. His experience over so many years is of paramount importance -- it's a privilege to have such a great club manager,” said Ronaldo.

Ronaldo closed his statement by saying, "This is the climax of a fantastic era for me. I'm happy and proud about what has been done by my team and what we have won. I am lucky to to be part of the history of a club like Manchester United."
 

David Beckham is slated to make his debut for AC Milan against Roma on Sunday. According to Beckham’s ex-manager Alexi Lalas, the Englishman might extend his stay in Italy. 

Beckham is filling in ahead of time to start the Major League Soccer season in US, with a two-month loan period to the former European champions. But Lalas says that he could stay in Italy longer than expected. 

"I think he wants to do well with the Galaxy but you only have one career," Lalas told BBC Radio Five live on Friday. "The experience he's going to have at Milan will benefit him individually, how much it benefits the Galaxy and the people that are ultimately paying the majority of his wages remains to be seen. He's back in his comfort zone at AC Milan, playing with one of the biggest clubs in the world, with a tremendous amount of talent around him, with incredible money out there on the field so it must be, in a weird way for him, a relief to get out there.”

However, Beckham’s current management team were quick to dispel Lalas’ speculations. "Whilst we respect Alexi's right to an opinion, he has not been party to any contractual discussions on the loan agreement to Milan,” said Beckham’s spokesperson Simon Oliveira in an interview with the Press Association.

If the contracts are to be followed, Beckham will be returning to the Galaxy by March.
 

Last Tuesday, David Beckham made his much-anticipated debut for AC Milan against Hamburg. AC defeated Hamburg 4-3 in a penalty shoot out after both clubs fought each other to a 1-1 draw through the match.
The “Captain of England” started for Milan as a mid-fielder together with Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini and Ronaldinho. Beckham recently joined AC Milan after his stint with the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Englishman hopes to be an integral player of the Serie A giants guided by Carlo Ancelotti.

After the game, Ancelotti commended Beckham’s play, but says that David is still not in his top game. After all, he hasn’t played in over two months. Ancelotti expects him to return to top form after he gets the feel of the game back.

Beckham currently has 107 caps, which puts him in pace to equalize the “outfield” record set by Bobby Moore.

With Britain firmly set on a place in the 2010 World Cup finals to be held in South Africa, Beckham has all the reasons to prolong his career.

On the flip side, Milan has to decide whether they will include Beckham in their ambition to conquer the European field. The squad must finalize their roster by the end of January, as the transfer window closes.

Beckham, who returns to the US at the end of March, will be unable to participate at the Europe quarterfinals. The stalwart has a standing contract with his team in the Major League Soccer (US).