>Landon Donovan and David Beckham exchange words; MLS could use the publicity

Six months away playing for one of Europe’s elite teams, David Beckham made his return to the Los Angeles Galaxy for practices earlier this week. His return did not come without media attention thanks to teammate Landon Donvan. Apparently Donovan bashed the beloved international star in an upcoming book questioning Beckham’s commitment among other things.

Here’s a rundown of what Donovan said in the book:

The Galaxy currently find themselves out of a playoff spot and could use the savvy play of Beckham. Still, MLS officials have to be happy about the timing of this story. Beckham returning was not nearly as big a story in America as his initial arrival, and even that subsided after less than a week.

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One of America’s best players calling out what was once one of the world’s best players? Publicity gold! Playoffs or not, this should cause more than expected to pay attention to Beckham’s return. Beckham, who still says he will honor his five-year contract with the Galaxy, will return to play tonight against New York. Seems as though his time spent with AC Milan has the thirty year old midfielder in top form and impressing Galaxy teammates.

The spat with Donovan, according to Beckham, has now been resolved. This is nothing new to the American sports frontier. In fact, this might be Donovan’s way of challenging Beckham to see his vision of improving the MLS through. Many MLS faithful were displeased when the Galaxy agreed to loan him to Italian power, AC Milan, which meant Beckham would miss most of the first half of this season.

>South African workers spent past week striking, will resume work on 2010 World Cup facilities Thursday

Workers in South Africa spent this past week on strike for wage increases. The Washington Post reported that some workers were earning as little as $1.50 an hour and an average of about $200 a month.

Here’s a brief rundown of the wage dispute:

The striking workers could have caused a delay in the reported December deadline of all World Cup facilities. Some officials even worried early on that the strike could push back the start of the World Cup in June 2010.

The workers agreed to a slightly less wage increase (1 percent less than what they were seeking) and were expected to resume construction today.

This issue has done nothing than bring more international attention to the dire situations in one of African’s more affluent countries. Violence ensued earlier in the week, which has to be World Cup promoters worst nightmare.

>Can the 2010 World Cup have a lasting impact on host South Africa?

Additionally to the strike, the selection of South Africa as the first African country to even host the World Cup is not without its critics. Some believe hosting the World Cup will do little to shed light on the economic woes of African nations. One has to ask: is it FIFA’s concern what happens to a host city after one of its major tournaments leaves?

I’m more ignorant to the problems there than anyone else, but I can’t imagine that hosting the World Cup would hurt the nation in any way. It isn’t FIFA’s job to save it from any of its problems; certainly by choosing South Africa to host allows officials to shed some light on what is plaguing nations there and how the world can help.

For one, the facilities look as though they will be top-notch. This has to give South Africa the edge in hosting other international tournaments, soccer or not, in the near future. Cricket is very popular as is rugby.

If the World Cup goes off without a hitch, why wouldn’t this happen? More tournaments means more jobs for stadium workers, hotels, food services, transportation and so on. It may not be the answer, but certainly FIFA envisioned this by selecting South Africa.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Outside the Lines investigated just what the conditions are for some of the poorest South African residents.

Most powerful line from the piece with Bob Ley comes from a young South African man who realizes that it will be life after the World Cup that truly matters to South Africans:

“The money coming in is just to make the streets look better so that the stadium look good for people to say it looks like Germany over here. But actually we’re not eating like Germans, we’re not.” Tells it like it is.

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It was a long shot, but AC Milan remained in the 2009 Serie A title hunt going into Saturday’s contest at Udinese. Those hopes were quickly dashed by a more aggressive and offensive-minded home side.

Gaetano D’Agostino scored the first goal off of a penalty kick (31′), and Christian Zapata blasted home a second half goal (49′) when AC Milan failed to clear a corner, taking the match, 2-1.

It is Undinese’s first home win against AC Milan since 2003. The victory keeps them close to a qualifying spot for the European play next season.

The game saw a juxtaposition of styles; while AC Milan controlled possession most of the game, Udinese took full advantage of its touches on offense. The home side tallied 26 shots, 9 of which were on target. AC Milan, despite their number of possessions, only managed 3 quality shots on goal.

Milan certainly fulfilled the Italian stereotype of “possession football.” Their opponents, on the other hand, provided a more entertaining brand of physical play on defense coupled with an opportunistic, insatiable desire on offense.

Udinese proved the aggressor all game. Its counter-attacks highlighted the club’s exceptional speed and often left AC Milan players trailing after an interception. Defensively, they closed down well and were not afraid of the referee’s potential reprimands.

Milan’s attempt at offside traps proved futile as a host of Udinese attackers gained clean shots on goal throughout the first half. If it hadn’t been for the timely play of Milan goalie, Dida, the Zebrette might have netted three or four more.

The Red-Blacks lone strike came too late when Massimo Ambrosini scored (90′) a header off of a superb, arching Kaka cross that placed itself perfectly at the Italian midfielder’s head.

Stoppage time did not slow down Udinese, however, as Fabio Quagliarella narrowly missed on the game’s final shot attempt, hitting the left post.

The win secures Inter Milan the Serie A title, which is their first under Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho. More importantly it is the club’s fourth overall title, which ties them for second most in Italian football history with their derby counterparts, AC Milan.

With rumors already circulating concerning the sale of Brazilian star, Kaka, it is sure to be a long summer for AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. Only time will tell if it will be a summer of discontent or one of new, burgeoning hope going into the 2009-2010 season.