When Becks met Cam, unhappy Kahawa and the finally embraced Gareth Bale. Source: AP
IT'S the weekend, and there's more live football on than you can dream of watching, but still, there's time for Paper Talk to capture the weird and wonderful things happening in the world of football.
BECKS v2
Sir Alex Ferguson's recent rant hasn't dampened David Beckham's love of Old Trafford. In fact, we might be about to go through it all again, with son Brooklyn is following in his father's footsteps by training at the club.
The Daily Mail reports that 14-year-old Brooklyn, Beckham's eldest, was at United's Carrington training ground on Thursday with Beckham senior.
He's already trialled with Chelsea, and has been training with Queens Park Rangers.
Now, there might be an expectation that young Brooklyn can 'bend it like Beckham' (ahem). And dad has recently revealed the secret to his success.
After taking "hundreds of thousands" of dead balls with his father at the park, he would come home and do the same to his sister's teddy!
"I would carry on playing when I got home. I wasn't allowed a football in the house so I would practice by kicking the Care Bears in my sister's bedroom. My mum thought it was funny but is showed how much I loved football. I couldn't get enough of it."
SPORTING WORLDS COLLIDE
Source: AFP
This great yarn from News Corp Australia's rugby league reporter Paul Crawley in Manchester:
It's not often Cameron Smith gets starstruck - but what a week it's been for the Kangaroos captain, who has been collecting autographs on his World Cup trip around the United Kingdom.
Earlier in the week Smith was summoned to Clarence House for a meeting with Prince Charles - and overnight the usually unflappable Melbourne Storm skipper had to back up at the home of Manchester United for a catch-up with the "other" Prince of England, David Beckham.
Throw in some of the biggest names in world football in Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick, and Smith along with fellow Kangaroos Paul Gallen and Johnathan Thurston had a day out at Old Trafford they will probably never forget.
BIG KIDS
"Usually I'm always on the front line of the banter," so says Spurs' Kyle Walker.
So on Halloween, he took it upon himself to lure his teammates into a dark room for interviews, with the Spurs TV camera rolling along all the while.
Andros Townsend ... it's time for revenge!
CONTROLLING THE STADIUM
We've heard about managers taking charge of the dressing room, but Andre Villas-Boas is playing mind games with Spurs fans as well now.
After criticising his supporters for a dull atmosphere at White Hart Lane during their weekend EPL win over Hull, he was much more pleased with their response when the two teams met again mid-week in the Capital One Cup.
"It was a great, entertaining game and the supporters were absolutely fantastic," said Villas-Boas.
"To see their response after we suffered a setback was very pleasant, they can make that difference for us. It was a great atmosphere and it was great for the team to feel that empathy with the supporters."
SOS
Shinji Kagawa and Kevin De Bruyne take note - refuge is available on familiar grounds.
Both players are struggling for gametime at Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, having moved to the Premier League after impressing in Germany.
Now, Bundesliga club Wolfsburg could throw them a lifeline in a World Cup year.
Sporting director Klaus Allofs said: "At Werder, I have seen just how good de Bruyne is, and at Dortmund we have seen how well Kagawa can do.
"If such players are possible, you of course think about them.
"But we should not raise the hopes of our fans. In the end they comment: 'Once again, you failed to sign him".
COACHING CAPERS
The Guardian reports that Alex McLeish has declared his interest in taking the Crystal Palace job, while Chris Coleman is a favourite with the bookies.
ON A SERIOUS NOTE
This really isn't good enough.
Russia want to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, yet CSKA Moscow, whose fans directed racial abuse towards Manchester City's Yaya Toure last month, will cop just one match punishment via a partially closed stadium against Bayern Munich in the UCL.
EPL coaches were unanimous this isn't good enough.
"Not enough, it's just not enough," West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said when asked for his reaction to the punishment.
Alan Pardew concurred, while Chris Hughton and Brendan Rodgers said it was at least a start.
Indeed, there was more shame today as a cup game between Spartak Moscow and Shinnik Yaroslavl was marred by crowd trouble, seeing 78 fans detained.
Flares and smoke bombs were thrown, before clashes with riot police, seats being ripped up and a Nazi sign being unfurled.
OH REALLY ...
As if Tottenham hadn't spent enough.
Brazilian sensation Alexander Pato told SporTV: "Tottenham had called Corinthians to ask for my transfer.
"I sat at the table with the club and my agent and I decided I wanted to stay."
WELCOME TO THE CANNON
Gareth Bale earned rapturous praise from the Spanish press after his double in the 7-3 rout over Sevilla.
Newspaper Marca declared: "Ancelotti put him on the right after the failed experiment of playing him as a No 9 ... and he finally showed his enormous quality and the cannon that he has in his left foot."
THIS IS HORRENDOUS
The severed head of a former pro footballer in Brazil has been left on the doorstep of his wife - triggering a police manhunt.
Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos, 35, was discovered as his wife left for work in Rio yesterday.
Santos's eyes and tongue had been cut out and his head placed inside one of his own rucksacks, police said.
An investigation is underway.
01 Nov, 2013
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Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/paper-talk-david-beckhams-son-brooklyn-trains-with-manchester-united-while-kangaroos-meet-united/story-e6frfkp9-1226751368408?from=public_rss
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