We have two legends to choose from this week in Euroscore, both of whom provide excellent starting points. Plus, other fixtures and tables from around the continent. Firstly, there is the ongoing saga of David Beckham's on-and-off move from Major League Soccer team L.A. Galaxy to Italian giants AC Milan. However, last night in Spain a certain Raul scored twice in Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon to beat Alfredo Di Stefano's long standing record of 307 goals for the club. In doing so Raul, the Real Madrid captain, has secured his place in the record books and has set a record that will prove almost impossible to beat in the future. In an age where players move from club to club, and in Tottenham's case back again, Raul has remained faithful to the Madrid giants. His brace in a spectacular win for Barcelona chasing Real took him to 309 goals for the club. The win cuts two points off the gap between second place Real and table-topping Barcelona, but that aside it is a remarkable achievement for one of the unsung heroes of modern day world football.Meanwhile in Milan, England's David Beckham made his own piece of history when he equalled the late Bobby Moore's record number of caps for an England outfield player in his country's 2-0 defeat in Spain. Since then he has made it clear that he is not relishing the thought of returning to the Galaxy.Beckham of course started his career with Manchester United before moving to Real Madrid before joining the Galaxy. When he signed to play in the MLS, it represented both a huge risk by a player who has made no secret of his desire to add to his England cap total and a major financial investment by the American team. With a World Cup and the tail-end of his career both approaching at the same rate, you can perhaps understand his concerns. His loan move to AC Milan has proved beyond doubt that he can still mix it on a pitch crammed full of world class players. This has been further underlined by the fact that the Italian press has so far taken to him, as have the Milan supporters. Last night I sat and watched the Milan derby, won 2-1 by 'home' side Internazionale. It was one of the best games I have seen all season with virtually every player on either team being a household name in the world of football. Beckham played well holding a position on the right side of midfield for Milan before an injury forced his replacement early in the second half. His characteristic distribution remains his greatest contribution. In all my years of watching football I have never seen a player pass or cross a ball as sweetly and consistently as David Beckham. In the Milan team of course he has the likes of Ronaldinho, Pato, Inzaghi, and Kaka, when fit, to aim at. He sits in a midfield that consists of Dutch star Seedorf, Pirlo, and Ambrosini. If he is ever concerned regarding his age he only has to glance across at the ever superb legend that is Paolo Maldini to prove it can still be done at the highest possible level, even at the wrong end of your career. The problem seems to be that he made the wrong move in joining Galaxy when he did. Yes, he has inspired interest in the game in the MLS, but perhaps Galaxy were simply the wrong franchise for a still ambitious footballer used to winning honours. Lured by the glitz of L.A. and of course the massive contract, Beckham went from playing for a Championship winning Real Madrid side to the MLS and then wondered why his form and fitness suffered. The move to AC Milan, essentially as a replacement for the injured Gattuso, proved that he still has a lot to offer in one of the toughest leagues in the world, at one of its biggest clubs, on one of its biggest stages, whilst extending his international career with England possibly into the World Cup next year. However, by publicly saying he wishes to stay in Milan and by making it known that he does not look forward to returning to L.A. he has run the risk of making his return difficult with either the club's fans or the board who invested heavily in his signature. What I do know is that Beckham, despite his remaining ambitions and his wealth, will still be the ultimate professional if he finds himself back in the white shirt of Galaxy. He is simply too honest a person not to do that, however disappointed he would be with the situation. Who can knock one of the world's best known and talented footballers because he retains ambition to perform at the highest level? In his early appearances for Milan he slotted in so well it looked as though he had been there for some time already. He scored goals, showed commitment by picking up a couple of yellow cards and started to provide the ammunition for the Milan strike force. The mistake, if that is how he now sees it, was in joining Galaxy at the time he did. Maybe a move from Real Madrid to another top European side, if not Milan themselves, until after the World Cup in 2010, would have given him the chance of then becoming an 'ambassador' style figure for the MLS. That surely would have been better timing and still given him time to promote the game in America. He is not the first player to do such a role and you only have to look back to the days when Beckenbauer, Best, Cruyff, and Lazio's Chinaglia all did likewise in earlier times. In a twist at the end of last week and prior to the Milan derby it emerged that AC may have left it too late to secure the deal on a permanent basis. The Milan derby played out in front of a packed San Siro must have brought home to David Beckham, a footballer used to playing on the world's biggest stages, just what he is missing in Los Angeles. It would be good to hear the views of Galaxy supporters.EnglandIt was the weekend for the FA Cup 5th round in England. Only one Premier League match was played during which Portsmouth, under the temporary management of Paul Hart, ran out 2-0 winners over Manchester City. In the cup Fulham escaped with a 1-1 draw at impressive Swansea City. The winners of that tie will play at home to Manchester United in the quarter finals. United secured their place by winning 4-1 at Derby County. Chelsea, who have named Russia boss Guus Hiddink as their new manager, won 3-1 at Watford through a hat trick from French international striker Nicolas Anelka. Elsewhere Sheffield United drew 1-1 with Hull City, West Ham and Middlesbrough drew by the same score. Everton beat Aston Villa 3-1, Blackburn were held 2-2 at home by Coventry City, and Arsenal cruised past last season's beaten finalists Cardiff City 4-0. The quarter final draw has more if, buts, and maybes than an average Cabinet meeting in Downing Street. ScotlandThe clash of the Old Firm inevitably attracted the lion's share of the attention this weekend. Rangers did their position no harm whatsoever with a hard fought 0-0 draw at Celtic Park to remain two points behind Celtic. The advantage could be seen to have passed to Rangers who now have Celtic at home in the last league Old Firm match this season. It will be the definition of a six pointer. This game was all about Rangers not losing in a match, that despite ending in a rare 0-0 draw, still provided plenty of action and passion. As if to prove the point, eight yellow cards had to be dished out. Elsewhere, Hearts beat Aberdeen 2-1, Dundee United were held 1-1 at home by improving Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and Kilmarnock and Hibs drew 1-1. St Mirren also drew 2-2 at home to Falkirk.Celtic stay two points ahead of Rangers. Hearts stay third, 13 points behind,and two in front of Dundee United. At the bottom, Inverness are still four points behind Falkirk who in turn are four points behind St Mirren.BelgiumClub Brugge hit the self-destruct button, going down 0-2 at home to an impressive Racing Genk side. 2nd placed Anderlecht kept up the pressure on Standard Liege by winning 1-0 at Charleroi. Cercle Brugge were held to a 1-1 draw at improving Germinal Beerschot Antwerp, whilst RAEC Mons drew 1-1 with KV Kortrijk. Elsewhere Lokeren beat rock bottom KSV Roeselare 2-1, and top of the table Standard Liege beat Tubize 4-0.Standard are now on 49 two ahead of Anderlecht who have a game in hand. Club are 3rd on 40 a point ahead of Racing Genk. At the bottom Roeselare are still on 14, three adrift of Mons who are point behind FC Dender and Tubize.FranceIt seems that just when a team gets close to Lyon at the top it sets off a panic reaction that sees an immediate dip in form. A few weeks back the likely challengers to the seven on the trot champions looked to be Bordeaux. However a dip in form has seen them drop to 5th , six points behind Lyon, and this weekend's 1-1 home draw with Grenoble didn't help their cause at all. Meanwhile the next one to suffer the jitters has to be PSG who have moved up into 2nd place only four points behind Lyon following a 2-1 home win over St. Etienne. In fact by the time that Lyon faced bottom side Le Havre, PSG were within a point of them. However, there was no upset and Lyon, despite having Mensah sent off after 75 minutes for a second yellow, stomped home 3-1 with goals from Ederson, Keita, and a typically long range free kick from Brazilian star Juninho. Elsewhere Marseille kept touch with the top of the table by winning 1-0 at Monaco thanks to a lovely looped effort from former Nice star Kone. Toulouse also maintained their position by winning 2-1 at relegation threatened Sochaux. Auxerre beat visitors Lille 2-0, Nice won 2-1 at Le Mans, whilst there were 1-1 draws between Valenciennes and Nantes, and Rennes and Nancy.Lyon stay top four points ahead of PSG who are one ahead of both Marseille and Toulouse. Le Havre look doomed on 15, nine points into the relegation slot. They are joined by Sochaux on 20, and Valenciennes on 21. St Etienne are three points above on 24.GermanyThere are new leaders of the Bundesliga this week. Hertha Berlin go top a point ahead of Hoffenheim and Hamburg and two ahead of 4th placed Bayern Munich. The results that caused this change round were Hertha Berlin's 2-1 win over Bayern thanks to two goals from former Liverpool striker Voronin. Hoffenheim imploded in their new stadium, losing 1-4 to Bayer Leverkusen. Hamburg beat Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 to go 2nd. At the bottom, Borussia Monchenglandbach stay at the foot of the table despite earning a 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen.Elsewhere, Vfl Bochum beat Schalke 2-1, and Hannover and Stuttgart shared six goals in a thrilling draw. Borussia Dortmund were held 1-1 by Energie Cottbus, and Wolfsburg won 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt.At the bottom Monchengladbach have 13, four behind Karlsruhe, Cottbus, and Bochum who all have 17. Werder Bremen's disappointing season sees them down in 10th.HollandThe big game took place in the Amsterdam Arena where hosts Ajax beat rivals from Rotterdam, Feyenoord 2-0 with goals from Vermaelen and an injury time effort from Emanuelson. Top of the table AZ Alkmaar drew 2-2 at last season's champions PSV Eindhoven. FC Twente Enschede stay 2nd three points ahead of Ajax following their 2-1 win at home to Volendam. At the bottom Den Haag beat De Graafschap 1-0 despite having Kum sent-off after only 14 minutes. Meanwhile Roda did their survival chances no good whatsoever losing 1-0 at NAC. AZ stay top on 57, nine points ahead of Twente on 48. Ajax are on 45 and PSV on 42. At the bottom Volendam are on 15, De Graafschap have 17, one less than Roda who are now four points behind Den Haag.ItalyAs we have seen the Milan derby was won 2-1 by table topping champions Inter. A dubious looking goal from Adriano, who looked to help the ball into the Milan net with his right arm, and a second hammered home by captain Stankovic did the damage. Pato's goal for Milan 20 minutes from time caused some concern for Inter, who stay top on 56. They are nine points ahead of nearest rivals Juventus, who drew 1-1 at home to Sampdoria. Milan are third, 11 points behind Inter. Elsewhere, Genoa and Fiorentina drew 3-3 with the visitors coming back from 3-0 down with only half an hour left to play. Atalanta beat Roma 3-0 with all three goals coming in a seven-minute second-half spell. At the bottom, everyone drew: Reggina 0-0 at home to Palermo, Torino 1-1 at Lazio, and Chievo 1-1 with Catania. Lecce, however, lost 0-2 at Cagliari.Reggina stay bottom on 17, three behind Chievo and Torino who are both on 20. Lecce are on 22, a point behind Bologna who drew 1-1 at Napoli.PortugalFC Porto stayed top a point ahead of Benfica by beating lowly Rio Ave 3-1. Benfica ran out 3-2 winners at home to Pacos Ferreira, whilst 3rd placed Sporting Lisbon won 2-1 at Belenenses.SpainBarcelona's lead over Real Madrid was cut to ten points following Real's 4-0 away win over Sporting Gijon. Barca meanwhile were held 2-2 at Real Betis having been two behind. Samuel Eto'o got both Barcelona goals. Valencia drew 1-1 at home to Malaga, Sevilla won 2-0 at relegation haunted Espanyol. Espanyol have the unenviable task of going to neighbours Barcelona next weekend in the cities big derby match, which is also now top versus bottom. Barcelona have 60, Real Madrid 50, Sevilla 41, three ahead of Valencia. At the bottom end it's Espanyol on 18, two behind Numancia who lost to Mallorca who are now a point ahead on 21. Osasuna also have 21 having drawn 0-0 at Deportivo La Coruna.SwitzerlandTop of the table FC Zurich are five points clear of Basle, who are one ahead of Young Boys of Berne. Grasshoppers are now in 4th place eight points behind Young Boys. FC Zurich were held to a 0-0 home draw by Bellinzona, Basle and Grasshoppers drew by the same score, whilst Young Boys were the only top team to win, 3-2 at Lucerne.TurkeyIstanbul's Fenerbahce trounced Hacettepe 7-0 to go 4th. Sivasspor are top on goal difference ahead of Trabzonspor with Galatasary 3rd on 37 the same points as rivals Fenerbahce. Besiktas are 5th on 36. The main results saw Besiktas draw 1-1 at home to Trabzonspor, Sivasspor draw 1-1 at Bursaspor, and Galatasary losing 0-1 at Antalyspor.SummaryAs David Beckham ponders over the merits of football in California against that of Milan we can only reflect that he isn't the first to head off in search of the glitter on offer in LA's tinsel town. If he returns to LA it will no doubt effect his chances of staying in England's World Cup team, assuming they qualify. After all, England manager Fabio Capello knows a thing or two about the game in Italy and knows that if Beckham is playing an influential role in a Milan derby then he must be able to still do it for his country.Thought for the weekPoor David - all that glitters is not necessarily gold. One thing that is though, is the World Cup, and this is his last chance of getting anywhere near it.See you next week. Wherever you are and whether your team triumphs or trips over, enjoy your football.
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