The soccer press has been buzzing about the latest Wayne Rooney press conferences, statements, and rumors.  The usual suspects have been named as possible destinations: the ATMs that are Manchester City and Real Madrid, EPL rival Chelsea, and Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich.  But where Wayne Rooney really belongs is in Italy, and specifically Inter Milan.

Here is why Rooney in the Black and Blue makes the most sense:

• He moves to a team that is already successful and won’t need him to be their savior: Don’t get me wrong, Inter Milan needs the talents of a player like Wayne Rooney.  Although they are well positioned to repeat as Serie A champions again, their campaign so far has been lackluster.  Their nine goals are the fewest scored by any of the top six and its been their defense that has won attention.  An on-form Wayne Rooney immediately boosts their offense.  But Inter Milan does not absolutely need him; if they did not sign him Eto’o, Milito, and Sneijder are still world-class up front.  His addition would add a key component without the pressure of being “The Man” for Inter.
• Rooney counters the Milan signings: The media attention in Serie A has been on Inter’s intercity rival.  Their Ibrahimovic signing so far has been worth every euro, and they have become the popular pick to snatch the title away from Inter (sorry Lazio fans).  While press clippings don’t win scudettos, signing Wayne Rooney reminds everyone which club is the defending champions of Italy and Europe and pushes Milan to the second page.  This is a definite benefit to management.
• He provides needed youth up-front: It’s hard to remember, but Wayne Rooney is just 24 years old.  Milito is 31 and Eto’o is 29.  Rooney becomes the young striker that Balotelli had been for the Nerazzurri.
• Rafa Knows Rooney: Having managed against him in the EPL, he is well aware of his skills so the learning curve on how to use Wayne Rooney in his system will be short.  Plus, he has dealt with the press in multiple countries and can help with that aspect.
• Serie A is a clean start away from the English press:  Athletes in crisis management are well served stepping out of the spotlight for a time to re-craft their image.  While Rooney playing with Inter would still cause a media circus, he would be covered daily by the Italian press and not the English press.  While the Italian press can be critical (to put it lightly), he is out of the country where he is seen as THE face of football.  At the same time he would still be playing top-flight football and could showcase his skills on the international stage.  And I suspect Fabio Capello still has a few friends in Italy who can keep an eye on Rooney for English national purposes.

What do you think of Wayne Rooney with the Nerazzurri?

Beckham’s international future is in doubt after England manager Fabio Capello confirmed his lack of competitive action was of primary concern and reasoning behind Beck’s omission against Germany on Wednesday.

One cap short of Bobby Moore’s total of 108 the English midfielder hopes to prolong his international career until the 2010 World Cup.  Beckham has recently arranged a loan deal at AC Milan beginning in January to further the 2010 goal.

Clearly his move to MLS soccer has affected negatively Beckham’s English chances and reports out of England and Italy suggest making a permanent move to Serie A could be on the radar screen.

After naming the England squad for the Wednesday friendly, manager Capello confirmed the LA Galaxy’s poor results had prevented Beckham’s selection.

Capello said: “This is my system. If you are fit and you are playing, it’s possible to be in the squad. He played his last game three weeks ago. If he had played in the MLS play-offs, it would have been OK”

All this leaves one wondering, is Signor Capello or “El Mister” (as known in Spain), subtly suggesting a permanent move to Capello’s old club, AC Milan, is a better option for future international aspirations?  

Capello plied his trade both as manager and player with AC Milan. During his Rossoneri years Capello was awarded pretty much everything including, five Scudetti (Serie A Championships), 3 Italian SuperCups, 1 Coppa Italia, 1 European Super Cup and 1 UEFA Champions League title. 

Capello’s managerial time at the club in the early 90s helped lead ”The Invincibles” to four Serie A titles in five seasons.  Under Capello, Milan remained unbeaten for 58 league games. The winning squad included the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi hence the knickname, “Il Invincibles”.

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Roberto Donadoni and former Napoli and Chelsea forward, Gianfranco Zola have made the shortlist for new manager at West Ham United.

What an amazing change of events I can remember not to long ago Italian tactics and methods were despised by the English establishment, now it seems there is a shortage of originality in ”the Home Countries” (British Isles) of football and Roman invaders are welcome.

With Fabio Capello already head of the national side, and senior statesman Giovanni Trapattoni coaching the Irish national squad, the ground work for more Italians to coach in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales is being laid.

 News from England reports both Donadoni and Zola have met with the higher-ups at the club and have impressed, especially Zola. Gianfranco is currently joint coach of the Italy Under-21 side and previously plied his trade while at cross-town rivals Chelsea FC in the late 90′s. 

The fact that West Ham already have an Italian (Gianluca Nani) as director of football doesn’t hurt and is clearly a benefit to both candidates if the club truly desires to move toward a more continental style of management and play.

Two other candidates made the shortlist, Michael Laudrup and Slaven Bilic but I wonder if Roberto Mancini could possibly be that phantom waiting in the wings? Mancini has mentioned an interest to come to England and coach and least we forget there is one additional name that may mysteriously reappear, the infamous Paolo Di Canio who was a West Ham striker from 1999-2003.

Personally I think the Di Canio option is the least likely but one never knows what management is thinking.

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UK Guardian – West Ham narrow manager shortlist to four
BBC Sports – Zola & Donadoni impress West Ham

NEWSFLASH – looks like Michael Laudrup is out of the running for the vacant manager’s job at West Ham after agreeing to take over at Spartak Moscow. Biliac has also indicated a move by next match day is impossible. Looks very likely an Italian will get the job.