Business News David Beckham | Page 13

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the end of the 2009 MLS season.

Second spell at Milan

In November 2009, it was confirmed that Beckham would return to Milan for a second loan period beginning in January 2010. On 6 January 2010, Beckham made a winning return in a Milan shirt, playing 75 minutes of a 5–2 victory over Genoa. On 16 February 2010, Beckham played against Manchester United for the first time since he left the club in 2003. He played 76 minutes of the match at the San Siro – which ended 3–2 to Manchester United – before being substituted by Clarence Seedorf.

Beckham then returned to Old Trafford for the second leg of the tie on 10 March 2010; he did not start the match, but was substituted on after 64 minutes to a positive reception from the Manchester United fans. The match was the first time Beckham had played against Manchester United at Old Trafford and saw him create several scoring opportunities via crosses and corner kicks, but Manchester United dominated Milan and beat them 4–0, winning the tie 7–2. In Milan's next game, against ChievoVerona, Beckham suffered a probable torn left Achilles tendon. Now he will miss the World Cup as well as the MLS season due to the injury which is likely to take him out of action for the next six to eight months. Doctor Sakari Orava performed surgery on Beckham's tendon in Turku, Finland, on 15 March 2010. After the operation, Orava affirmed that "everything went well so far".

International career

Beckham made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova.

Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.