Soccer | David Beckham may be bound for Milan

MILAN, Italy — AC Milan is close to signing David Beckham in a loan deal that would allow the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder and former England captain to play in Italy for a few months starting in January.

"We're discussing it with his agent," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said Wednesday on the club's Web site.

With the Major League Soccer season in the United States nearly over, Beckham is eager to join another club in Europe so he can remain in shape and keep his place on England's team for World Cup qualifying. England coach Fabio Capello has said he will not pick players who are not active.

"We'll sign him for a few months and then he'll go back," Galliani said. " ... Our team is very competitive and will remain as is, but Beckham is something different and intriguing."

Beckham's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, acknowledged talks are taking place for a short-term loan but "nothing is confirmed at present."

"David's intention is to maintain his fitness and keep himself eligible for England's selection," Oliveira said. "He very much remains a Galaxy player and he would be in Los Angeles for the start of the 2009 MLS season."

MLS commissioner Don Garber confirmed the talks but stressed that Beckham will be playing for the Galaxy at the start of the 2009 season.

Beckham quit as England captain after the 2006 World Cup and was dropped from the team by Steve McClaren, England's coach at the time. Beckham was reinstated to the national team and has been used sparingly by Capello.

Beckham now has 107 England appearances, one short of the record 108 for a nongoalkeeper by 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.

Notes

• FC Barcelona routed FC Basel 5-0 in Switzerland and is on the verge of reaching the next round of the Champions League. Chelsea and Inter Milan also look set to advance after narrow victories.

Chelsea defeated AS Roma 1-0, and Inter beat Anorthosis Famagusta 1-0 to take control of its group. PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux and Sporting Lisbon also won.

• Poland's former national coach was detained by police in connection with a corruption investigation, a blow to the country co-hosting the 2012 European Championship with Ukraine. Janusz Wojcik was taken into custody at his Warsaw home, a police spokesman said.

• Juan Carlos Cacho and Fernando Espinoza scored first-half goals and Marco Antonio Palacios added a second-half goal as the UNAM Pumas dealt the host Houston Dynamo its first CONCACAF Champions League loss, 3-1.

• Houston Dynamo forward Kei Kamara and FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti will each miss two games after receiving a red card last week.

• The Mexican Soccer Federation has expelled third-division team Mapaches of Nueva Italia for alleged ties to drug traffickers.