[Danny]

Sorry, couldn't post this in news and didn't see it elsewhere.

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani is to meet with Pep Guardiola in the coming days, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The newspaper claims that club president Silvio Berlusconi has asked Galliani to arrange talks with Guardiola, with the future of current Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri in serious doubt. Guardiola is currently in New York on his sabbatical after departing Barcelona at the end of last season. He said he took the break because he needed to "recharge [his] batteries" and he is not expected to return to football before the summer.

The newspaper claims both Tottenham and Bayern Munich have also made their interest in Guardiola known.

His close friend Carlo Mazzone, who coached Guardiola when he played with Brescia, believes the 41-year-old would only return to the peninsula to work with either Milan or neighbours Inter.

"He has friends here and was happy in Italy," he told MilanNews.it. "If he does return then clearly it will be to coach a team of great technical potential with important objectives. Let's make it clear, we talk about anything except football. At most I told him to keep going and always keep his feet on the ground. We are bonded by a close friendship but I do not get involved in his decisions.

"I would be very happy if Pep returned to Italy. Where could he go? Milan or Inter - there isn't exactly a vast choice. He has had his time in Spain and I think he could come here, though I don't know whether it'll be in a day, a year or five years."

[KillerMax]

Just read this from his first season in Barcelona:

Upon being appointed, Guardiola revealed that Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o and others were not part of his plans for the coming season. By the time of the announcement, Guardiola had already offloaded full back Gianluca Zambrotta to A.C. Milan, attacking midfielder Giovani dos Santos to Tottenham Hotspur, and midfielder Edmílson to Villarreal CF. Deco went to Chelsea, while Ronaldinho joined Gianluca Zambrotta in Milan. Lilian Thuram was initially going to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer but the discovery of a heart condition put a stop to the move, and the veteran retired to tend to his health. Oleguer Presas signed with AFC Ajax, Santiago Ezquerro was released by Barça and Marc Crosas was sold to Celtic FC. The fate of Samuel Eto'o took much of the summer to unravel, with the Cameroonian linked with several clubs, but Guardiola finally declared that he would stay after his dedication in training and participation in the pre-season. In association with Barça director of sport, Txiki Begiristain, several new signings were made by Guardiola: Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita arrived from Sevilla FC, Martín Cáceres from Villarreal by way of Recreativo de Huelva, Gerard Piqué returned from Manchester United, and Alexander Hleb was signed from Arsenal. Henrique was also signed from Palmeiras, but was immediately loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen. In interviews with the press, Guardiola stressed a harder work ethic than before, but also a more personal approach during training and a closer relationship with his players. Along with the new signings, Guardiola promoted canteranos Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez and Jeffrén Suárez to the first team squad. Guardiola's first competitive game as coach was in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, in which Barça comfortably beat Polish club Wisła Kraków 4–0 at home. They then lost 1–0 in Kraków, but progressed with a 4–1 aggregate victory. Promoted CD Numancia also defeated FC Barcelona in the opening match-day of the La Liga, but the team then went on an undefeated streak for over 20 matches to move to the top of the league. Barça maintained their spot atop La Liga's table, securing their first league title since 2006 when rivals Real Madrid lost at Villarreal on 16 May 2009. The most important match however was on 2 May when they defeated Real Madrid 2–6 at the Santiago Bernabéu. The league title was the second piece of silverware in Guardiola's first season at the Camp Nou. On 13 May 2009, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, defeating Athletic Bilbao 4–1. Guardiola finished the season by leading Barça to the final of the Champions League, where they beat Manchester United 2–0. In doing so, they became the first Spanish club to win the domestic cup, league, and European club titles (the treble) in the same season. Furthermore, Guardiola became the youngest man to coach a Champions League winning team.

Is he a risk? Who isn't?

Those last couple of lines... 'Nuff said.

This post has been edited by KillerMax: Oct 12 2012, 11:05 PM