Football’s increasingly global nature means Manchester United will approach the FA Youth Cup final with Sheffield United pledging to continue their worldwide search for talent. The likelihood is Paul McGuinness’ side for Tuesday’s first-leg duel at Bramall Lane will include representatives from Italy, Holland and France. Spanish World Cup winner Gerard Pique appeared in the competition for United in recent years, as did Giuseppe Rossi and Federico Macheda. And, given the glory Lionel Messi has helped Barcelona enjoy since arriving in Catalonia as a 13 year old, it is clear operating purely within the boundaries of Greater Manchester is not an option.

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Watching the thumping Barcelona inflicted on Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in the Classico last night, my mind could not help wandering what major football clubs – including Manchester United, has in store for their fans in the next 10 or 20 years. A world wide audience of half a billion viewers – read that slowly, yes, 500 million, was estimated to have watched that game on television, internet, mobile phones and whatever else modern technology can provide. Ask yourself, what else will that same technology be able to offer us in the next decade or two?

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A good week has just got better for Manchester United young Italian striker Federico Macheda after netting twice in an Under 21 friendly 2-1 defeat of Turkey on Wednesday. Kiko had sparked that late fight back by United at Villa Park on the weekend and believes that there are more from where those goals came from pledging to follow his brace with a hat trick – then slammed former Italy Under-21 Coach Pierluigi Casiraghi. “I can give more” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport “If I scored two this time, then for the next game I will get three.”

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A good week has just got better for Manchester United young Italian striker Federico Macheda after netting twice in an Under 21 friendly 2-1 defeat of Turkey on Wednesday. Kiko had sparked that late fight back by United at Villa Park on the weekend and believes that there are more from where those goals came from pledging to follow his brace with a hat trick – then slammed former Italy Under-21 Coach Pierluigi Casiraghi. “I can give more” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport “If I scored two this time, then for the next game I will get three.”

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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini seems to go out of his way to get on the wrong side of people. Maybe it’s the pressure that comes with such high expectations at his club but he seems to be getting a reputation for creating needless confrontations. He has only been at Eastlands for ten months yet in that time Mancini has had run ins with Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland, Emmanuel Adebayor, Shay Given and what he himself describes as a “ballsy” dressing room argument with his captain Carlos Tevez last week.

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What does a manager look for in a keeper? Is it maturity and experience which includes domestic and European honors together with a World Cup winning medal? It cannot be easy to find someone who has all those qualifications yet still be capable of offering five, six or more years of service. But one man who can do just that is Juventus and Italy international Gigi Buffon who is reported to be on the radar of Manchester United goalkeeper coach Eric Steele.

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