That Was The Week That Was

In the week a crack of light appeared at the England door, David Beckham was on a mission to promote football in China - while unwittingly preventing the creation of future stars.

D-Beck as he's now known (thanks for that, Snoop Dogg) is not averse to stripping to his undies for a few quid, but he must have choked on his chow mein when he discovered his name on the country's top-selling brand of condoms.

The unendorsed prophylactics claim users can score with the laydeez like their hero does on the pitch, while the headline 'Bonk It Like Beckham' was doing the rounds on the internet.

Back on the pitch, Fabio Capello hinted the LA Galaxy midfielder could win his 100th cap in the world's most romantic city when England head for Paris to play France later this month. I hope he's prepared for a ribbing from his team-mates.

Capello's predecessor, Sven-Goran Eriksson, might still be staying in a hotel, but he has got his house firmly in order when it comes to entertaining the troops.

According to The Sun, the Manchester City boss has been hosting weekly bingo evenings in his suite, which are proving a huge hit with the players.

The paper quoted a club source as saying: "He's been hooked on bingo most of his life and it's a way for the lads to bond and unwind. Sven and the boys think it's good fun, especially when he has to say 'two fat ladies' or 'legs eleven'."

Claims that Sven's favourite balls were number 20 - 'getting plenty' and 44 - 'droopy drawers' have not been confirmed.

Middlesbrough defender David Wheater is another fan of the blue-rinse brigade past-time, admitting: "My missus used to work at the bingo, that's where I met her.