Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is searching for a new forward with the central England club two points above the three-team relegation zone after scoring just 17 goals in 17 matches.

The 29-year-old Buddle was the leading scorer in the MLS for most of the 2010 season despite missing more than a month for the World Cup. Buddle ended the regular season as the second-highest scorer with 17 goals in 25 matches.

“He’s been training with us this week and he’s done OK, but we’re not at a stage yet where we’re going to make any commitment,” McLeish told the BBC on Thursday.

Named after Pele _ whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento _ Buddle has played for the Galaxy since 2007.

His Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan came to England on loan this year, spending January to March at Everton before returning for the MLS season.

However, the Galaxy were frustrated that midfielder David Beckham was injured in March during a second stint on loan at AC Milan.

FA CUP FINAL

WEMBLEY, England _ Chelsea looks to complete its first domestic double by beating financially stricken Portsmouth in the FA Cup final, one week after winning the Premier League. By 1600 GMT. By Rob Harris.

SPANISH ROUNDUP

MADRID _ Sevilla will end the season in fourth place and earn a berth in next season’s Champions League if it wins at Almeria. However, a slip-up will allow Mallorca to finish fourth with a victory over visiting Espanyol. By 2200 GMT. By Stephen Mackey.

ITALIAN ROUNDUP

MILAN _ Leonardo takes charge of his final match as AC Milan coach when it meets Juventus at the San Siro in an anticlimactic end to the season for both teams. Also Saturday, Lazio hosts Udinese. By 2130 GMT.

GERMAN CUP FINAL

BERLIN _ Bayern Munich goes for the second of three possible titles this season when it plays title-holder Werder Bremen in the final of the German Cup. By 2200 GMT.

FRENCH ROUNDUP

PARIS _ Lille, Lyon and Auxerre fight for the remaining Champions league automatic spot as they play their last game of the season in the French league. Lyon is one point behind second-place Lille, which plays Lorient. If both teams lose, Auxerre would finish second with a win at Sochaux. Marseille has already clinched the title. By 2200 GMT. By Samuel Petrequin.

ENGLAND-CAPELLO

WEMBLEY, England _ Fabio Capello looks ahead to the World Cup and his future as England coach. By 2000 GMT. By Rob Harris.

MOTOR RACING:

F1-MONACO GP

MONACO _ Mark Webber was fastest in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix to give Red Bull its sixth straight start from pole position this Formula One season. Moved. By Paul Logothetis.

WITH:

_ MONACO _ BC-CAR–F1-MONACO GP-ALONSO. Moved. By Paul Logothetis.

ALSO:

_ DOVER, Delaware _ BC-CAR–NASCAR-DOVER. Moved. By Dan Gelston.

TENNIS:

MADRID MASTERS

MADRID _ Venus Williams reached her first Madrid Masters final by beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-0. Moved.

CYCLING:

GIRO D’ITALIA

MONTALCINO, Italy _ Vincenzo Nibali of Italy will aim to maintain his lead of the Giro d’Italia in the seventh stage of the race, a 222-kilometer (138-mile) ride from Carrara to Montalcino. By 1700 GMT.

GOLF:

LPGA CLASSIC

MOBILE, Alabama _ Se Ri Pak shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome and Wendy Ward after the second round of the Bell Micro LPGA Classic. Moved. By John Zenor.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

HOOVER, Alabama _ Joey Sindelar, Bobby Clampett, Russ Cochran and Peter Senior shot 7-under 65s in the Regions Charity Classic to share the lead after the record-setting opening round. Moved.

CRICKET:

PAKISTAN-YOUNIS APPEAL

ISLAMABAD _ Pakistan batsman Younis Khan’s appeal against indefinite suspension from the national team was deferred until May 29. Moved. By Rizwan Ali.

RUGBY UNION:

STORMERS-BULLS

CAPE TOWN, South Africa _ The Stormers and Bulls face off with the hosts chasing the last Super 14 semifinal place. The defending champion Bulls will field a weakened team after having already secured the first home semifinal. By 1700 GMT.

ALSO:

_ AUCKLAND, New Zealand _ BC-RGU–AUCKLAND-WAIKATO. Moved.

_ BRISBANE, Australia _ BC-RGU–QUEENSLAND-OTAGO. Moved.

_ ELKOM, South Africa _ BC-RGU–CHEETAHS-LIONS. By 1500 GMT.

SAILING:

YOUNG SAILOR

SYDNEY _ A 16-year-old Australian girl finished her seven-month-long journey to become the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted. Moved. By Kristen Gelineu.

ALSO:

_ SEOUL, South Korea _ BC-ATH–BOLT-SKOREA. Moved.

_ VIENNA _ BC-SKI–PINTER-DOPING. Moved.

_ UNDATED _ BC-BKN–HAWKS-COACH. Moved. By Paul Newberry.

_ BOSTON _ BC-HKN–NHL ROUNDUP. Moved. By Howard Ulman.

_ PARIS _ BC-BKO–FRANCE-TURIAF. Moved.

_ NEW YORK _ BC-BBA–AL ROUNDUP. Moved.

_ CINCINNATI _ BC-BBN–NL ROUNDUP. Moved.

_ UNDATED _ BC-BKL–WNBA PREVIEW. Moved. By Vin A. Cherwoo.

_ KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia _ BC-BAD–UBER CUP. Moved.

YOUR QUERIES: Questions and story requests are welcome. Contact your local AP bureau or the AP International Sports Desk in London by telephone at 44 207 427 4105, fax 44 207 427 4118.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUNDUP

LONDON _ Manchester United defends a 3-2 lead against AC Milan and David Beckham in the Champions League, while Lyon aims to edge Real Madrid to a place in the quarterfinals.

MAN UNITED-AC MILAN

MANCHESTER, England _ Manchester United is protecting a 3-2 first-leg lead over AC Milan in the first knockout round of the Champions League. Milan midfielder David Beckham may have to settle for a place on the bench on his first return to Old Trafford as an opposition player.

REAL MADRID-LYON MADRID _ Real Madrid seeks to overturn a 1-0 deficit when it hosts Lyon in the Champions League. Madrid is attempting to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.

LILLE-LIVERPOOL

LILLE, France _ With only one loss in its last 16 European home games, Lille has all the rights to be optimistic ahead of its Europa League’s clash with English powerhouse Liverpool.

EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW

LONDON _ One of five former European champions in Europa League action on Thursday, Juventus is up against an unfamiliar opponent. The Italian club beat Ajax in the last round in a rerun of the 1996 Champions League final but now meets English side Fulham, which has reached the round of 16 in its first ever season of continental competition.

FRENCH ROUNDUP:

BORDEAUX, France _ French league leader Bordeaux can move three points clear of second-placed Montpellier with a win against Auxerre in a rescheduled encounter.

ENGLISH ROUNDUP

LONDON _ Stoke heads to Burnley for the day’s only Premier League match.

SKIING:

WCUP-MEN’S DOWNHILL

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany _ Carlo Janka of Switzerland won the final downhill of the season to take the overall World Cup lead with three races remaining.

WCUP-WOMEN’S DOWNHILL.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany _ Maria Riesch of Germany beat Lindsey Vonn of the United States in the final downhill of the season to keep the race for the overall title alive.

CRICKET:

PAKISTAN-PLAYERS BANNED

ISLAMABAD _ The Pakistan Cricket Board has barred former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan from the national team indefinitely for behavior they say contributed to Pakistan’s poor performance on its recent tour of Australia. .

AUSTRALIA-CLARKE

WELLINGTON, New Zealand _ Vice-captain Michael Clarke has been included in Australia’s test squad only two days after quitting a cricket tour of New Zealand for personal reasons and returning to his Sydney home.

WEST INDIES-ZIMBABWE

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent _ Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya won the toss and chose to bowl first in the third one-day cricket international against the West Indies at Arnos Vale Sports Complex. Moved. Will be updated.

FORMULA ONE:

F1-BAHRAIN GP

MADRID _ Months of anticipation and speculation finally come to a close as the 2010 Formula One season gets under way at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Michael Schumacher will mark his return to racing. Moved.

FIELD HOCKEY:

WORLD CUP-SEMIFINALS

NEW DELHI _ World and Olympic champion Germany is aiming to make the World Cup final by avenging a loss to England in the title encounter of last year’s European Cup, while Australia faces three-time winner the Netherlands in the other semifinal. Moved.

CYCLING

PARIS-NICE

AURILLAC, France _ Lars Boom of the Netherlands leads the Paris-Nice overall standings ahead of German veteran Jens Voigt going into the third stage that will take the riders from Saint-Junien and Aurillac on a 208-kilometer trek.

After struggling last year with AC Milan, Ronaldinho has put together a string of good performances that are reminiscent of when he won two FIFA world player of the year awards in 2004 and ’05. He’s even making fans in the soccer-crazed nation forget about his disappointing showing at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Ronaldinho’s name is back on the sports pages across Brazil, and fans and commentators can’t stop talking about the reinvigorated player.

“Brazil is not Brazil without Ronaldinho, especially the way he is playing right now,” said 21-year-old Thiago Lima, a transportation company worker.

Several past players in Brazil also have been displaying their support for Ronaldinho, and even former Argentina great Diego Maradona is on board.

“I watch Milan play and all I see is Ronaldinho,” Maradona told Brazilian media. “He is one of the best I’ve seen play and I hope he will be at the World Cup.”

The calls for his return increased significantly after he scored three goals in AC Milan’s 4-0 win over Siena in the Italian league last weekend, taking his tally to nine. He has already surpassed his total of eight goals scored in the entire tournament last season.

Brazil coach Dunga is the only one who really matters if Ronaldinho wants to make it to the World Cup in South Africa later this year. Dunga criticized Ronaldinho and other Brazilian players who decided to skip the 2007 Copa America to take vacation time, and said he would not be calling up players who were not interested in being with the national team.

But the coach has also made it clear that he’s a fan of Ronaldinho, and that his return to the national team depends on Ronaldinho alone. Dunga hinted recently he was hoping Ronaldinho would regain his form quickly so he could have a chance to summon the star for the World Cup.

“The doors are not closed for him,” Dunga said last month. “We all know that Ronaldinho can make a difference when he is playing with joy.”

Chosen the player of the decade by World Soccer magazine last year, Ronaldinho has said it would be a dream to play in his third World Cup with Brazil.

Dunga will have his first opportunity to get Ronaldinho back in the national team on Feb. 9, when he will announce Brazil’s squad for a friendly against Ireland in London on March 2.

The 29-year-old Ronaldinho will have about 20 matches with AC Milan to try to make his case before Dunga announces the final World Cup squad in May.

Ronaldinho hasn’t been selected by Dunga since the beginning of 2009, and is fighting for a position with midfielders Julio Baptista, Elano and Ramires.

If Dunga decides not to call up Ronaldinho in the coming matches, he is likely to face the same kind of pressure that made former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari an unpopular figure before the 2002 World Cup, when he declined to draft Romario even though the striker’s standout play sparked a national campaign to put him on the squad.

Ronaldinho, who led Barcelona to the Champions League title in 2006, thanks his revamped performances in part to AC Milan coach Leonardo, the Brazilian who has given the player a lot more space since he took over the team last year.

“I have a good rapport with the coach,” Ronaldinho said. “It’s helping me with my form as I can speak to Leonardo about anything and when I go on the field I feel the coach’s trust.”

The English star lined up on the right side of an attacking trio with Marco Borriello and Ronaldinho. He came close to scoring in the first half, his long shot hitting the side netting.

Beckham, on loan from Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, is looking to sharpen his game leading to the World Cup in South Africa.

In the third minute, Beckham crossed to Borriello, but Genoa’s Marco Amelia pushed away the shot from close range shot.

Milan won behind penalty kicks from Ronaldinho and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, two goals by Borriello and another by Thiago Silva. Giuseppe Sculli and David Suazo scored for Genoa.

AC Milan (10-3-4) moved into second place in Serie A with 34 points, eight behind Inter (13-2-3), which won 1-0 at Chievo Verona on Mario Balotelli’s 12th-minute goal.

England coach Fabio Capello intends to bring David Beckham to the World Cup if the midfielder plays regularly in his second sojourn at AC Milan.

In an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday, Capello was asked if he would bring the 34-year-old former England captain to South Africa.

The coach replied, “Of course _ if he plays and is well physically. I don’t look at ages. I look at skill and Beckham has a lot. He’s serious, a real professional and he’s really dedicated to making the World Cup squad.”

Beckham arrived in Italy on Monday for his second loan spell with Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy and met some of his teammates at the Serie A club’s training ground.