It is on the very rare occasions one gets to see a football player choose heart, love and loyalty over the temptation of money.

In a world where the financial aspects have come to run every part of the game, it is truly touching to see that Ricardo Kaká decided against a move to Manchester City and its truckloads of money to remain where he truly belongs-AC Milan.

The move, should it have gone through, was repeatedly likened to the death of football. While record-breaking transfer fees are nothing new, the astronomical bid for the Brazilian playmaker was certainly out of the ordinary, as were his words after his rejection of the bid had been officially confirmed.

"Not even for thirty seconds did I think about leaving," he stated on Milan Channel. "I went with my heart, as it was never going to be an economic choice for me."
"At Milan there are wonderful people, and just to confirm, I have never, and will never, ask for an increase in my wages at this club."

As the Kaká saga keeps unfolding it is getting more and more likened to the death of football.

A bid so great it's hard to grasp the numbers. Football equals money and have done so for longer than I can remember and it's incredibly sad to see a player who has remained loyal to his team for the past five years to almost be forced to part ways with his beloved club.

After AC Milan reportedly rejecting Manchester City's initial bid of €100m for Brazilian playmaker Ricardo Kaká the club has decided to start negotiations-that according to the latest reports looks to be coming to a close. The club would get a staggering €112 million while the player himself is set to land €15 million per season after taxes.

Although Kaká hardly seems to be interested in the move to Eastlands where Manchester City currently are fighting dangerously close to the relegation zone - despite the amount of money on the table-the player whom this concerns may very well be forced to leave simply due to the enormousness of the bid

Alexandre Pato has become one of Serie A's most prominent players during the last calendar year. The young Brazilian has just completed his first year at AC Milan and with his lightning speed, unique technical skills, great finishing and outstanding reading of the game; the forward has done nothing to diminish his €22 million price tag.

Alexandre Pato, whose real name is Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva received his shirt name due to his hometown being Pato Branco-which in both Spanish and Portuguese means "duck."

Pato started playing futsal at the early age of four and become known in the Parana region due to his unique skills. At the age of seven the young talent switched to football and went off to play for Gremiô Industrial Pato Branquese-a sister club to Gremiô.

However, things haven't always been easy for "The Duck." In 2000, young Pato at a mere 10 years of age was brought to the doctors with a broken arm. The doctor found something else too-a tumor that would have been cancerous had it not been removed within two months.

Alexandre Pato and Mirko Vucinic each bagged a brace as Roma came back to tie AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome Sunday night. David Beckham was surprisingly handed a starting shirt on his much anticipated Serie A debut while Roma talisman Francesco Totti watched his team mates from the stands.

The game took off on a somewhat slow note as both team gathered possession while seizing each other up. The home side's John Arne Riise had the first chance on goal when his low drive from outside the penalty box was smothered by Abbiati in the Milan goal. Minutes later Clarence Seedorf saw his long range effort go high over the crossbar.

Twenty minutes into the game, Roma were taking up more possession as Milan's grip on the match slowly loosened. Vucinic received Riise's deep cross from the left and turned away both Maldini and Jankulovski before he put Roma one up to the approval of the Giallorossi fans.

Milan immediately started to press forward in their search for an equalizer and enjoyed large spells of possessions, but with the opposing team's excellent defense skills, the Rossoneri players had problems leaving their half of the pitch. Neither of the teams managed to create anything of significance during the remainder of an otherwise subtle first half.

Two teams in dire need of points are set to lock horns at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening. Roma are aiming to land a Champions League spot, whereas Milan is trying hard not to fall further behind Juventus and Inter in the title race.

Both teams will want to turn over a new leaf and start the new year on a positive note. Considering that Roma are looking for confidence while Milan is searching for consistency-the case of who will come out on top is far from predictable.

As we head back from the winter break after an exciting first half of the Serie A season under our belts, time has come to shed some light on some of the players who have played exceptionally well thus far.

After 17 rounds of exhilarating football, here is Marzia Hazra's Serie A Team of the Season using a 3-4-3 formation. See here if your favorite player made it into the XI.

Goalkeeper:
Sebastian Frey, Fiorentina
It is much to the efforts of Fiorentina's French goalkeeper Sebastian Frey that the club has only conceded fourteen goals thus far into the term. It is however three goals more than the tally of Inter's Julio Cesar, but then again, the Frenchman has been extremely busy between the sticks whereas the Brazilian hardly has broken a sweat.

The shot-stopper has made some unbelievable saves this term and there's no wonder in my mind as to why he continues to be compared to the great Buffon. As to why Raymond Domenech continuously refuses to call up the goalkeeper remains a mystery.

There have been quite a few surprise packages this season in Italy, but no club has quite exceeded expectations as Napoli.

SSC Napoli declared bankruptcy only four years ago and were demoted by FIGC to play in Serie C1. To secure football in the city with perhaps Italy's most passionate supporters, film producer Aurelio Di Laurentiis bought the club for 30 million, laying out a five-year plan to bring Napoli back to the European stage.

The film producer brought in Udinese's sporting director, Pierpaolo Marino, who had a past with the Naples club, along with Edoardo Reja to coach the team.