(CNN) -- Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has returned to the Catalan club's training ground just two weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from his throat.
Vilanova suffered a recurrence of a tumor on his parotid gland -- located at the back of the mouth -- and was released from hospital on December 22.
The former assistant coach, who replaced Josep Guardiola in June, returned to training on Wednesday ahead of the Spanish league leaders' derby match with Espanyol on Sunday.
Vilanova also dropped in on the Catalan national team -- featuring nine Barca players -- as it prepared for a friendly match with Nigeria.
Whether striker Demba Ba will be playing for Newcastle after January has been the subject of intense speculation. The Senegal international is in talks with Chelsea after the London side triggered a £7 million ($11 million) release clause in his contract which became active again on January 1. It is "even (money) whether he'll stay or go," said Newcastle manager Alan Pardew.
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Lionel Messi celebrates after matching Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year, netting in the 16th minute of Barcelona's match against Real Betis. Just nine minutes later the Argentina star passed the German's 1972 milestone.
Lionel Messi's record year
Lionel Messi, center, celebrates with Barcelona teammates Cesc Fabregas, left, and Xavi Hernandez after matching Pele's 75 goals in a calendar year.
Messi moves past Pele milestone
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In the absence of suspended skipper Roy Keane, Peter Schmeichel captained Manchester United to European Champions League glory in 1999. United trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 heading into the 90th minute, but stunned the Germans by scoring twice in a matter of minutes to seal a famous 2-1 success. The win completed an historic Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble.
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Blog: Barcelona's Vilanova coach of the year?
"The manager ... led the team's second training session of the year," read a statement on the club's official website.
"This morning, Vilanova stopped by the Ciutat Esportiva to meet with the Catalan players ahead of this afternoon's Catalonia vs. Nigeria match."
Barca president Sandro Rosell said last weekend he hoped Vilanova would be fit to return to work in two-to-three weeks.
Despite not being recognized by football's global governing body FIFA, a squad made up entirely of Catalan players occasionally plays exhibition matches.
The team, led by Dutch former Barca player and coach Johan Cruyff, was held to a 1-1 draw by Nigeria at the Camp Nou.
Midfielder Sergio Gonzalez, without a club since being released by Levante in 2011, gave the Catalan team the lead from the penalty spot after three minutes.
But Nigeria earned a draw when U.S.-born Portland Timbers striker Bright Dike equalized after 55 minutes.
Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi is preparing Nigeria for this month's 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, where the two-time tournament winners have been drawn in a group with 2012 champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes picked up an injury in the match which will see him sit out training on Thursday.
Vilanova's team, under the temporary guidance of assistant Jordi Roura, is looking to continue a run which saw them pick up a record 16 wins from their first 17 league matches of the season.
The Espanyol tie will see Argentine star Lionel Messi take to the field for the first time this year, after a record-breaking 2012 which saw him score 91 goals.
Barca currently lead second-placed Atletico Madrid, who face Mallorca on Sunday, by nine points, with archrivals Real Madrid a further seven points back.
Cruyff described Real's start to the season as a "failure", while also questioning coach Jose Mourinho's decision to drop Spanish international goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
"At this stage of the season Real Madrid being 16 points behind Barcelona can only be called a failure," Cruyff was reported to have said by Spanish newspaper Marca.
On Mourinho favoring Antonio Adan over World Cup winner Casillas, Cruyff commented: "You don't lose your place overnight." Real host Real Sociedad on Sunday.
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Inter Milan's Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who has not played for the Serie A club since September following a dispute over his contract, is another international likely to move during the January window.
Paris St. Germain spent $55 million to sign midfielder Lucas Moura from Sao Paulo. The 20-year-old becomes the sixth Brazilian at the ambitious French club.
Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for $80 million in January 2011. He has struggled at Stamford Bridge, but the Spaniard's goalscoring form has been transformed since the arrival of new interim manager Rafa Benitez.
Liverpool bought Andy Carroll to replace Torres, but the former Newcastle striker found himself out in the cold at Anfield under new manager Brendan Rodgers last summer and is now on loan at Premier League rivals West Ham.
After Carroll's departure, Liverpool have been heavily reliant on Luis Suarez's goals this season. In a bid to provide more support for the Uruguayan striker, the Anfield club signed Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge on the second day of the January transfer window.
The future of veteran Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is also in doubt, with his present deal to expire in July. He is now free to agree pre-contract terms with a foreign club in January.
"I'm proud that so many great clubs have manifested an interest in me, but they will have to wait until the end of the season, then we will see what might happen," said Atletico Madrid's top scorer Radamel Falcao recently. "Leaving Atletico in the winter transfer window is absolutely not on."
AC Milan's Brazil international forward Alexandre Pato has been negotiating with Corinthians over a return to his homeland as he seeks to revive his career ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Former England captain David Beckham is another player looking for a club. French second division side Monaco had been interested in signing the 37-year-old former LA Galaxy midfielder.
The three-time world player of the year, who is shortlisted for a record fourth ballon d'Or in January, passed Muller with three more possible matches to play in 2012.
The 25-year-old crept within one goal of Muller's record with two goals against Athletic Bilbao in a 5-1 victory in December. Click here to see a map of Messi's first 84 goals this year.
However, Messi was injured after coming on as a substitute during a Champions League match against Benfica -- but he made a quick recovery to be fit for the Betis game.
Lionel Messi has enjoyed a stellar 2012. With a hat-trick against Grenada in March, he equaled and broke the all-time goalscoring record for Barcelona in official matches of 232 set by Cesar Rodriguez.
A hat-trick against Malaga in May took Messi to 68 goals for the 2011-12 season, edging him past the record for goals in a European season set by Bayern Munich's Muller in 1972-73.
The Argentina star then moved past the Brazil legend with his second goal of the match against Mallorca, which left Messi nine short of the best tally for a year held by Germany's Gerd Muller.
Messi is in line to win a fourth successive world player of the year award in January. Pele presented him with the Ballon d'Or at the start of this year.
Pele scored 75 goals in 1958, when he launched onto the football scene as a 17-year-old and helped Brazil win that year's World Cup.
That feat was surpassed in 1972 by Muller, who scored 85 goals as West Germany won the European Championship and his club Bayern Munich lifted the Bundesliga title.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his model girlfriend Irina Shayk enjoy some peace and quiet together but the camera lens is never far away from the pair.
Shayk is a celebrity in her own right having established herself as a leading model. The Russian's romance with Ronaldo has taken her fame to new heights.
"We are just partners," Ronaldo told CNN when asked about his relationship with Shayk. "We have a good relationship, we are almost three years together, I love to be with her, I love her. It's great."
Ronaldo has yet to pop the question to Russian model Shayk but he admits he has thought about marriage. He said: "Not now, but of course in the future, yes. Everyone wants that. I still haven't done that. I don't have the courage."
"In Real Madrid we are always under pressure," Cristiano Ronaldo told CNN. "This is maybe the best club in the world... so we have a lot of pressure and we know that the fans, the Madrid city... everyone wants 'La Decima' (a 10th European Cup). "
Ronaldo has nothing but praise for Real coach Jose Mourinho: "Well, my relationship with him is perfect. I don't ask for nothing better. In terms of coaching I'm sure 100%... 200% that he is the best. He shows every country who's the best because he wins all the leagues."
Ronaldo will be up against Barcelona's Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or with the Argentine having won the prize on each of the past three occasions. Both men were on target twice during the last El Clasico match which finished 2-2 at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo has scored 160 goals in 164 appearances for Real Madrid since his move from Manchester United in 2009. His determination to win is always evident, even when it comes to beating his girlfriend at swimming in their own pool. He said: "Sometimes you have to give her an opportunity to be happy, but I win because I don't like to lose."
Ronaldo last won the Ballon d'Or in 2008 after helping lead Manchester United to the Champions League crown with victory over Chelsea in Moscow. In the 2007-8 season, he scored 42 goals as United also won the English Premier League title.
While Ronaldo has enjoyed great club success with Manchester United and Real Madrid, he has yet to win a major tournament with Portugal. "I'm not saying Portugal doesn't have the capacity to win the World Cup or Euro, but its more tough... its difficult, because you don't have 100 players to choose," sai the Portuguese star.
Ronaldo insists he'd relish the opportunity to talk to his critics and listen to their opinions on why they believe he is arrogant. He told CNN: "People who call me arrogant, I'm interested, not with all of them, but most of them. One day I would like to sit with them and have a chat to see in which way they think I'm arrogant."
When he finishes his football career, Ronaldo wants to become an actor.
Ronaldo tells CNN's Pedro Pinto in an exclusive interview that he believes his perceived 'arrogance' has made him less popular than his chief rival Lionel Messi. "You know, sometimes I'm a victim of that because they don't know the real Cristiano," said the Real Madrid forward.
Cars are one of Ronaldo's great passions. In 2009, while at Manchester United, Ronaldo was lucky to esacpe injury after crashing his Ferrari.
Schmeichel is backing Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund to pull off a shock and lift the Champions League for the second time in their history. The German title winners have been lauded for topping a group which contained Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.
Lionel Messi has been unstoppable in 2012, scoring a record 90 goals so far this calendar year. Barcelona will be looking to win the Champions League for the fourth time in seven years.
Jose Mourinho has already won the Champions League with two different clubs -- Inter Milan and Porto. Despite an indifferent start to the Spanish league season, Schmeichel is confident Mourinho has the ability to lead Real Madrid to a landmark 10th European triumph.
Manchester United sit top of the English Premier League as the season approaches its halfway point, but Alex Ferguson's team has leaked goals all season. Schmeichel thinks his old club will need defender Nemanja Vidic to return to his top form if United are to stand any chance of reaching May's Wembley final.
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