David Beckham’s first appearance for AC Milan was analysed in such detail by the Italian press that we know he made 38 touches of the ball.

He only played the first half of the friendly in Dubai against Hamburg and was steady rather than spectacular. An error in the defensive third has been highlighted by pundits but generally they thought his two crosses, two headers and two tackles showed promise.

“Tactically he is intelligent, he always plays for the team. He will be useful,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti.

A true test could come on Sunday at AS Roma when Milan return to Serie A action after a three-week midseason break.

Beckham may only be on the bench but at least that will give the Italian media chance to analyse their other obsession - the 33-year-old’s tattoos.

Newspapers want to know how much spare flesh he has that hasn’t been scribbled on after speculation he has had another tattoo.

Los Angeles Galaxy will hope it doesn’t say: ‘I love Milan’.

PHOTO:AC Milan’s David Beckham looks on during their friendly soccer match against Hamburg SV in Dubai, Jan. 6 REUTERS/Jumanah El-Heloueh

Ronaldinho has returned to form since joining AC Milan from Barcelona, producing some nice assists and seven goals in Serie A.

According to Kaka though, the close-season arrival of his Brazil team mate has also mucked up the tactical balance of the seven-times European champions.

“Ronnie has settled in very well and he’s giving us a big hand but before we were used to playing with automatic moves consolidated over the years,” the playmaker said last week.

“Me and Clarence (Seedorf) behind a forward, usually (Filippo) Inzaghi. With Ronaldinho the team has had to change set-up and we have to get used to having the same automatic moves with him. We play together in the national team but it’s not the same. It’s a question of understanding, which is lacking a little.”

So Kaka is having to play in a deeper position and track back more with Ronaldinho in the side, which may be the reason he has been less impressive than usual in attack this season.

He said he is willing to “sacrifice himself” for the team in this way and that he and Ronaldinho are compatible, but not without adding that he prefers to play further forward and feels more useful there.

He seemed to prove the point when, with Ronaldinho injured, he gave a man-of-the-match performance in his old position in Sunday’s 1-0 home victory over Catania, scoring the goal that ended a four-match winless run.

Seedorf had already said Ronaldinho was not the sort of player Milan needed before his transfer from Barca.

What’s the point of bringing in a former FIFA World Player of the Year if it just makes the one you have already less effective?

Next month, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti will also have to find a way to fit in David Beckham, another offensive player, although he is confident this will not muddle things more.

“It (Beckham’s arrival) won’t upset anything at the tactical level. He’s a midfielder and so there won’t be a problem of coexistence with Kaka and Ronaldinho,” he said.

Kaka may have a point, but it also has to be said that the “automatic moves” he mentioned did not cover Milan in glory last season, when they were knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal in the last 16 and finished fifth in Serie A.

With Ronaldinho now in town, how long is Kaka willing to resist the lure of the Premier League to continue ’sacrificing himself’ at Milan?

PHOTO: AC Milan’s Ronaldinho (R) celebrates with his team mate Kaka after scoring against Inter Milan during their Serie A match, Sept. 28, 2008. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Believe it of not but the mighty AC Milan are clear at the top of Serie A for the first time since May 2004, when they last won the scudetto.

For a team which won the European Cup in 2007, that is an awful long time to go without leading the table on your own, not even for a week in September.

Sevens wins out of eight have propelled the Rossoneri to the summit this term and that was after losing their first two.

Most of those victories have been far from pretty, however. Sunday’s 1-0 home win over Napoli was courtesy of a late own goal while Kaka had a penalty saved.

Ronaldinho, although his cross caused the goal, was again generally poor and Carlo Ancelotti’s side laboured to break down Napoli’s defence despite Christian Maggio being sent off for the visitors just before halftime. 

Milan lead Udinese and Inter by a point after 10 games and with the little matter of David Beckham arriving in January, we are at least in for an intriguing title run-in.

One thing is for sure, Milan won’t stay top for the next four years. They are not that mighty at the moment.

If David Beckham’s loan move to AC Milan goes through, one of the options coach Carlo Ancelotti has in mind is to use him as an alternative to Andrea Pirlo as a deep midfield playmaker.

It’s an interesting possibility which could help Beckham edge towards Peter Shilton’s record of 125 England caps as a protagonist rather than the bit player he is at the moment.

Beckham certainly has the passing ability to take on Pirlo’s ‘quarterback’ role. If he adapted to it successfully, the switch might help him seize a regular place in Fabio Capello’s side because pace is less of a premium there than it is in his usual position on the wing. Indeed, Pirlo is no Asafa Powell.

Sceptics could counter that Beckham played in the centre of midfield for a while during his time at Real Madrid with mixed results.

But then it was more of a stop-gap measure than a full-blown career move that would require commitment from the player and patience from coaches and team mates as he acquires the vision to dictate from deep.

What’s more, a loan stint at Milan would give him the chance to learn from Pirlo, the game’s undisputed master quarterback. (more…)

It’s not totally confirmed yet but it looks like David Beckham is joining AC Milan on a short-term loan deal.

The LA Galaxy midfielder, desperate to keep his fitness up and impress England coach Fabio Capello during the U.S. close season, is taking a big risk in coming to Italy.

Milan generally do not play with wingers, especially 33-year-old ones who have never had a great deal of pace and are in the twilight of their careers.

They brought in Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko and Marco Borriello in the summer amongst others and there seems little room for a player who has no experience of Italian football and has been playing in a lesser league for a year.

After a dodgy start, they are looking like Serie A title challengers and coach Carlo Ancelotti, despite what exciteable chief executive Adriano Galliani says, may not want to rock the boat too much.

Does this mean Beckham’s plan to boost soccer in America has failed? Or is it a superb idea that will make sure he is on the plane to South Africa in 2010? (Assuming England don’t throw away a great start to qualification…)

A Steve McClaren tribute band. Wasters. Shapeless, aimless and hopeless, tactically chaotic and technically stunted, a mess from start to finish.

These are just some of the examples of the stinging criticism dished out by the tabloids after England’s turgid performance in a 2-2 friendly draw with Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Fabio Capello has a reputation as a tactical master yet still Steven Gerrard is shunted out on the left. Wayne Rooney runs all day for the good of the team but has he lost that bit of magic that made him a boy wonder?

In the video above, vlogonthepitch host Owen Wyatt talks to David Beckham before mulling over yet another drab England display with Pedro Redig. Let us know your views.

He has the same initials and plays in the same position so David Bentley will hope that his 15million pounds transfer to Tottenham will help him dislodge David Beckham once and for all from the England team.

The 23-year-old has never seemed short of confidence and the midfielder declared that he was ready to step up “to the next level” by leaving the homely surrounds of Blackburn Rovers after just two years for a return to London’s bright lights.

Bentley, of course, began his career in the youth ranks at Arsenal, leaving the club after becoming frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities. It is not often Arsene Wenger errs in his handling of young players but Bentley may come back to haunt the Arsenal manager if he shines for their north London neighbours.

“I grew up there but it is not a problem for me. My heart is at Tottenham now,” Bentley told reporters after signing in at an otherwise nervous White Hart Lane.

Bentley supported Spurs as a boy and said he dreamed of emulating the feats of Paul Gascoigne in the white of club and country. Being at Tottenham has never harmed a player’s England prospects in the past and Bentley is determined to grab his opportunity.

“It is entirely in my hands - it is up to me to perform,” said a player whose impressive dead-ball skills and passing range from the right have earned him six England caps already.

More than once he has been quoted as saying he is ready to replace Beckham in the England team and now is his moment to deliver. If so, it could well be Bentley and not Beckham filling the No7 shirt on England’s journey towards the World Cup in South Africa.

PHOTO: England’s Bentley (l), Beckham (c) and Walcott stand together during a soccer training session in Port of Spain, May 30. REUTERS/David Moir

David Beckham slipped and missed a key penalty for England against Portugal at Euro 2004 and now John Terry’s loss of footing has handed the Champions League to Manchester United.

Is it nerves or a lack of technique? Vlog on the pitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Pedro Redig to discuss Wednesday’s final, with some fan reactions also included.

Jon thinks Chelsea deserved to win and Pedro wonders if Andriy Shevchenko should have played. Let us know your views.

Submit your comments in the usual way below or if you are feeling adventurous, load a video response to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll load it up here.

Paris in the early spring - perfect for a few days’ break, and as long as you are not drowning in credit crunch debt, it is still the most wonderful city to go shopping for the latest fashions.

“You’d like a cap to go with that Armani suit, monsieur? Certainly, I have just the thing. These caps have not gone out of fashion since 1872 … suits you perfectly.”

Of course David Beckham does not have to go shopping for his latest England cap, he will be awarded it in the time honoured fashion of a special delivery from the headquarters of the Football Association.

I think it’s rather fantastic that in this age of the iPod, Xbox and Blackberry, England players still get a cap for playing for their country, just as they have done since the very first international against Scotland in 1872.

The FA tells me the same company that made the caps then still makes them today — but here’s something not too many people know.

David Beckham’s appearance against France means he will have played for England 100 times, making him only the fifth English player to do that, but he will be awarded just his 85th cap.

Players are awarded one cap for every match they play — unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament. Then they are given just ONE cap to cover all the matches they play in that competition — with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself.

Beckham appeared in 20 of England’s 21 matches at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2000 and 2004 European championships. One cap was awarded for each of those five tournaments — which actually leaves him 15 short of 100 actual caps. Odd, but true.

Still, he is convinced he can make a valuable contribution for England until the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa as long as England qualify and if he does that he could also be in view of Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances.

Now how many caps did HE actually get…

Mike Collett, Reuters Football Correspondent, Paris

PHOTO: Beckham attends a news conference at the team hotel in Watford, March 24, 2008. REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh

It’s just as well Fabio Capello decided to recall David Beckham to his squad for the friendly against France next week because otherwise there’d be very little else for England fans to get excited about.

Assuming Beckham survives the cut on Saturday, fans and the media can amuse themselves by speculating whether Beckham will win his 100th cap as a proud member of the starting line-up, perhaps even as captain, or in a late cameo role that could mark his farewell.

At least that will get it all over with. Whether Beckham deserves to bring up his century or not — and please let us know what you think about it in the comments — we’ve seen enough of him over the years to be pretty sure he’s not going to be the man to inspire England to World Cup glory in 2010.

Looking ahead to South Africa is obviously all England can do after inexplicably failing to reach Euro 2008. So with an eye on the future, Capello has also recalled 19-year-old Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, Middlesbrough defender David Wheater and Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, while picking Gabriel Agbonlahor again after he was forced to pull out against Switzerland because of injury.

If Wheater turns out to be real international material then great, but England have plenty of decent centre-backs. Where England have consistently failed is in finding creative midfielders who do not give the ball away when the team is under pressure, and forwards with the technique, pace and nerve to score regularly against the best.

I suppose Capello did what he could by bringing in Walcott, Defoe and Agbonlahor. But if that’s as exciting as it gets in terms of players for the future, I wonder if he might have done more good by dropping players who have been short of their best of late, as a wake-up call if nothing else.

An England squad without, say, Michael Owen, Peter Crouch or Wayne Rooney … that would have given us plenty to talk about.

PHOTO: A Los Angeles Galaxy fan sits with a sign during a exhibition match between the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas March 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi