SERIE A AS ROMA v AC MILAN: BECKHAM-MANIA in Italy is about get serious, with the England midfielder likely to make his official debut for AC Milan against AS Roma at the Olympic Stadium in Rome tomorrow night on the weekend that sees Serie A restart after a three-week winter break, writes Paddy Agnewin Rome.
Although Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has been playing his cards close to his chest all week, saying that Beckham will be considered for tomorrow night's game "just like all the others in the squad", the belief is that Beckham will start the game on the bench, with a view to coming on as a second-half substitute. If he does play, it will probably be on the right-side of midfield alongside central playmaker Andrea Pirlo and left-sided midfielder Massimo Ambrosini.
Initially, however, the former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini will most likely relegate Beckham to the bench. Given that he has not played competitive football for more than two months, since the end of his Major League Soccer (MLS) season with the Los Angeles Galaxy, coach Ancelotti is not expected to name Beckham in his starting line-up.
However, after watching the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star play the first half of a midweek friendly against Hamburg in Dubai, Ancelotti was full of praise for the Englishman, suggesting that even a less than fully fit Beckham could be useful to the Milan cause.
It has been a case of so far so good for the Englishman in his first two weeks with Milan. Significantly during Milan's training camp in Dubai his newly-acquired famous team-mates such as Paolo Maldini, Ronaldhino and Kaka have all been paying handsome compliments to Beckham.
It would seem that the Milan entourage has been favourably struck by Beckham's patently enthusiastic attitude in training with all of his new team-mates pointing out that he does not play the "diva" on the pitch, but rather gets down to business.
Indeed, speculation that Beckham may outstay the terms of his current three-month contract with Milan and not return to Los Angeles in early March, as agreed, continues to flourish, aided and abetted by his initial positive impact on Milan.
Former Galaxy manager and Serie A player, US international defender Alexi Lalas, yesterday fuelled that speculation by suggesting that Beckham might yet opt to stay in Italy "if he felt that was best for his career".
That speculation prompted an immediate denial from Beckham's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, who last night confirmed that the player will be back in Los Angeles by March 9th, in time for the start up of the new MLS season.
In the meantime, though, it would seem Italian fans are going to enjoy him while it lasts. When Beckham and the Milan squad touched down at Rome's Fiumicino airport yesterday, they were greeted by more than 100 noisy fans, most of whom concentrated their mobile phone cameras on the Englishman. Beckham, dressed in fashionable black leather jacket and black trousers, required a police escort to make it to the team bus, accompanied all the way by quasi-hysterical encouragement from mainly female supporters.
Milan go into tomorrow night's game in third place in Serie A, nine points behind leaders and city cousins, Inter Milan. Home team Roma, practically unbeatable since a 3-1 Champions League win over Chelsea in November, have risen from the relegation zone to a midtable 10th, 19 points behind Inter.
Roma, who have twice lost at home to Milan in the last 10 years, will be without injured captain, Francesco Totti, still struggling with a thigh muscle problem.
