Soccer: Running out of FC Tokyo's tunnel into torrential rain and a rapidly dropping temperature, David Beckham might have momentarily believed he was back in Manchester last night.
He certainly played as if he was on his old stamping ground, scoring with a free-kick bent into the far corner - his first for Real Madrid - collecting his first booking and later admiting to feeling mildly fortunate not to have been sent off as the Spanish champions defeated J-League side FC Tokyo 3-0.
More importantly, on a night when the match ball was theatrically dropped on to the pitch from a helicopter, Beckham, looking less of a new boy by the minute, showed what a varied and accurate passing range he possesses.
Tellingly, most of his deliveries were unleashed from the central-midfield berth he has long hankered after, with the England captain having swapped the injured Zinedine Zidane's position last night occupied by Luis Figo - who switched to the right at the bench's behest - during the first half.
Thereafter the only problem was that some of Beckham's colleagues did not seem to fully trust his vision or his precision. Once they catch on, much of the thinly disguised cynicism about his recruitment among elements of the squad may start evaporating.
The process will be accelerated if he can somehow be regularly accommodated in that central role. Bobby Robson, for one, has long maintained Beckham's optimum position is in the thick of things and on last night's evidence his argument appeared vindicated.
The principal difficulty Carlos Queiroz faces in incorporating Beckham into the middle is logistical. It is hard to see him displacing Zidane or Claude Makelele, the strongman responsible for protecting an often vulnerable defence.
Beckham, as his ninth-minute booking testified, is no Makelele. Tackling has never been his forte and he was shown a yellow card for an impetuous challenge on Yuti Baba, and at a time when he looked to be Real's last man back.
Many spectators had paid the equivalent of well over €140 for the privilege of watching Real's new number 23 and would not have appreciated a more pedantic referee. And having limbered up with a 25-yard free-kick which was competently saved, Beckham came good in the 37th minute.
He took the next from the left-hand edge of the 18-yard box and curled it, right-footed, just inside the far post - although at that height the goalkeeper might have hoped to stop it.
Beckham was soon hugged by half-a-dozen team-mates, whose reservations about the manner in which the media and security circus surrounding his presence has curtailed their freedom were at least temporarily forgotten.
A minute before the interval Real doubled their advantage, Santiago Solari scoring against a side which, despite being outclassed, still displayed promising touches to prevent things from becoming completely one-sided.
Yet the hosts ultimately had no answer to the Ronaldo step-over as the Brazilian, on as a substitute, scored number three with an exhibition-style solo effort. He could do with shedding a few pounds but, once he does, Beckham will benefit from being offered one of the best moving targets around.
Evidently eager to nurture an emotional as well as technical relationship, Beckham - on for the full 90 minutes - was first to sprint to the striker and embrace him as if they were old friends.
Guardian Service
