Tuesday, January 13, 2009

ancelotti on becks

while some people doubted over his capabilty to play football, he showed some toughness on the field. he kept his eyes on the ball was constantly involved throughout the match. if he keeps his performance steady to that level, he will certainly be picked by capello. although he will not be guaranted in the line up, he might have a chance to be in the team. here's a good article about his involvement in the match

David Beckham begins his bid to extend his England career with his competitive debut for AC Milan in Rome tonight.

But his widely anticipated cameo appearance from the substitutes' bench comes with a warning from Milan coach, Carlo Ancelotti, to put England out of his mind for now.

'David Beckham is not here to prepare for England,' said Ancelotti. 'He is here to play for AC Milan and he will have as much playing time as he shows himself to be capable of while he is with us.'

However, Beckham has impressed the Italian club so much already that they are considering ways to bring him back to Milan at a later date.

And those possibilities might help to turn Beckham's dream of playing in the 2010 World Cup finals into a reality.

England coach Fabio Capello will not pick Beckham for a record-breaking 109th cap against Spain on February 11 if he just plays 10 or 15 minutes each week.

Capello wants to see the midfielder play at least an hour on a regular basis if Beckham is to be sure of his place in the national team.

Half-an-hour of match time each week would leave Beckham's England future in the balance. But Ancelotti made it clear last night that Capello's needs are not his concern.

He said: 'If Fabio Capello wants information on Beckham then I will give him information. That's it.'

The AC Milan coach admitted he would be more than happy to have Beckham stay in Italy until the end of the season if the 33-year-old were to change his mind about returning to LA Galaxy on March 9.

'Sure I would,' he said enthusiastically, 'though I think his contract is clear and he is a serious person who intends to go back to Galaxy.

'But if the opposite were to happen, I would be delighted to keep him. I have trained a lot of players, but one as professional in their attitude as Beckham is hard to find.

'That's why the more I get to know him, the more annoyed I get about all the gossip that surrounds him. He is an excellent person. And the dressing room is a magical place because it strips away all the other stuff and leaves each player as just a normal person and part of the group.'

Despite speculation that Beckham plans to stay in Italy, AC Milan believe their best chance to secure the Englishman's services further would come in the summer or again next January.

Last night, the Italian club's organising director, Umberto Gandini, said: 'Any scenario other than Beckham going back to LA Galaxy in March would be for David and LA Galaxy to discuss.

The fact is that he is going back as things are.

'There might be a theoretical possibility that we would be able to take Beckham back in the summer transfer window of July and August, but that would involve David arranging his own release from his contract with LA Galaxy and would only happen if he was very sad to be leaving us in March.

'Otherwise, the only alternative would be to do exactly what we have done in 2009 and have David back in January 2010.'

Last night, Ancelotti was concerned only with ensuring that Beckham gives everything to Milan for the next two months - and he ruled out the idea that the icon might travel back to America to see his family sometimes between matches.

The coach said: 'David will have many commitments here with us and I don't think there will be enough time to travel to California. That is something he will have to resolve with his family.'

Last night, Victoria Beckham turned down VIP tickets for her husband's Milan debut in the Stadio Olimpico and took Beckham's boys - Brooklyn, nine, Romeo, six, and three-year-old Cruz - back to California instead.

A new school term starts in LA on Monday and AC Milan spokesman Vittorio Mentana said last night: 'There would have been no time for David to see his family after the match anyway, because we are flying back to Milan straight afterwards.'

That is why Beckham said goodbye to his children for at least a month when he visited the 4,000 euro-a-night suite Victoria had taken at Rome's Hotel De Russie on Friday afternoon.

He looked dejected afterwards. But now he must concentrate on football.

And that, says Ancelotti, means AC Milan and not England.Ancelotti stressed that the former England captain, who is on a three-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, was 'ready to give an important contribution' to the Milan squad, and would be welcome to stay on after his loan expires.

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