Becks Almost Goes Full 90 in AC Milan Debut
After getting a surprising start for AC Milan Sunday when the club had said the day before that he would start on the bench, David Beckham put in what was called a solid performance for 89 minutes against Roma.
It would have been even better had Ronaldinho scored from the corner kick Beckham delivered accurately to his foot.
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Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
What did you think, Nick?
I watched the full 90 and thought he did reasonably well as holding mid-fielder. He was visibly tired on a long run down the left near the end and Ancelotti pulled him, but until then he was very active and seemed to be fit. He was pretty good defending, and his passing got better after the first 5-10 minutes.
I was surprised that they had him take so many of the corners and free kicks, given that he's so new to the team. Those were mostly sharp, and he had better targets to work with than with the Galaxy.
I dunno. I guess it's the same story with Donovan. If he stays this fit and gets this match experience then comes back to LA, good for us. If he leaves, it is what it is.
Inigo,
My assessment of the AC Milan v. Roma game is pretty much the same as yours. I did notice that there are several members on the AC Milan team that are in their 30s. I think this helps David fit in better. However, Carlo Ancellotti must realize that if he wants to catch up with the speed of Inter and Juventus... he's going to need to fit in some younger players in a good mix with the more important/critical elder players. However, then it comes down to team strength and quality... right now, I feel Inter Milan has the edge in that respect.
Another thing to note is that in Italian football more playing space is generally given to players during several 5 - 10 minutes in the two halves. Again, this helps David. When I was watching the Italian Serie-A games after watching EPL games - it's as if time/space was abruptly slowed down. Does anyone else get that feeling?
Nick,
I hope you indeed got to attend the InterLiga 2009 finals - especially the Pachuca v. Atlas game. Man, oh man - that was an intense show-down, was it not? Surely, everyone who went got their monies worth!!! Atlas, just pressured & pounded & ran & kept un-nerving their opponents. I don't know Atlas's Head Coach/Technical Director - but, man - you could tell he was so animated, and constantly screaming instructions. Now, that's a very involved coach!!!
Nick replies: I was at InterLiga and it was a memorable night. The first game that saw Pachuca go up 3-0 and then had 10-man Atlas come back to force PK's was a great experience. I walked around the entire stadium, just soaking up the atmosphere. I'll upload some pics now. MLS can only dream of nights like this.