Becks Starts in First Game Back for AC Milan
And in an unusual position, too, by the sound of it.
Beckham: A picture of concentration in today's game for AC Milan against Genoa. (AP Photo)
Here's the game report:
MILAN (AP) -- David Beckham began his second stint with AC Milan on Wednesday night, playing 76 minutes and positioned at forward rather than his usual midfield during his team's 5-2 victory over Genoa in the Italian league.The English star lined up on the right side of an attacking trio with Marco Borriello and
Ronaldinho. He came close to scoring in the first half, his long shot hitting the side
netting.Beckham, on loan from the Galaxy, is looking to sharpen his game leading to the World Cup in South Africa.
In the third minute, Beckham crossed to Borriello, but Genoa's Marco Amelia pushed away the shot from close range shot.
Milan won behind penalty kicks from Ronaldinho and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, two goals by Borriello and another by Thiago Silva. Giuseppe Sculli and David Suazo scored for Genoa.
AC Milan (10-3-4) moved into second place in Serie A with 34 points, eight behind Inter
(13-2-3), which won 1-0 at Chievo Verona on Mario Balotelli's 12th-minute goal.
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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.
You know, Beckham as a right-sided forward in a three-man front line makes sense. He would have less ground to cover and he would be more of an offensive force (He'd be striking on the run instead of on free kicks, but the physics of ball movement would essentially remain the same). The only downside would be that he wouldn't produce long passes out of the midfield or deep in his own team's end, but I don't think Milan would need to play that way.
I wouldn't expect the Galaxy to try this because the Galaxy doesn't have the midfield depth. But for Milan, it just might make sense.
Joseph is absolutely right. I wish I could have watched the match. What a luxury to have a team so good that you can put Beckham up top to create chances. But then again, it makes complete sense when you have Ronaldinho on your front line.
I watched the match and while Becks' position on the lineup sheet may have indicated he was playing on the right side as a forward, he spent a lot of time tracking back and playing in the midfield collecting the ball and playing as we have come to typically expect.
He played a solid game and even made some really good runs into the box--which is the one difference I did notice about his position in the match. He normally doesn't get into the box at all.