Beckham to AC Milan???

Friends here's a piece of earth shaking news in international football!

Yes , you read it right up there---David Beckham will be moving from the glamorous city of angels' L.A.Galaxy to blue-collar , tougher AC Milan of Serie A!!!

From the klieg lights of the 27,000 capacity Home Depot Center to the sweaty 85,000 capacity San Siro-Giussepe Meazza stadium??? From Avalone Blvd. ,Carson City to Via Piccolomini ,Milan ???

Right on ! From one fashion capital to another across the Atlantic...

If you've been following Beckham religiously , this move is not surprising at all considering it is common knowledge that his most fervent desire prior to retirement is to play for his beloved England one last time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in S. Africa! Some sort of a grand "send-off" party for King David and Queen Victoria!

Such can only happen if he can prove to pundits and kibitzers like me that he can still play competitively at the international arena. And , Milan and the Serie A is the best stage and perfect place to show everybody that he still got what it takes to lead England back to glory.No doubt the Serie A is no easy football league and AC Milan has a winning tradition ; therefore , a made-in-heaven fit for Beckham's noble(?) ambitions!

But can he even fit into the AC Milan scheme of football ? With the likes of Pirlo , Luca , Seedorf , Kaka , Flamini ,et al filling up the mid-field? Coach Ancelotti may have found a spot for Beckham considering their aging and perhaps wobbling line-up but David is no longer a spring chicken at 33!

Well , I am just a kibitzer so it's best that we hear what the soccer analysts have to say ...

" Is David Beckham's loan to AC Milan a trade in disguise?


Major League Soccer officials say the midfielder will be back with the Galaxy in 2009. The president of the Milan club says a deal could be reached.
By Grahame L. Jones
October 25, 2008
Despite denials from Major League Soccer, there is widespread belief in Europe that Galaxy midfielder David Beckham's proposed loan to AC Milan could turn into an outright trade.

On Friday, no less a figure than Sir Alex Ferguson, the coach of Beckham's first professional team, Manchester United, said it was "hardly a surprise" to see Beckham try to negotiate even a temporary move to the Italian club. Moving to the United States does not get you the kind of football he is used to," Ferguson said. "It is not the right level of football, therefore coming back to the mainstream of the game is not a surprise."

On Wednesday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber insisted that Beckham "will be here for the start of the 2009 MLS season" in mid- to late March, a point that was underlined on Thursday by Ivan Gazidis, the deputy commissioner of MLS.

"We are in exploratory talks to look at whether the opportunity makes sense for the Galaxy and David," Gazidis told Reuters. "If it does -- and only if it does -- then things will go forward.
"I don't think the Galaxy have any interest in him missing regular-season games."

In Europe, Adriano Galliani, AC Milan's vice president, told Conto TV that he was "confident" an agreement could be reached.

"The deal is not done yet," Galliani said. "We have to define everything with his lawyers and the Galaxy. I am confident, but it is absolutely not closed.

"We will have time in the upcoming weeks to go over the deal in full agreement with the Galaxy. We don't want to undermine the Californian club."

Beckham's immediate plans include playing for the Galaxy in its season finale on Sunday against FC Dallas in Carson, and then accompanying the team on its two-game tour of New Zealand and Australia in early December.

After that, he would be on vacation until joining AC Milan at the beginning of January if a loan comes about. The first match he could play for Milan would be on the road at AS Roma on Jan. 11.

Beckham joined the Galaxy after winning a Spanish league title with Real Madrid in 2007. Ramon Calderon, Real Madrid's president, said in London today that the midfielder can still have an impact at the highest level. "He is a player who can give a lot to the club he signs for," Calderon said.

That view was shared by other influential figures, including Arrigo Sacchi, who coached Italy to the World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in 1994 and under whom AC Milan won back-to-back European championships in 1989 and 1990.

"Beckham is a great professional and a great guy," Sacchi told Radio Radio in Italy earlier this week. "He's never any trouble, and if he's still the player that I knew a few years ago [at Real Madrid], he will bring something extra to the team.

"I think it will be mutually beneficial, for him and the team."

Carlos Ancelotti, AC Milan's current coach, already has identified how he would use Beckham if he comes to Serie A -- as an alternative to Italian international Andrea Pirlo.

"David can cover all the positions in midfield," Ancelotti told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday. "He could also play in Pirlo's position."

At 33, Beckham would feel right at home among AC Milan's squad of veteran international players, which includes Paolo Maldini, 40; Filippo Inzaghi and Dida, both 35; Emerson, Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf and Andriy Shevchenko, all 32; Massimo Ambrosini and Gianluca Zambrota, both 31, and Gennaro Gattuso, 30.

Rival Inter Milan, which has won the last three Italian championships, has scoffed at AC Milan's habit of adding players on the wrong side of 30.

"Beckham to Milan? It's a Ronaldo type of deal," said Massimo Moratti, Inter Milan's president. "Milan have this philosophy which started when they bought Christian Vieri, it continued with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and now Beckham.

"I suppose there is nothing wrong in signing these players as it could be fun for their supporters, but Inter have a different approach."

Danish international Martin Laursen, who played for AC Milan before joining Aston Villa in England's Premier League, told the Daily Mail that Milan would be a perfect fit for Beckham and his wife, Victoria.

"It's a place where there are a lot of big names. He's not going to be the only one. There are other celebrities. It's a city where you can walk around. And his wife will love it there too. The shopping is great," Laursen said.

If a move to Milan fails to come about, there are other teams interested. England's Portsmouth is one of them.

"If David wants to come back to England, I would love to have him," Portsmouth Coach Harry Redknapp told the Daily Mirror. "He would make goals for [Peter] Crouch and [Jermain] Defoe with his crossing. He is still a terrific footballer. He wants to play football -- that is they key for him."

But Milan seems to be the future for Beckham -- in the short term or the long. Already on the Internet there are red and black AC Milan shirts bearing the number 75 and Beckham's name.

On Thursday, the Italian team's switchboard, ticket line and website all crashed under the weight of fan interest in the Galaxy midfielder.

Jones is a Times staff writer.

grahame.jones@latimes.com

Let's see what coach Ancelotti has got to say about Beckham's potential move to Milan :

Ancelotti excited by Beckham25 Oct 2008 - 13:56:28


Ancelotti excited by Beckham




AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is looking forward to the arrival of 'champion' David Beckham at the San Siro.

The England midfielder is set to join the Serie A club on a three-month loan from Los Angeles Galaxy in January in a bid to keep his place in the international squad during the close-season in Major League Soccer.

The 33-year-old will link-up with the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko with the Rossoneri and Ancelotti is looking forward to the arrival of the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star.

"Beckham is a great footballer and he can play anywhere," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

"He can play in the centre of midfield or on the wing. Champions are resources, never problems."

Meanwhile, Ancelotti hopes the arrival of Beckham can spark a serious run at the Serie A title.

"Our first aim is to play well," he continued. "With the quality players we have got, there is an obligation to provide a spectacle.

"The owner does not like winning narrowly, maybe with a single goal in the break, he demands a spectacle.

"And then we want to win the Scudetto."

So need this kibitzer say more.... let's just wait for further developments (and rumors?).