David Beckham‘s Milan debut at the weekend reminded veteran Italian-based soccer writer Paddy Agnew of the days of Diego Maradona at Napoli. Not because of any similarity in playing style, but because when Maradona emerged form the locker room “he tended to be surrounded by a posse of security men, physios, agents, friends, relatives and nondescript others.”
When the security-surrounded Beckham did finally appear in the mixed zone after Sunday’s 2-2 tie with Roma, he “proved a model of dignity and decorum…never once seeming to get annoyed by having to answer the same (not hugely original) question for the umpteenth time.” This, says Agnew, reflects “just how glad he is to have escaped that Graveyard of Forgotten Genius that is Major League Soccer… Watching and listening to him on Sunday night, it was obvious he was delighted to be back in the big time.”
“When you play with guys like this, it’s just great . . . you just have to give them the ball,” Beckham said, referring to Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato, who scored Milan’s two goals. Agnew says that “their celebration seemed to confirm those reports from Milan’s Dubai winter camp that Beckham had integrated himself easily and harmoniously into the Milan dressing room.” He concludes that “while Beckham continues to insist he will return to the Los Angeles Galaxy in March, the growing feeling is that, come the end of this year, he will be back in Milan and this time to stay.”