Beckham stars in Real’s Japanese jaunt

THE Real Madrid and David Beckham show hit Japan yesterday, greeted by 3,000 fans at the airport with a further 45,000 turning up for a training session at the Tokyo Dome.

England captain Beckham, who moved from Manchester United to the Spanish champions for 35 million last month, was again the centre of attention as Real embarked upon the second leg of their pre-season tour of the Far East.

A grinning Beckham, serenaded throughout by Japanese fans who had each paid 3,000 yen to watch the one-hour practice, sprayed Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos with water after being teased for waving at the crowd.

But Beckham, who made his Real debut in a 4-0 win over a Chinese select team in Beijing on Saturday, said that the joking would stop tomorrow, when Real play J-League club FC Tokyo in a friendly.

"Obviously making my debut was an amazing feeling but it is important that we get our fitness up," Beckham said.

"We performed well in the last game and got what we wanted, and we are looking forward to our next game. We are taking these matches seriously."

Earlier, hordes of female fans, many wearing Real Madrid shirts, screamed as Beckham fast becoming used to the pop-star treatment here passed through customs at Tokyo's Narita airport.

It was the same at the later training session. Despite the presence of Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Luis Figo in the Real party, many of the fans only had eyes for the man from London.

Every time he touched the ball, the crowd squealed and cameras flashed all around the vast indoor arena, leaving Beckham a little embarrassed by the special attention.

"It was an extraordinary feeling walking out there and seeing how many people turned up just to see us train," the 28-year-old said.

Real are scheduled to play matches in Hong Kong and Bangkok after playing FC Tokyo.

Beckham-mania gripped Japan on his last visit, as part of a promotional tour of the Far East which took place in June as his move from United was being finalised.