Beckham facing tough time in Spain

David Beckham insists he is still living a dream at Real Madrid even if the long-term fear is that his move from Manchester United will turn into a nightmare.

The England captain suggested there had been a “slight improvement” in his performance against Real Mallorca last night compared to the abject display he produced in Valencia the previous week.

His thoughts were backed up by the single star he was offered by the majority of an ultra-critical Spanish media in contrast to the blanket zero rating which greeted his opening match on home soil.

However, Beckham is facing having his hopes of proving himself to a whole new audience dashed by the twin problem of Real’s old defensive failings and the inability of new coach Carlos Quieroz to find him a role which will maximise his strengths.

Quieroz’s admission that he needed “experience” in central midfield as his team tried to recover from Mallorca taking the lead at the start of the second half of last night’s Super Cup first-leg was a damning indictment of Beckham’s defensive qualities.

What Quieroz failed to explain was why he offered Beckham only one set piece during the 55 minutes the England skipper was on the pitch during last night’s 2-1 defeat.

The single corner Beckham was entrusted with resulted in Real’s only goal, Luis Figo taking the far post effort down on his chest before lashing a volley into the net.

After that, Figo took all the corners, just as Roberto Carlos took all the free-kicks.

Given Beckham is widely acknowledged to be the best crosser of a ball in the world, it seemed a bizarre decision.

Not as strange though as the selection of Beckham in what effectively turned into a midfield holding role, the kind Eric Cantona once famously dismissed as that of a water carrier.

That Queiroz should have been the man filling in such a team sheet seems odd considering he has just spent 12 months working with Sir Alex Ferguson, who denied Beckham the central midfield berth he coveted in his 10 years at United.

As he sat on the bench watching the final stages last night, there was almost unanimous recognition that it is not a position from which Beckham can hope to have any impact in the Spanish league

As usual, Beckham was courteous and polite afterwards. But there was no gleaming smile, only the realisation that life is about to get very tough indeed.

“I am still living a dream but this is serious business,” he said.

“My performance was a slight improvement on Valencia and I enjoyed playing in that position because I got a little bit more of the ball.

“I also helped to set up the first goal, which was pleasing, but overall I am not very happy because we lost the game and that doesn’t create a very good impression.

“We have another game on Wednesday though and we will be trying our hardest to pull it around.”

The midweek second leg of the Mallorca tussle should mark Beckham’s Bernabeu debut as a Madrid player and given the vast sum splashed out to sign him this summer, it is inconceivable he will not play a part.

But above all, football is a pragmatic business. Vicente del Bosque got the sack after failing to deliver a third European Cup with the most expensive team in the world and demanding president Florentino Perez will not hesitate to remove Quieroz if he feels significant improvement is not being made.

And that surely means giving Beckham more responsibility, even if it means upsetting Roberto Carlos, whose free-kicks may appear dangerous but actually cannon into the wall far more often than they find the net.

The much-rumoured arrival of Roberto Ayala from Valencia would help strengthen Real’s rocky rearguard but they still need support from midfield, which might eventually see five superstars vying for four places.

Given that Raul is untouchable and Zinedine Zidane undroppable, the odds reduce to two from three and Figo has long been a darling of Quieroz.

That leaves three alternatives. Either Quieroz persists with his five stars, or he drops an overweight Ronaldo and pushes Zidane further forward, or he leaves Beckham on the bench.

There is plenty of goodwill around for the England skipper, as the heartening reception he received even from the home fans before last night’s game would testify.

But without sustained support inside the Real dressing room, his time in Spain may not be happy or productive.