Even thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, there is part of
his heart that will always belong to Old Trafford. But even this
life-long United fan fears Sir Alex Ferguson's current domination
of English football is about to come to an abrupt end.
The reason? Carlo Ancelotti.
Beckham fell under Ancelotti's spell during a six-month loan
spell at AC Milan last season and was so impressed he's backing the
Italian to outwit Ferguson and lead Chelsea to their first league
title since the heady days of Jose Mourinho.
Basking in the scorching Californian sunshine after training at
LA Galaxy's Home Depot Center, Beckham gave a glowing endorsement
of Ancelotti's strengths.
He also out-lined the reasons why the Italian's consummate
professionalism will herald a Chelsea resurrection. "Chelsea are so
lucky because Carlo is a great man and a great manager," claimed
Beckham. "He can definitely make Chelsea champions again. No doubt
about it. And I say that even though everybody knows I have
Manchester United in my heart.
"Yes, it will be difficult because the Premier League is totally
different to the Serie A but he has great experience and I am
convinced he will be a great success in England, too.
"You don't do what he did at Milan and suddenly lose it
overnight. So I say good luck to him, he deserves it."
"He is very approachable and easy to talk to and to get along
with. Basically he's a very laid back person. No-one, though,
should mis-judge that or misunderstand it because he is also very
professional, very focused and concentrated.
"If someone there needs telling they are doing something wrong
then, without a doubt, he will tell them. But if the Chelsea
players work hard for him they will all get on great.
"I was at Milan for six months and I now consider him a friend,
a good friend. I remember how he once took me to dinner in his home
town near Parma and it was one of the best meals I had in all the
time I was in Italy.
"The ham was incredible, the cheese was incredible but, best of
all, they do these cherries in syrup on top of ice cream - just
unbelievable!
"After that, I actually used to drive an hour from Milan to
Parma just for the cherries and ice cream, an hour in the car, in
the traffic but it was worth it! Everyone knew I loved them so much
that, as a leaving present, they gave me six big tubs. So I thank
him for that."
Beckham is so fond of Ancelotti that he has kept in touch with
the man he is on first-name terms with. Becks grinned when he
recalled their last conversation.
"I watched his first Chelsea interview the other day and it made
me smile," he said. "That's exactly what he is like, his character
came shining through.
"I said to him afterwards 'Your English is so much better now!'
and we had a real laugh about it. I'm sure the Chelsea players and
fans are going to love him just as much as I do."
Beckham also gave the thumbs up to Ancelotti's attempts to prise
exciting young striker Alexandre Pato, 19, away from Milan. He
confessed: "I'm not surprised he's trying to get him to Chelsea. I
said when I first played with Pato that he is one of the biggest
talents that I have ever seen in all my years in football.
"I have never seen a player go past opponents with the ease that
he does. And he's a goalscorer as well. If you want an idea of what
he's like, well he has the pace of Theo Walcott and the finishing
skills of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer which, obviously, makes him very,
very special.
"He's got so many thing going for him. He's such a talent at
such a young age he can grow to become a big, big star. So, if
Chelsea can get him, that would be a huge signing."
