Real Madrid defender Cicinho insists he and his team-mates
will do all they can to help David Beckham fulfil his dream of
leaving the Spanish giants with a Primera Liga winner's medal.
Beckham has yet to win a major trophy since joining Madrid in 2003,
and this year's league title is his final opportunity to end that
barren run before he quits Spain to join Major League Soccer side
the Los Angeles Galaxy this summer.
Beckham is desperate to go out on a high note, and Cicinho is
determined to see the Englishman, who is held in high esteem among
the Madrid squad, achieve that goal. The Brazilian said: "We have
always said that Beckham is a great player, not just me but all of
my team-mates. "We all know that is going to leave at the end of
the season and we have to make the most of every moment that we
have to work with him, because he wants to leave Madrid with a
title to celebrate with the fans, and we have to make the most of
all the training sessions and win every match so that can do
this."
Beckham, 32 on Wednesday, has been in fine form since returning
from a six-week absence due to a knee injury, and helped Madrid
beat Valencia and Athletic Bilbao in the last two weekends. Those
victories have seen Madrid climb to within two points of leaders
Barcelona with only six games remaining in the season.
However, Beckham is set to miss this weekend's epic showdown with
second-placed Sevilla the Bernabeu after picking up a yellow card
for apparent time-wasting against Athletic. That was Beckham's 10th
booking of the season and means he must now serve a ban - triggered
once a player reaches five cautions - unless Madrid can get the
decision overturned.
Cicinho admits it would be a blow to lose Beckham, but is confident
Madrid have the strength in depth to be able to cover the former
England captain's absence. The full-back said: "There exists the
possibility that he can play if the overturn the card, we are
hoping to see that happen because that would be good for us. "But
we must also be aware that this group has many players who can help
Real Madrid. Any player who plays in the game will do well and we
can record the win."
With regards to the incident involving Beckham's yellow card,
Cicinho said: "We wanted to play on but Bilbao players were very
close to the ball, and we could not. "We asked the referee to move
them away, but the referee misunderstood and he showed the card to
Beckham. It was not to waste time. If nothing changes then we have
to try to play without him."
Beckham was unable to take a full part in training today, with
Madrid confirming in their medical bulletin that he was suffering
from a thigh problem and a sore throat, and worked out in the gym
and swimming pool.
