Milan debut: Beck and call

England star David Beckham was finding it hard to stop smiling as his AC Milan debut was capped off with a penalty shootout win over Hamburg at The Sevens stadium.

Fans at the packed venue were left to endure a nervous wait till the team line-ups were announced after it had been feared the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star would miss out due to fitness concerns.

But Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti gave his new recruit the go-ahead. And Beckham, who came off at half-time, said: "It was great to wear a Milan shirt for the first time. I didn't think I was going to be able to play, but I enjoyed it. It was very exciting."

Beckham said he was pleased the huge contingent of Milan supporters went home happy. "There were a lot of people who turned up to watch the Milan players and to win tonight was great."

Not surprisingly, Ancelotti was pressed for his thoughts on Beckham and he said: "To me he gave a very good impression. He has dynamic quality and he is also an intelligent player.

"He is tactically useful and he plays for the team."

The coach defended his decision to restrict Beckham to just a 45-minute appearance. "He hadn't been training for two months so 90 minutes would have probably been too much. Obviously he is not at his peak as he hasn't played in two months. But he had a good week with us and now he is in a good condition to make a good contribution towards the team," said Ancelotti.

Though Beckham is just on a two-month loan from Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy, he is eager to enjoy his brief stint in Italy. "I have never played in the Italian League so it's going to be exciting for me," he said.

Meanwhile heavy snowfall in northern Italy has prompted Milan to extend their stay in Dubai till Friday morning.

As they prepare to resume their Serie A campaign against Roma on Sunday, Ancelotti summed their trip to the emirates as a positive experience.

"In this week we have worked very well," said Ancelotti. "The players have been training a lot and the next few days should be a little lighter."

More than the result, the wily tactician expressed his delight at seeing his players, especially Beckham, get a good workout. "What we wanted to do was use lots of players which is the right thing to do, especially after the one-week training camp," he said.

"So there was no big difference with regard to the players used in each half," added Ancelotti who fielded virtually two different teams for 45 minutes each.