IT WAS a small, stumbling step for the Spanish language, but a giant leap for David Beckham when the England captain yesterday made his debut at a Real Madrid press conference speaking in the language of Cervantes. Beckham took the mainly Spanish press by surprise when he broke into their native tongue after a training session at Las Rozas, Real Madrid’s temporary base outside the city.

“El partido con Atléti was mucho major para todos. Siete puntos es mucho mejor para jugadores,” was the first Romance language phrase to issue forth from the mouth of Goldenballs, halfway through his second season in Spain.

It was grammatically incontinent, but, it was undoubtedly the language of La Liga. Literally translated, it meant: “The game with Atlético Madrid (Real’s city rivals, last Sunday) was much better for everyone. Seven points is much better for players.”

It may lack the grandeur of J. F. K.’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” or Churchill’s “We will fight them on the beaches”, but French teachers across Britain should be trembling in their chaussures: educational history will probably record that the clamour for Spanish in the classroom reached irresistible levels after Beckham took his first steps in a foreign lingo.

After delivering his first 15 words — OK, one of them was in English — there was a stunned silence, followed by a round of applause and cheering. Beckham beamed sheepishly and proudly back at the people whose normal role is to torment him.

Until now, most Spaniards had assumed that Señor Beckham’s linguistic skills stretched no farther than the curse words he has been taught in the dressing-room by Ronaldo. Indeed, he was sent off in his last league game of the 2004 season for calling the referee a “hijo de puta” — the “son of a whore”.

But, suddenly, whole new vistas of language have opened up to the man whose surname is usually pronounced by Spaniards, who have difficulties with the hard English “h” sound, as sounding closer to “bacon” than Beckham.

Depressingly, however, it seems that while we may now be hearing a lot more Spanish being spoken, we will still be listening to the same old clichés — football being an international language in itself.

“Vamos mejorando pero tenemos que seguir trabajando juntos,” Beckham added. That is: “We are getting better, but we have to carry on working together.”

You could almost see the thought bubbles above the reporters’ heads. “O Dios, salvame” — Oh God, give me strength.

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