SYMPTOMS of Beckham-mania, of the type once known in Madrid, are still sparse around Milan. An item about Britney Spears admiring the former England captain made its way on to the sober pink pages of Gazzetta dello Sport last week but the real juggernaut waits until January, when they begin to count the replica jersey sales, marshal the fleet of paparazzi and answer the big question about how many games he might actually start.

In the meantime AC Milan, who play at Portsmouth in the Uefa Cup on Thursday, are star-struck over Ronaldinho, who has so far contributed more than most of the men who steered him out of Barcelona in the summer would have expected. Milan, second in Serie A and one point off the lead yesterday morning, are building probably the strongest challenge to Internazionale’s defence of the title. They had some good news before tonight’s meeting with Torino and the visit to England. Andrea Pirlo, their best midfield passer, at least until Beckham lands, is fit again after two months’ absence, though striker Marco Borriello remains injured, which is a blow to a team struggling to score goals beyond San Siro.

Andrei Shevchenko, who rejoined Milan from Chelsea in the summer, has not found the groove he was in as a Milan player for seven years until 2006. At 32, he may never rediscover it. So far this season, the Ukrainian has been granted a mere 127 minutes in the league.

However, nobody can use age against Milan with too much confidence. They have been deemed too old for years. Paolo Maldini, 40, is still in their defence, Pippo Inzaghi, 35, is still an option up front, Clarence Seedorf, 32, is one their most consistent performers this season. Longevity is a badge, not a burden, here. If Beckham is to keep up with current Milan fashion, he may be obliged to wear the number 75 on his back. New Milan footballers choose numbers with the year of their birth: Sheva carries 76, Ronaldinho dresses in 80, and, just to remindmilanisti there is a place for the spring chicken here, there’s a young man in No 84 who has met the competition for places in midfield head-on and so far earned himself a regular start - Mathieu Flamini.

Flamini signed from Arsenal in the summer on a free transfer after his contract expired, his displays in central midfield having assured him a good offer would arrive from elsewhere. Arsenal’s win against Milan at the San Siro in the spring would be Flamini’s springboard. His father is Italian, his mother Corsican, so for the France international it was scarcely a leap into the unknown. What it did feel was different.

“Here I am playing alongside three winners of the Ballon d’Or at the same time,” he says. “I struck up a friendship with Ronaldinho because he too speaks French. At Arsenal almost all the players were around my age. Here there’s more experience in the squad.” That, in turn, made the approach of the coaches distinct.

“I always had a good relationship with Arsène Wenger, he’s a great manager and he gave me a lot,” Flamini said. “Carlo Ancelotti and he have a different way of doing things. Ancelotti is closer to the players, Wenger a bit more distant.”

Flamini is eager to establish that while part of his reputation at Arsenal may have been founded on his versatility - he played at left-back for a long period - his role is in the centre of midfield. “I can play right or left, but my natural place is the middle.”

At Arsenal, his tenacity gained him the nickname “Gattuso”. For Milan’s longer-term planners, Flamini will one day supersede Gennaro Gattuso, although probably without the cheerleading and breast-beating that the bearded Italian directs at crowds at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.

Flamini, a former student of law, does not seem that sort. He is competitive, though. Ancelotti calls him “a first-teamer as far as I am concerned”. However, a fit Pirlo puts the squeeze on positions. Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini, Gattuso and Seedorf have been commanding the Milan midfield for the best part of six years, accumulating two European Cups, a further Champions League final and a Serie A title in that time while Emerson, a former Brazil captain, finds himself further and further sidelined. Once Beckham comes for his loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, the equation will be seven for three places, given that Ancelotti and president Silvio Berlusconi prefer Kaka and two others to occupy the forward posts.

At Portsmouth, there is a good chance that trio may well all be European Footballers of the Year - Kaka from 2007, Ronaldinho from 2005 and Shevchenko from 2004. One for the Fratton Park museum.