DAVID BECKHAM can expect to play his first match in a Milan jersey on Tuesday, against Germany’s Hamburg in the unlikely setting of Dubai.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said: “He is impeccable in training. Physically he is well, he just lacks a little power. He will definitely be on the field against Hamburg and he may even be ready for Roma [in Serie A at the weekend].”

Milan and Beckham are in the United Arab Emirates for warm-weather practice during the winter break. His new colleagues have welcomed him. The evergreen striker Pippo Inzaghi said how much he looked forward to connecting with Beckham’s excellent crosses. Paolo Maldini, the captain, said he had been taken with the Englishman’s dedication and professionalism. The Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf says he is delighted to be joined “by such a great champion” and volunteered to help Beckham accommodate the “high expectations” of him.

He can handle them, suggested Ruud Gullit, still a Milan icon. “I’m convinced he’ll do well,” said the Dutchman, who last year was head coach at LA Galaxy, Beckham’s employers. “He was a pleasure to work with, always gave 110% and can deal with pressure, which is important at a big club.”

As with every new episode in Beckham’s career, there have been gimmicks. He has practised in boots with a small English flag on one foot, an Italian tricolor on the other. He has a new tattoo, which drew the attention of a UAE newspaper, The National. “Beckham can be grateful,” it wrote, “that he landed in one of Arabia’s most tolerant nations, because he was sporting a new tattoo in Hebrew.”

Local sensibilities were not offended. Spectators who watched Milan train have cheered Beckham and Ronaldinho. In his first nine-against-nine practice match, Beckham was on the winning side, thanks to a goal by Massimo Ambrosini, whose place in the XI would be threatened by his arrival.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has enjoyed imagining a line-up that would maximise the individual glamour of their squad. An attacking team it would be, with Beckham, Andrea Pirlo and Seedorf in midfield, and Brazilians Kaka, Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato in front of them. That front six put some Italian observers in mind of Real Madrid in the galactico era, of which Beckham was a part.

Arrigo Sacchi, the former Milan coach and ex-director of football at Real Madrid, said: “At Madrid when I was there, the squad had Michael Owen, Figo, Raul, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Guti and others and a president who would have put Owen at centre-back and Beckham at full-back to get them all in. But I think Carlo Ancelotti will do whatever is best for the team.”

Details on where Beckham fits in the hierarchy have not been established. “We haven’t worked on corners particularly,” said Pirlo, who normally takes Milan’s corners, “and on free kicks, which I usually share with Ronaldinho. But Beckham can do different things with the ball from there, so he should be an asset.”