La panchina is one of the first words that we expected David Beckham to become familiar with here in Italy. The bench. That was the future that Beckham seemed destined for at AC Milan until his debut last night, a 2-2 draw away to Roma, when, contrary to all expectation, Carlo Ancelotti, his new coach, selected him for his starting lineup and persevered with him almost until the end.

Literally and metaphorically, the football of Major League Soccer was thousands of miles away. “I felt very good in the game and very strong,” Beckham said. And if, as Ancelotti suggested, he has more starts in mind for Beckham for the remaining two months of his time here, it augurs well for Beckham’s hopes in England colours as well as the black and red of Milan.

Remember, of course, that Beckham’s last competitive match was for Los Angeles Galaxy against FC Dallas, and that was back in October. Even when Ancelotti started introducing extra manpower from the substitutes’ bench last night, it was Ronaldinho whom he opted to rest and not the former England captain. Beckham was finally withdrawn in the 88th minute.

Last night was just the start, but were it to continue in this vein, this curious latest chapter in his playing life may yet prove as career-enhancing as he could have hoped. “My goal is to play as many games as possible and be a part of the team,” he said. “It’s a great team to play for and great players.”

But on a day when the focus was on his ability to continue at this level at the age of 33, the show was stolen by a starlet with a magnificent career seemingly ahead of him, not behind him. Alexandre Pato, the 19-year-old Brazil striker, scored both Milan’s goals, the second after a delightful sprint down the left channel.

Beckham-watchers will not be surprised to know that when the first of those goals went in and Pato ran straight to the horde of cameramen, the first man to him, climbing on his shoulders and sharing the picture, was his new English teammate. When Pato scored his second, Beckham, too far away to get to him, instead approached the celebrating young star arm in arm with Ronaldinho.

One thing Beckham can never be accused of is failing to spot a photo opportunity. Another, on this occasion, is failing to have his newest set of followers warm to his debut. Ancelotti was certainly happy with his contribution. “He and I had agreed that we would play him tonight, but that we would not talk to the media about it,” he said. “We wanted to protect him from all the attention. But Beckham is ready to play here and because he is intelligent enough to understand how this team plays, we were able to keep our balance with him in the midfield.”

Milan’s rossoneri, the fans who were squeezed into a corner of the Stadio Olimpico, were delighted, too. They certainly did not expect him to start. If the supporters appear to be on his side, age of course, is not. At Milan, however, he joins an astonishingly effective preretirement home for the great and the good. Paolo Maldini marches on at 40, Filippo Inzaghi is 35, Andriy Shevchenko and Clarence Seedorf, 32. If Beckham needed evidence that he can still play while the light is fading, he has it at a club that plays in a perpetual sunset.

It is in such good company that he is stretching his career ever onwards. And he certainly did not look out of place. He did not take the starring role - that was for Pato - but he looked as if he could belong.

However, while it would be a harsh judge who accused him of being unsure where he sat defensively on his first game, it would not be harsh at all to observe that with Beckham, Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo forming a three-man midfield, Milan’s back four looked mighty vulnerable. The first of Mirko Vucinic’s two goals, which put Roma ahead in the 22nd minute, made that very point.

But if Beckham could continue like this, he would close down another long avenue of doubt. The question remains: to what extent is he a victim of his own vanity here? The simple facts of life at Milan cannot have been lost on Beckham or his advisers: he is joining a world-class operation packed with world-class players. It did not take the fans here to raise the question: to what extent do we really need him? And, being a footballer whose unique selling point is kicking the dead ball, why, of all places, go to the one club in the world already stuffed with free-kick specialists.

At Milan, even a Brazilian wizard by the name of Ronaldinho, from certain parts of the pitch, has to stand in the pecking order behind Andrea Pirlo; then you have Kaká. Beckham is probably third in line to do what he does best. And if the last of Beckham’s talents to show any signs of fading is the one for which he is most prized, then why not sign for a club who would have a genuine interest in employing them?

So there we were, five minutes in, Milan with the early ascendancy and a free kick, the left-hand side of the box, 25 yards out. Standing over it was this extraordinary galaxy of talent: Pirlo, Ronaldinho and Beckham. If it is clever to be able to keep the opposition guessing like that, then Ancelotti has been mighty smart. As it was, Beckham stood back as if to run at it, Pirlo shaped to strike and Ronaldinho actually took it. But Beckham surely is not here to play the role of dummy at set-pieces.

Thus the point. Was it vanity that made him sign for the iconic colours of Milan? If he was genuinely interested in accumulating match time to keep his toe in Fabio Capello’s door, then would he not have been served better by signing for a thoroughly unfashionable club that would want him to take that free kick? Why not Chievo, Bologna or Cagliari? Or is it just that Brand Beckham simply cannot stomach the unfashionable option? In other words, is the brand actually more important than winning another cap for England?

These are the kind of questions that follow the man. But when he plays 88 minutes for Milan, and then threatens to do even better next time round, then it is he himself who is providing the answers.

Beckham by numbers

Minutes played 89
Shots on target 1
Shots off target 0
Key passes 1
Long passes 7
Long-pass accuracy 100%
Passes 64
Pass completion 84%
Crosses 12
Cross completion 8%
Tackles 2
Tackles won 100%
Fouls conceded 1
Fouls won 2