Beckham may be a luxury Real Madrid cannot afford
The clinical way Juventus took Real Madrid's Champions League challenge apart may well make David Beckham pause for thought over whether a switch to the Spanish capital would represent a smart career move.
The clinical way Juventus took Real Madrid's Champions League challenge apart may well make David Beckham pause for thought over whether a switch to the Spanish capital would represent a smart career move.
Whatever the opinion of the England captain, Wednesday's game should have convinced Real Madrid that signing Beckham would be a luxury they cannot afford.
The player himself has denied any interest in leaving Manchester United and the Spanish club have publicly ruled out a bid, but few people in Spain doubt that Real have made Beckham their chief transfer target.
Such a move would fit perfectly with the club's strategy over the past three years, when they have paid top dollar to bring in Luis Figo from Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane from Juventus and Ronaldo from Inter Milan.
The transfer dealing of president Florentino Perez has brought the club one league title and one European Cup, as well as a renewed reputation for being the biggest club in the world.
It would be a massive over-reaction to say that Real are finished after one European defeat, but it should now be obvious that they have been papering over cracks in their side for a couple of years.
The frailty of the defence and the lack of midfield back-up were fully exposed on Wednesday, and Perez may now have to revise his policy of bringing in just one world-class player and relying on the youth team for further reinforcements.
"We went out because Juventus were better than us," said Zidane. "In the first half we were very bad and in the second just a bit better."
Central defender and captain Fernando Hierro was left beaten and breathless far too many times by the pace and power of Pavel Nedved and the astute touches of Alessandro Del Piero.
Del Bosque has been calling for defensive reinforcements for the past two seasons, only for Perez to go in for Zidane and Ronaldo. It would be bordering on insanity to fail to strengthen the defence again.
Beckham would make a fine replacement for Figo, who has been hugely disappointing for much of the last two years.
The Portuguese capped another merely workmanlike display with a missed penalty that might have inspired a Real comeback.
The problem for Real is that weaknesses are starting to show up throughout the side.
Ronaldo has shown flashes of form but has not been the same player that scored 34 goals for Barcelona in 1996-97.
Goalkeeper Iker Casillas continues to struggle with high balls, while the galloping runs of Brazilian fullback Roberto Carlos have repeatedly left the defence exposed.
Even Zidane, who has been the outstanding midfielder in Spain this season, was made to look merely competent against his former club.
A priority must be finding cover for Claude Makelele, the Frenchman who does most of the hard work in the Real midfield.
Makelele was missing through injury on Wednesday and without a player capable of winning the ball and releasing it quickly and accurately Real were hamstrung from the start.
Beckham would doubtless learn much from a move to Real Madrid and the Spanish club would benefit from the Englishman's publicity value, particularly in Asian markets.
The problem for Beckham might be that he would be joining a team already past its peak.