David Beckham had a quiet debut for AC Milan on Tuesday night, exiting at halftime before the club beat Hamburg 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw following Namibian Collin Benjamin’s equalizer which took the match to a round of penalty-spot roulette.

The former England captain, on a three-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, was greeted by a huge ovation before the exhibition match. Playing in a largely defensive role in midfield, Beckham displayed a few good touches with his famous right foot before being replaced by Mathieu Flamini.
Ronaldinho gave Milan the lead from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute, but Collin Benjamin, Namibia’s national team captain scored from close range to tie it five minutes later. Beckham had a chance to score on a 39 th-minute free kick, but his effort was headed away by the Hamburg wall. Mladen Petric of Hamburg missed an unmarked header in the 85th minute.
Milan were warming up for the resumption of the Serie A calendar this weekend, and fielded a strong line-up, with Pirlo, Ronaldinho, Pato and debutant David Beckham. HSV also fielded many of their first-teamers, with Alex Silva, Piotr Trochowski, and Ivica Olic involved.
The post-match quotes on the HSV website were mostly positive on the Namibian’s performance with only Thiago Neves pointing out a proverbial hair in the soup for missing a penalty against Brazilian compatriot Dida.
- various websites: additional Goal.com