Beckham alone not enough to bridge the gap

Towards the end of December, Milan unveiled two new signings, defender Thiago Silva from Fluminense (the Brazilian will only join the Rossoneri as from next season as the club's non-EU player quota is already full) and David Beckham. The former England captain will be on loan for a few months before returning to MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy in the US.

The arrival of Beckham comes at a time when Milan have lost hard-tackling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso with a knee injury.

Beckham will surely be an influential figure in the team, as he has always been in his previous clubs. But will his contribution be enough to help Milan recover lost ground in the Serie A title race?

One is immediately struck by two glaring facts when taking a quick glance at what Milan have attained in the Serie A so far in contrast with leaders Inter.

The champions are nine points clear of city rivals Milan mainly due to a better away form. Inter collected 20 points from nine away fixtures while Milan have managed just nine from eight away excursions.

Inter also possess the best defensive record in the entire division (11 goals against) but Milan, currently in Dubai to pep up their winter training, have the poorest defensive record from the top six teams (18 goals conceded).

Milan have been very shaky at the back this season and many reckon the time is ripe for them to effect some much-needed changes, especially in central defence.

Injury-prone duo Alessandro Nesta and Philippe Senderos have not featured in a single league match for Milan and the fact that Paolo Maldini, 40, has started 12 matches amply highlights the urgency to rejuvenate a department which has let the team down on several occasions this season.

Gianluca Zambrotta, Giuseppe Favalli, Kakha Kaladze and Marek Jankulovski are valid members in the squad but they are not getting any younger either.

Gattuso will be sorely missed. He is the only one in the team capable of offering protection to the defence from midfield.

Andrea Pirlo is struggling for form and has been a pale shadow of his best this season. Emerson has never really settled at Milan whereas Mathieu Flamini has yet to leave his mark following his move from Arsenal in summer.

With such woes in midfield, the arrival of Beckham could not have come at a more opportune time for coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Beckham can play almost anywhere in midfield. He will surely add more options to Ancelotti, also in dead-ball situations. However, Ancelotti knows fully well that the stylish Englishman alone will not be enough for Milan to bridge the gap with second-placed Juventus and front-runners Inter.

Milan look strong in attack. Apart from Brazilian aces Kaka, Pato and Ronaldinho, Ancelotti can also bank on Marco Borriello, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi. However, Milan are lagging behind when it comes to added options at the back.

Great teams, particularly in Italy, always had a superb defence to rely on. In the not-so-distant past, Spain's Real Madrid used to go for big-name signings in attack without even bothering to strengthen their defensive sector adequately. That transfer strategy was eventually shelved. The Rossoneri fans now hope that Milan will follow suit and add a couple of quality defenders to Ancelotti's squad.