Milan Derby Approaches As Beckham Steals The Show

AC Milan's David Beckham reacts against Reggina during their 1-1 draw 07/02/09 (by Reuters) I went to McDonalds today for my morning coffee and sitting down with the local newspaper was hoping to read in the sports section about the world's biggest derby happening this weekend. I was however greeted instead with continued news on, 'Beckham won't be staying in Milan' as LA Galaxy president Tim Leiweke closes transfer talks.

The article release was of course a knee-jerk reaction on the part of a North American daily lacking in European football expertise, and relying instead on wire services for page fill, when a derby story line would have been more entertaining. Susy Campanale of Channel4 Football Italia had the better angle on all of this with her 'Going Beck-wards' story, as Becks and company will have their focus on tomorrow's Derby della Madonnina.

For the moment, Galaxy handlers have to settle down and wait it out until after the Milan derby for the serious offers to come through as this story ain't over by a longshot. It does Major League Soccer and LA Galaxy no good in attempting to force a settlement right now but when an offer does come through for consideration, I'm sure Beckham will probably have to give up some of his own bobbles to make it all happen.

It's clear Milan won't pay the Galaxy their total asking price during this financial crisis, as both parties have taken a hard line with the "it's business only" approach and that is reasonable. Contrary to earlier comments made by Beckham as he expressed his desire to stay at Milan, this will not be left up to clubs and lawyers but to David Beckham. If Beckham wants to make this move complete ultimately he will have to help make the financial settlement which will enable that final transition away from the Galaxy.

How troubling is all this to Diavolo fans?

How troubling is all this to Diavolo fans who are now warming to the Englishman and more importantly, how troubling to his new teammates? It was after all, only days prior the club was dealing with reports of a mythical offer by Manchester City, for their star playmaker and favorite son Kaka. That bit of reporting might just have disrupted some very important domestic league matches with all the attention creating unwanted tension in the dressing room. Now, this weekend, there are even higher stakes to consider when the Milan city derby takes center stage. As It is highly unlikely Kaka will play due to injury, Beckham becomes an even more important option to a Milan lineup short in the midfield.

Inter versus Milan is one of the biggest games in European football. I've been looking forward to this and what else Serie A will have to offer in the coming month. With 85,000 cheering tifosi at the San Siro the Milan derby has a unique atmosphere found in only a few other venues.

When Inter and AC Milan meet tomorrow it will be the 270th encounter between the two city rivals a long way from that first encounter of 1908. Over the years there has been a repeated struggle for dominance by one club over the other yet the overall head to head results are still split fairly equally with the slightest of advantage to AC Milan with a record of 106 wins, 72 draws and 91 loses to Internazionale.

This time round Mourinho and crew are definitely looking for satifaction after losing this season's opener 0-1 to a Ronaldinho finish as Inter defenders Burdisso and Materazzi would both receive red cards later on in that encounter. Inter atop Serie A look to be the stronger side for the moment and much is at stake as the race for the scudetto could hinge on the outcome tomorrow. The current leaders have an 7 point advantage over second place Juventus but with AC Milan only a point behind Juventus, another loss to Inter's city rivals would be like losing an addition 6 points.

Don't miss any of the Derby della Madonnina action, starting Sunday February 15th at 2:30 pm EST

By Kevin Walker

ForzaFutbol.com