What a Carry On

Luis Figo rolled that particular grenade into the public arena when he told a downtown Tokyo hall full of Japanese, Spanish and English journalists that pre-season preparation was usually more physical.

'We are not used to these kind of things,' he offered, before diplomatically adding: 'But it's good to have contact with our Asian fans.'

'These kind of things' might well embrace the mob of young nurses who raced Carry On style to garland Beckham and Co before Real's strolling work-out against a willing but limited China Dragon XI in Beijing.

It certainly will include the bizarre public training session on the Astroturf of the Dome - Tokyo's baseball stadium and no relation to London's white elephant - witnessed last night by 45,000 people.

What's more, they were paying customers. The £15 cost of tickets did not deter 25,000 buying the seats inside five minutes of them going on sale - the rest following along with the inevitable black market.

What they got for their money was a show from Figo, Raul, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane and, of course, Beckham, but there was more than a touch of the Harlem Globetrotters about it. Nor were the supreme artists at their best, even though inhibitions can be cast aside for exhibitions.

Real's players had been travelling for most of the day and Tokyo's serious Sunday traffic, after the three-hour flight from China, meant they had to head straight for training from Narita Airport.

Granted, fans will have the opportunity to see Real in serious action tomorrow, although FC Tokyo are unlikely to trouble the Spanish champions any more than those Dragons did.

But are the fanatics of the Far East being cynically exploited, bearing in mind that one Chinese training session was cancelled after fans had bought tickets for up to £35, a large amount of money in rural areas?

That sort of inquiry was never going to elicit a straight reply from Beckham. 'It's a question none of the three of us can answer,' he said with a nod towards podium partners Figo and goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

'The fans have been there every time we've trained, but it's nothing to do with us. We're always happy to see the fans.'

Players do like to moan and the itinerary of a financially- orientated whistlestop tour that has still to take in Hong Kong and Bangkok before the welcome plane to Spain was always going to foment sedition.

But Figo's assertion that the team's fitness should be the prime consideration for coach Carlos Queiroz before the big kick-off will be hard to argue with, especially if Real make a less than perfect start.

Beckham may not have been included in any meaningful dressing-room meetings for, as he cheerfully admitted: 'Not many of my team-mates speak English, so it's been difficult explaining "pass the ball", let alone having a discussion.'

However, he may well have been stressing the lads' line when he emphasised that 'it's important we get our fitness up' while trying to brush off praise for a commendable debut in Beijing's opening tour act.

Figo may not approve, but it was the Portugal star who scored the first goal, with two more from Fernando Morientes suggesting he can put the still overweight Ronaldo under real pressure.

Beckham took the plaudits and, along with Queiroz, Spain nodded approval for a performance that expanded after the break and showed he will fit neatly into Europe's most star-laden side.

Whether he and his team-mates will be fit to keep their Spanish title may already be decided by the money men.