Beckham hoping to add experience to England

Former England captain David Beckham believes he can add experience to England at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

Speaking to Saturday’s Gazzetta dello Sport, the former England captain explained that his sights are set firmly on the global football showpiece in Africa as well as Milan’s quest to return to next season’s Champions League.

Milan spent a year in purgatory in the UEFA Cup this season after finishing fifth in Serie A last time out and failing to qualify for Europe’s premier competition.

But most important for him is the World Cup and Beckham believes he still has a lot to offer.

“My experience for one because it’s a young team,” he said. “For me it would be enough just to be useful to the team and to keep working with (Fabio) Capello, who has changed our mentality. We needed that.”

At club level Beckham would love to see out his career next season with a Champions League final against his former club Manchester United, although he admitted he would find it difficult playing against the team he supported as a boy.

“It would be a problem but if next season there was a Milan-Manchester final I would want to win, even if I support United,” he said.

“This season I would like to see Manchester play Barcelona. My former colleagues would win because right now United are too good for everyone.

“Even if Liverpool with (Steven) Gerrard, one of the best in the world, are dangerous.”

Beckham will stay at Milan until the end of the season before returning to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the rest of the 2009 Major League Soccer season.

After that he will return to Italy for the 2009-10 Serie A campaign having reached agreement with Galaxy earlier this month over his protracted transfer to the Italians.