ROME (AP) - David Beckham could make his Serie A debut for AC Milan in Sunday's match at AS Roma, although the former England captain may have to settle for a substitute's role.

Beckham began his three-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy by playing the first half of a friendly against Hamburg in Dubai on Tuesday.

"He's still not in form, but his contribution could be useful," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "He has dynamism, tactical intelligence and skill. He plays for the team and is always involved."

Against Hamburg, Beckham played in a largely defensive role in midfield and provided a steady performance before being replaced by Mathieu Flamini.

Teammates commended him for his unselfishness.

"You could see that he wants to play and win with us," said Ronaldinho. "Simplicity is his best weapon, and with desire you can accomplish a great deal. Milan is not a team of galacticos, it's a team with a lot of great players that know how to sacrifice themselves."

Beckham said that the game against Roma would be "very emotional for me, whether I play or not."

With midfielder Gennaro Gattuso out for six months following knee surgery, Beckham may have to adapt to a more defensive role.

Milan is also still missing key defender Alessandro Nesta, who is in Miami for medical care on his aching back.

Milan has extended its stay in Dubai due to snowy weather throughout much of Italy. The club will fly directly to Rome on Friday to prepare for the match with the Giallorossi.

Roma captain Francesco Totti injured his right thigh in the club's last match before the three-week holiday break and is out for up to two months. Another Roma forward, Julio Baptista, left a friendly Wednesday with a bruised knee.

Mirko Vucinic scored twice in the 3-2 friendly win over Lanciano and will likely pair with Roma's new French forward Jeremy Menez, who was in top form before the break.

Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani has returned after a long injury layoff.

Roma is tied for 10th with Palermo with 23 points.

Three-time defending champion Inter Milan leads with 42 points, Juventus is next with 36 and Milan is third with 33.

Inter hosts Cagliari on Saturday and Juventus plays Siena on Sunday.

"There's a new game out: how to catch Inter," Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic said. "That's good, it means we've become very important and a goal for the others."

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon played half of a friendly with Monaco on Tuesday, his first action following a three-month layoff due to a leg muscle injury, but was barely tested and is planning on sitting out once more against Siena.

Alexander Manninger is Buffon's replacement.

The weekend opens with Genoa vs. Torino on Saturday, and workers were still putting the finishing touches Thursday on a new layer of grass at the Ferraris stadium. Officials were still to decide if the match could go on or not.

Sunday's other games are: Bologna vs. Chievo Verona; Fiorentina vs. Lecce; Napoli vs. Catania; Palermo vs. Atalanta; Reggina vs. Lazio; and Udinese vs. Sampdoria.

Isn't this game out, already? We've been playing it for 2-3 years straight. Wonder what Stankovic is smoking, he should probably send some of it over at my place. Bah!

I must admit I quite like Stankovic, but he's the type of player who will say these stupid things. The only thing comments like this will do is motivate players on other teams.

If we want to catch the merda we first need to plant a mole in telecom Italia

Quote, man!

There's an article on acmilan.com about how Beckham met Stefan Borgonovo yesterday.

Maybe I'm just an old fart, but I thought the picture on the home page was in rather poor taste, with it clearly centered on Becks and his piano-teeth smile while Borgo's face is completely obscured by all the graphics.

If you are an old fart, you're not alone, Miz. The photographer should be prosecuted and trialed for lacking common sense. What a sad, sad state of affairs.