No limit to this mania...

David Beckham has only played 73 minutes in a Real Madrid shirt but already the Spanish press love him.

Marca, the country's topselling paper, said Beckham had 'entered the orbit of the galactic team' and rival As went into orbit itself over his raking passes, corners and deft touches.

Both papers devoted five pages to the midfielder's personal contribution in Madrid's 4- 0 defeat of the Dragon Team. His every move and touch of the ball was depicted in graphics and images snatched from television showing his incisive passes and near-miss free kicks.

Even the upmarket El Pais admired his elegance and poise as his 'brilliant blond pony tails shone in the stadium lights' and suggested that 'the Englishman showed a great sense of responsibility mixed with a touch of exhibitionism'.

La Razon, the staid, rightwing paper, jumped on the bandwagon, declaring: 'There is no limit to Beckhamania' while El Mundo, the Catalonian upmarket daily paper, was generous in its treatment on Beckham. 'The Englishman showed details of his quality,' ran the report.

Another Barcelona-based paper, El Mundo Deportivo, was unable to forgive the midfielder's decision to spurn Barca. The sports daily, devoted just a few paragraphs to the game and noted that Madrid only swept away their lowly opponents once Beckham and the other 'superstars' had left the stage.