David Beckham

London: David Beckham is coping better on the field than off at Real Madrid. Coach Carlos Queiroz hopes the England captain will put aside outside distractions to concentrate on his game. Queiroz, who was assistant manager for two years at Manchester United when Beckham was also at Old Trafford, said he understood the problems the England star faced when he moved to Spain.

“It is the first time David Beckham is living abroad,” Queiroz said in an interview published in the Financial Times on Wednesday. “For the moment he is doing very well. Much better I must say than I expected. When you move away, it is the food, it is the environment, it is the culture, it is the language on TV, friends. It is really really very difficult, very difficult.”

Married to former Spice girl Victoria, the England captain spends much of the time away from his family. His son Brooklyn, who turns 5 on Thursday, has started his education in England rather than Spain.

“So the results we have got from David on the field from the practical point of view are much better than I expected,” Queiroz said. “He is doing much better than I expected taking into consideration that he is living in a new country. We hope, and I hope for him, that step by step he is settling his own life on a daily basis because it will help him a lot to concentrate. Let’s wait and see.”

Queiroz also said he was impressed how Beckham had switched from wide on the right, where he used to play for Manchester United and for England, to central midfield with Madrid.

“He played 16 years as a winger, now he is learning a new job,” Queiroz said. “To adapt his own skills to a new after 16 years in one position, it is amazing what he is doing at the moment. Of course, Beckham is not Patrick Vieira. He will never be. But if you want to play central midfield, you need to understand the basic tasks of that position.”

Meanwhile, Beckham unveiled his new logo with Adidas and announced he had extended his contract with the German shoe company until 2008, another report says from Herzogenaurach.

The logo was inspired by the free-kicks of the English player — one of the trademarks of his game — along with the accuracy of his corner kicks. It will be used on a specially designed collection of Adidas products.

“The logo is totally me and something that people can relate to,” Beckham said in a press release. “The image of me taking a free-kick is world renowned and instantly recognisable. I am proud to have worked with Adidas to develop it.”

Adidas said the logo was designed to catch the angle of his body upon impact as he steps into the free-kick, familiar to many soccer fans. Adidas has signed other prominent athlete celebrities to pitch its products, including Muhammad Ali and his daughter Laila, along with NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic. (Agencies)