Veteran England football star David Beckham is still hoping to add to the 107 international appearances which have made him his country's third most capped player.

"But I take each game as it comes," he told a press conference in Auckland Thursday ahead of his LA Galaxy's exhibition match against an Oceania All Stars team on Saturday.

"It's important that I keep my fitness up and that's one of the reasons I'm going to Milan for a few months."

Beckham is going to AC Milan in January on loan for a two- to three-month stint during the Galaxy's off-season.

The Galaxy's last match was in late October and Beckham was left out of the England squad for last month's friendly against Germany because coach Fabio Capello deemed him not match-fit.

The 33-year-old former England skipper needs only one more appearance to equal Bobby Moore's 108 caps, the highest for an outfielder. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the record for the most England appearances with 125 caps.

Despite Beckham's hopes to keep playing, he was happy to talk about how he wanted to be remembered.

"I've always wanted to be known as a hard worker on the field and successful," he told a news conference.

"I believe I've always worked hard in every game and every training session that I take part in."

"I feel I've done everything to be successful in each club that I've been at," he said.

"I just want to be successful with the Galaxy now."

Beckham joined US Major League Soccer last year on a five-year contract reportedly worth 250 million US dollars after making his name at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

His Galaxy team is on its second visit to New Zealand in a year, last December beating the Wellington Phoenix in an exhibition match which attracted more than 31,000 fans.

Sales of tickets for Saturday's game have been slower, with only 15,000 sold by Wednesday.

AFP

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