June 16 (Bloomberg) -- As Manchester United fans face up to the probability of starting the England soccer season without David Beckham, the club's lower-profile stars are looking ahead to the prospect of playing alongside Brazilian flair.

Coach Alex Ferguson wants to jettison a player who scored 86 goals in 387 matches, helped United to 10 trophies and was voted the world's second-best footballer in 1999 and 2001. In his place, according to newspaper reports, United is courting another attacking midfielder -- Ronaldinho of Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil's World Cup-winning team.

Ferguson is looking to join the sport's elite rank of coaches who have won the Champions League, Europe's most prestigious club trophy, more than once. He last hoisted the trophy in 1999. Although Beckham's glamorous image buoys the club's earnings, the limited fare of his whipped crosses and angled passes is hampering the team's ability to compete with top clubs such as AC Milan.

``Without Beckham they may not play such a strict system,'' said Alan Smith, a former Arsenal and England striker now an analyst for Sky Sports. ``It would make them less predictable.''

Beckham signed for United as a 16-year-old trainee in 1991 and is now probably on his way to Spain.

United had agreed to sell him to Barcelona provided Joan Laporta won the club's presidential election. Although Laporta won yesterday's vote, Beckham's advisers don't want to meet him. Spanish newspapers say record nine-time European champion Real Madrid is planning a bid worth 30 million pounds ($50 million.)

Not Enough

The England captain, who mostly plays in right midfield although he prefers a more central role, has helped United dominate the Premier League. It's won eight titles in 11 seasons. Away from England, the team has made one Champions League final in the same period. It's lifted the European Cup twice -- five teams have won more.

``Winning it twice isn't enough,'' Ferguson said after clinching the latest league title. ``It's become as important as anything in football.''

After April's quarterfinal defeat by Madrid, Ferguson said success would only come with a team whose players take the ball past opponents. While Madrid has Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Raul and Zinedine Zidane, Ferguson said, Ryan Giggs is United's sole exponent of the art.

Brazil's Ronaldinho would add to United's firepower, according to the club's top striker Ruud van Nistelrooij. His dribble a third of the length of the field led to Brazil's crucial goal to make it 1-1 in last year's World Cup quarterfinal against England. He then scored the winner. And at 23, he's five years younger than Beckham.

All the Way

``He will give us a better chance of going all the way in the Champions League,'' Van Nistelrooij, the Premiership's top scorer last season with 25 goals, told the United Web site. ``A player like this will only make the team better.''

According to soccer statistician Opta Index, Beckham's crosses and corners were the most successful in England's top division last season. He didn't feature in its top 10 dribblers.

Though Beckham scored twice in United's 4-3 win against Real at Old Trafford, his performance against Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos in the 3-1 defeat in Spain a fortnight earlier meant he started the match as a substitute.

Roberto Carlos also overshadowed Beckham in previous Champions League meetings and contributed to Ferguson's view that the threat from wide players is too easily snuffed out in elite soccer.

Ronaldinho, though, has the ability to unlock even the most miserly of defenses, according to Madrid's two-time world player of the year Zinedine Zidane.

Pure Class

``Ronaldinho is total class -- a very, very great player,'' the French midfielder said. ``He is a dribbler but is also a player who can make the play for his teammates.''

Ferguson had moved to address the inability to breach top defenses from central positions in July 2001, buying Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio for 28 million pounds. Veron's game, like Beckham's, is based on passing rather than running with the ball.

After training, the pair often spend a few minutes practicing long, raking passes across the field. Ferguson, though, needs more incision from his squad.

Ferguson may employ the Brazilian as a supporting striker behind Van Nistelrooij. Behind the front pair, there are attacking midfielders in Giggs, who can play centrally and on the left, and England's Paul Scholes, who's scored 101 goals in 367 games for the club.

Midfield Muscle

If Giggs played on the left of a diamond-shaped midfield with Scholes in the advanced position, Veron could play on the right, though further in-field than Beckham.

This formation would leave Roy Keane to play as the defensive anchorman, a less adventurous position for the 31-year-old captain who's had knee and hip operations. Such a structure would leave no room for Beckham but may make United less vulnerable to attack.

``With that sort of lineup, Ferguson can muscle the midfield for European games,'' Smith said.

Whatever his tactical options, the decision to offload Europe's highest-profile player is based on off-field considerations.

``It's more a case of wanting to cash in and rid the club of the media circus surrounding the player,'' Smith said.

Last Updated: June 16, 2003 04:40 EDT