They are played over 70 minutes with 15 players on each side. He cautioned: "Football fever is running high." Tomorrow's game carries no overt political associations, although since both teams are from Northern Ireland it has been humorously described as "the first British GAA final".The all-northern final is viewed as proof Gaelic sports in the north have surged forward after decades of domination by southern counties such as Kerry and Dublin.Although Armagh won the cup last year, Tyrone are slight favourites this time, largely because of Peter Canavan, a player who is regarded as one of the outstanding forwards of his generation.Compared with association football, Gaelic football matches are quicker and more crowded affairs. "Not only are they from the same province but they are neighbouring counties which adds to the tension."A Belfast police spokesman appealed for fans of both sides to enjoy the game "enthusiastically but responsibly". Tickets have been raffled on radio for €1,000 (£680).The last time so many people travelled south was in 1979, when tens of thousands went to see Pope John Paul II at Drogheda in County Louth."It's the biggest game ever played in Ulster football," said one commentator. "At the final last year I had to have a doctor sitting with me," he said.Fewer than 10,000 tickets were allocated at first to Tyrone and Armagh but the two sets of supporters are still expected to form the bulk of the 79,000 crowd. Supporters recently voted for their favourite in a local radio "Tyrone-o-vision song contest".Seamus McDonnell, the man whose sheep are now bright orange and the uncle of an Armagh player, explained: "I'm getting plenty of funny looks but it's something I had to do.

Police on both sides of the border are taking special measures to keep traffic moving.The build-up to the game has been intense. Teams from Northern Ireland have fared poorly in Gaelic football and the unprecedented pairing has caught the imagination of many beyond usual sporting circles.In Tyrone and Armagh, lorries and even sheep have been painted in the team colours. Ireland has seen nothing like it since the Pope visited. He lacks Ronaldo's explosive power of acceleration, they say, but needs only a minute to recover a normal heartbeat after a burst of effort.Press interest, however, complicates Beckham's life. British newspapers criticised Beckham for arriving back at his hotel after midnight three times in the last fortnight, El Mundo complained incredulously yesterday: "Last Sunday, we learn, he was out drinking until four in the morning with his team-mates and 'a group of girls!' "El Mundo made it clear that Spaniards consider such behaviour completely normal.Spaniards see Beckham adapting to Madrid, on and off the pitch, and love him for it..

"He organises, he helps out in attack and defence, he is physical and he knows how to show his effort. When he heads for the showers, his jersey is covered with mud and green streaks."Beckham, who arrived last month with the aura of a movie star, is an industrious worker, Torres concludes. Carlos Queiroz, his coach, who worked with him at Manchester United says: "He's a born runner, a fighter." But Spanish football observers believe, none the less, that Beckham's strategy is deliberate: he thinks fans will love him more if he plays his heart out, and he is, they say, desperate to please.Beckham's physical stamina impresses even Real Madrid's doctors. At this rate he'll wear himself out running for the rest of us." The club's latest statistical analyses confirm the impression: Beckham runs more kilometres per match than any other player."Fans at the Bernabeu watch in awe as Beckham assumes the role of 'captain general'," wrote Diego Torres, Real correspondent for El Pais newspaper yesterday.

"You can see he's making an effort," said Capi, the Real Betis striker. "Perhaps he's trying to show people that he's not just a footballer for the marketing men."A fellow Real Madrid player is astonished by Beckham's ability to cover the ground: "Beckham is the one who runs the most. He watched Milan's victory in the Champions' League final against Juventus in May from the substitutes' bench at Old Trafford.. It was also a personal decision."The forward, part Brazil's World Cup-winning team in Japan and South Korea last year, joined Milan from Barcelona on a free transfer at the start of last season but has struggled to make an impact. "I understood at Ancona, where I was left on the bench for the whole game," he said.