Reuters Soccer Blog

Beckham bashers have got it wrong

By Simon Evans in Miami

Television coverage of MLS’s opening game began with an attack on David Beckham from two television pundits and critics have continued to question whether the Englishman cares about the league or his club, LA Galaxy, Simon Evans says the Beckham bashing is off target.

The debate over David Beckham’s commitment to L.A Galaxy and Major League Soccer should have ended on November 22, 2009. On that rainy, cold day in Seattle, Beckham took a series of pain-killing injections, wrapped up his injured ankle in bandage and went out to face Real Salt Lake on the unforgiving artificial turf at Qwest Field.

It was hardly a vintage performance from the former Manchester United and England midfielder but he grafted for 90 minutes and then a further 30 minutes of extra-time in an ultimately failed attempt to win the MLS Cup for his team. Then, limping off the field, he walked into the Salt Lake locker-room to congratulate hiss opponents on their title before heading into his own changing room where he complied with American standards and stood to take questions from the waiting media. Invited by this reporter to pass comment on playing a championship game on a plastic pitch with a damaged ankle, Beckham showed his usual diplomacy by evading the temptation to criticise a playing surface which is designed for American football and not the global game.

That MLS Cup game had come at the end of a year in which Beckham had to deal with the fallout from a book which discussed the difficulties he and L.A Galaxy had in developing a working relationship. In Grant Wahl’s behind-the-scenes book, ”The Beckham Experiment” he was criticised for not picking up the check for the entire team’s dinner and a series of other offences in a fascinating account which, as one former MLS player put it to me, could have been subtitled “Why Landon Donovan Doesn’t Like Being Overshadowed by David Beckham”. The former Real Madrid title winner was offended that Donovan had questioned his professionalism and the rift between the two took some work and time to heal. But that night in Seattle, even American soccer’s favourite son was fulsome in his praise for his English team-mate. “This guy has been hurt or sick for probably the last six or seven games but he gets on with it and he plays. That’s helped our team a lot,” said Donovan.

The question marks over whether Beckham was truly giving his all for the Galaxy and the MLS came back again a few months later though, when, desperate to get a place in the World Cup with England, Beckham went on loan to AC Milan and suffered a serious Achilles injury which wrecked any hopes of a trip to the World Cup and also ruled him out of most of the forthcoming MLS season. Some Galaxy fans, understandably wondered why their player was even on the field for another club. It was a fair question and one which could also have been put to the Galaxy’s ownership – they could after all have blocked any deal after all. But the critics had a point — Beckham’s intentions certainly had nothing to do with the Galaxy and everything to do with his personal ambitions.

Ten things to watch for in the new MLS season

YOUNG AMERICANS MLS’s foreign imports have grabbed most of the headlines over the past few years, understandably given the name recognition of players such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry, but one of the most fascinating aspects of this season will be the progress of a new generation of American players on the fringe of the national team. Sporting KC striker Teal Bunbury and New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo are fancied by many as a future pairing for Bob Bradley’s team but they will need to deliver week-in-week-out in MLS. Red Bulls defender Tim Ream had an excellent first year and will likely be scouted heavily by European clubs this season. Portland Timbers attacker Darlington Nagbe was born in Liberia but is seeking naturalization and there is a lot of buzz about his potential.

DIG THE NEW BREED The Pacific North-West should provide plenty of lively derby action this year with the Seattle Sounders, the best-supported team in the league, joined by two new teams — local rivals Portland Timbers and Northern neighbours Vancouver Whitecaps. Both clubs are technically ‘expansion franchises’ but don’t confuse them with recent creations such as the Philadelphia Union and Real Salt Lake who started from scratch. Both the Timbers and the Whitecaps existed in the old NASL and continued in second tier soccer up until last season. Both have good fan-bases who expect an instant impact. Both were able to build upon their backroom and on-field staff from the second tier. In short – both are more like typical promoted teams in European leagues – they have to step up to a new level on the field and can expect some fresh impetus off the field. It should be fascinating to watch how they fare in their first season with the big boys. Who will make the bigger impact? SHINY, HAPPY PEOPLE? The Kansas City Wizards were not one of MLS’s big success stories having averaged crowds of around 10,000 for most of their existence – initially playing at the 80,000 capacity Arrowhead Stadium, home to the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and then at a cozier but not-very soccer friendly minor-league baseball park. This season all that changes. The rather silly-sounding Wizards name has been dropped in favour of Sporting Kansas City – mocked by some as being a pretentious Euro-wannabe name (Sporting Club being a historic team in Lisbon, Portugal) but surely an upgrade on the Wizards? This season the team also move into their own, shiny new, purpose built 18,500 venue – Livestrong Sporting Park. The venue isn’t quite ready so the first eight games of the season for Sporting will be on the road but it will be interesting to see if the rebrand and the new home manage to attract more fans. That certainly helped New York Red Bulls last year – when they moved into Red Bull Arena their average home gate rose from 12,229 to 18,441.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK? This is MLS’s 16th year and still New York hasn’t won a title. Not in their earlier Metrostars garb and not in the current Red Bulls set-up. But with former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry ready for his first full season and having put his fitness problems behind him, the Red Bulls should mount a serious challenge this year. 18-year-old Agudelo and Jamaican winger Dane Richards provide some exciting pace up front while Ream and Mexican Rafa Marquez, formerly of Barcelona, should be the best central defensive pairing in MLS. Some Scandinavian solidity in midfield, recruited by Swedish head coach Hans Backe, makes the Red Bulls, on paper at least, among the favourites.

GOLDEN YEARS The polite way to describe the L.A Galaxy would be to say they are team that draws heavily on experienced veterans. A less complimentary approach would say they are old. David Beckham is 36 in May and he’ll be the main force in midfield providing the ammunition for 35-year-old Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel. Defenders Gregg Berhalter and Frankie Hejduk are 37 and 36 year old respectively. Landon Donovan, 29, appears a mere kid in that company. Experienced (there we go again) head coach Bruce Arena is banking on all the know-how delivering a MLS Cup this year. Of course, behind the big names with most birthdays, are a bunch of younger players who will be expected to provide the hard-running and the pace. Omar Gonzalez at the back, Brazilian midfielder Juninho and Argentine Paolo Cardozo are all players to keep an eye on this year. Will the mix be right or is Arena or over-doing it with the old boys? We will find out soon enough.

COLOMBIAN CLASS Much has been made of MLS’s attempts to woo the huge Mexican soccer audience in North America though signings such as Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Rafa Marquez and the whole Chivas USA experiment. But the Spanish speaking population in the United States is a diverse one and the large Colombian communities dotted around the country have plenty of their own talent to watch this year. Creative midfielder David Ferreira of FC Dallas was the league’s MVP last year, Freddy Montero of Seattle Sounders is a joy to watch at times with his light-footed touch and sharp movement, Jamison Olave was voted 2010 Defender of the Year for his powerful contributions at centre-half for Real Salt Lake. Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon will be 40 in June but after playing all over the world he brings some valuable experience to a Philadelphia Union team that had problems in that position last year. Less well known, but highly-rated by those who have seen him – 18 year old Fabian Castillo who has signed with FC Dallas and whose pace could cause some problems for opposition defences.

DUTCH COURAGE? Toronto FC have been one of MLS’s biggest successes off the field but an acute disappointment for their fans on it. That has to change this year, said the clubs owners, who hired Juergen Klinsmann – the former Germany manager and eternal candidate for the USA job – to headhunt them some new coaching talent. Klinsmann’s consulting resulted in the hiring of Aaron Winter as head coach, coming in from Ajax’s youth academy. If Winter is half as good at coaching as he was at bossing the midfield in his days with Ajax and Lazio, then Toronto is in for some good times. If he can bring just a flavor of the Ajax passing style to the Canadian club, then fans who lamented the over-reliance on a direct style, will be satisfied. The big question though – is there enough quality in the squad to play fluent football or even to be competitive?

10 things to watch out for in the new MLS season

The 15th Major League Soccer season kicks off on Thursday as fans thankfully turn their thoughts from collective-bargaining agreements and guaranteed contracts, to action on the field, safe in the knowledge that the only strikers making the news this week will be those who score goals.

Others will make their judgments on the deal that avoided a strike — but what is certain is that the new five-year contract and modest salary structure ensures not only that MLS will start on Thursday (Seattle Sounders host the Philadelphia Union) but also that it will enter its 20th year in much the same status as it began its first – a league featuring a surprising number of good players, being paid a surprisingly low amount of money.

But anyway, this writer too has had enough of all the financial and contractual talk and rather is looking forward to the start of the new season. Here are ten things to keep an eye on this year:

1. Philadelphia Union – a brand new franchise to finally give the enthusiastic supporters club who preceded them, the Sons of Ben, something to cheer about. With the canny Pole Peter Nowak as head coach, the Union will be well prepared but they lack a proven prolific goalscorer and are relying on the unpredictable (but superbly named) Brazilian midfielder Fred for their inspiration. Expect workmanlike solidity, the odd upset and perhaps some sparkling moments from their number one draft pick Danny Mwanga, who could get more playing time than most rookies.

2. New York Red Bulls – with a shiny new stadium and an experienced new coach, the Austrian owners also hope for a new vibe around one of MLS’s most disappointing franchises. Last year saw abysmal crowds and performances to match. Red Bull’s success this year will be measured more in terms of tickets sold than goals scored but Swedish coach Hans Backe has been trying to drill some shape into the formation. Bustling Belgian Ibrahim Salou has been signed to partner the prolific Colombian Juan Pablo Angel in attack.

3. Kyle Beckerman – The dreadlocked Real Salt Lake captain was outstanding in the MLS Cup final win over the LA Galaxy at the end of last season but needs to get off to a great start this time if he is to earn a place in Bob Bradley’s U.S squad for the World Cup finals. Beckerman has the quality most sorely lacking in MLS midfielders – composure. The U.S national team could do with some of that as well.

4. Strikers – Bob Bradley needs to find at least one to settle on for the World Cup. Houston’s Brian Ching and Colorado’s Conor Casey are two big target men who are in contention for the slot alongside Jozy Altidore for the U.S but there is such a lack of real firepower that the field is pretty open for any American forward to make a blistering start to the season. Is there any hidden talent out there in the MLS?

Big decisions loom for growing MLS

Major League Soccer shows plenty of signs of good health and progress but beneath the surface the North American league has some critical decisions to make over its future direction.

After a week of largely upbeat build-up and nationwide publicity for a sport that so often struggles to get space, the league’s title deciding game, MLS Cup, was played out in front of over 46,000 fans here in Seattle – the city that is staking a strong claim to be the de facto home of U.S soccer.

“It was a memorable night for soccer in the United States,” said league commissioner Don Garber.

Strolling through the squares of downtown Seattle, packed with fans bedecked in team colours and chatting to the soccer-savvy locals, it was hard not to imagine how the sports scene in the U.S could change if the Seattle experience truly was replicated across the country.

David Beckham and L.A Galaxy didn’t get their title, losing on penalties to Real Salt Lake, but they did both earn some respect.

Beckham has surely put to bed the argument that he is not fully committed to his MLS project by playing through the pain barrier of a badly bruised ankle for 120 minutes and since Bruce Arena took over as head coach, the Galaxy feel like a real team rather than the circus act they were in danger of becoming.

Salt Lake won the league in just their fifth season of existence – a real boost for the trio of new teams about to enter MLS, Philadelphia in 2010, Vancouver and Portland a year later and encouraging also for other teams in the league without a big name foreign player.

Beckham’s return to AC Milan confirmed

David Beckham will tread a familiar path once the MLS season is over, joining AC Milan on loan again for a five-month loan spell from January.

Milan have just announced the deal on their website (just in Italian for now), meaning any lingering hopes Premier League clubs had of changing the England midfielder’s mind have finally been dashed.

Milan sound thrilled:

“We are very happy to David Beckham in the red and black shirt again after the splendid experience of last season,” Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani told www.acmilan.com.

“We are sure that this period in Europe will help the player to take part in the next World Cup and then to continue his career at Los Angeles Galaxy, whom we thank for their help.”

Beckham’s main target is obviously the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as the Milan chief hints. Wonder if he’ll be on the plane…

PHOTO: Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham walks on the field during Game 1 of their MLS Cup western conference semifinal soccer playoff series against Chivas USA in Carson, California, November 1, 2009. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Barcelona’s American dream comes to nothing

The prospect of former Real Madrid player David Beckham lining up against a new Barcelona-Miami franchise was a soccer marketing man’s dream — the most marketable man in the game against one of the biggest team brands, playing in the ‘capital of the Americas’.

A couple of months ago that scenario looked on the cards, with Beckham tied into a long-term deal with the L.A Galaxy and Barcelona’s Miami bid for a 2011 MLS expansion slot widely considered a ‘shoe in’.

Now, though, Barcelona’s bid is dead in the water  and Beckham, enjoying his football with Milan in Serie A, is doing his utmost to avoid having to return to the U.S.

MLS, Barcelona and Miami-based Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure made a joint announcement that cited “adverse market conditions” as the reason behind the decision to halt their bid.

No specifics were mentioned although one has to wonder whether Barca and Claure were put off by MLS’s $40 million expansion fee. It takes a lot of money to set up a professional soccer operation and to hand over that amount of cash, as a membership fee, in the current economic climate, could be viewed as a deterrent.

If you read MLS Commissioner Don Garber, however – and it was not so long ago that he said the Miami bid was taking the expansion process to “the next level” – you have the impression it was the league that pulled the plug on the ambitious project.

“We are convinced Miami is a soccer market but we are not convinced it is an MLS market at this point and for the stability of the league we had to make sure we made a smart decision that didn’t come back to haunt us later,” he said.