Reuters Soccer Blog

Donovan must think hard about Everton move

Everton hope to complete the signing of Landon Donovan on loan from Major League Soccer’s L.A Galaxy, a move which has generated plenty of excitement among North American soccer fans.

The move makes a lot of sense for Everton manager David Moyes – it gives him no-risk attacking cover, particularly useful while Nigerian Yakubu Aiyegbeni is away throughout January at the African Nations Cup. What is less obvious is why a short term loan spell is a good move for Donovan.

The move is being reported as similar to Donovan’s L.A team mate David Beckham’s temporary switch to AC Milan but there is a major difference in the circumstances facing the two players.

Beckham is pushing himself through a gruelling 16 month non-stop season with no real rest because he has been forced into that situation by England manager Fabio Capello. The Italian has told the midfielder that he must be playing in Europe and be able to prove his form and fitness if he wants to make the World Cup squad.

Donovan is in an entirely different position and it is odd that he would consider copying Beckham. Donovan’s place in the U.S squad is absolutely secure and his coach Bob Bradley would be the last person urging him to go and play in Europe during a period of the year when MLS players are supposed to be recovering ahead of the new season.

What is driving Donovan’s possible move is not the World Cup or any thoughts about the U.S national team but his own lack of satisfaction with his club career.

Despite being the U.S’s all-time scorer and the winner of countless domestic awards, Donovan has yet to prove himself on the international scene. He has had three attempts at breaking into the Bundesliga (twice with Bayer Leverkusen and last year’s loan with Bayern Munich) and on three occasions he has been sent packing back to America having failed to make the grade.

Are you ready for MLS Cup?

Major League Soccer’s finale, MLS Cup, takes place on Sunday in Seattle and (perhaps surprisingly to some) the game between L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake will be broadcast in over 120 countries.

For the benefit of those fans outside of the States, who might be tuning in to watch David Beckham play for the Galaxy (or perhaps admire the intelligent midfield play of Real’s Clint Mathis?) and aren’t familiar with MLS or it’s final, here are some answers to the kind of questions you might be asking yourself as you sit down on the sofa and get ready for…

Well no, not really a Cup final. Officially the game is known as ‘MLS Cup’ (or Copa MLS in the league’s Spanish language literature) but unlike say every other Cup final in the world, this is not the final game of a knockout Cup competition. No, this is the game which decides the league champions of MLS.

But what about the team who finish top of the league table? Aren’t they the champions?

What league table? There is no single league table in MLS. The 15 team league has two league tables for the two conferences – East and West. The top two teams from each conference alongside four teams with the next best record in the league overall go into a knockout playoff format and this is the final game of that process.

Ah, so it’s like the NFL’s Super Bowl then, or the World Series. MLS Eastern Conference champions v MLS Western Conference champions?

Jeers and loathing in Los Angeles for Beckham

He was supposed to be the man who would take soccer in the United States to the next level yet David Beckham is in danger of becoming an embarrassing liability to the game in the country.

On a weekend when 65,000 people turned out for a friendly match in Seattle, 82,000 watched a Gold Cup game in Dallas and the U.S. national team continued their impressive form with another victory, the soccer news was all about Beckham being booed by his own fans.

The fans wrote their own headlines — “Go Home Fraud” read one bluntly worded banner draped over a section of the Galaxy stadium while another made the point in a more eloquent manner: “Hey Becks, here before you, here after you, here despite you”.

American soccer fans were not supposed to be following L.A Galaxy despite Beckham — the plan was they would fall in love with the team because of the celebrity midfielder.

A significant section of the L.A. fans have turned against Beckham for one simple reason — he turned his back on them.

Beckham’s decision to spend the Major League Soccer (MLS) off-season, from January to March, playing on loan for AC Milan in Italy, was grudgingly accepted at the time it was announced. When he decided to stay until the end of the Serie A season and so miss the first half of the MLS campaign it was a different matter.

Galaxy rewarded by playing hard ball over Beckham

So often in the past we have seen transfer deals go through simply because the player asks to leave. Clubs fear the players won’t play to their full potential if their wish is denied so they cave in and take the transfer fee.

But recently, some clubs have started fighting back against player power and have been rewarded.

David Beckham asked to stay at AC Milan permanently but Los Angeles Galaxy were having none of it, especially when the Italians first offered a low sum the Americans said was “ridiculous”.

Galaxy stuck to their guns and have managed to get Beckham back for at least July until November.

A similar story happened last year when fellow England midfielder Gareth Barry wanted to go to Liverpool but Aston Villa would not budge on their asking price. He is still at Villa and could stay for good if they make the Champions League this season.

Are we seeing a new hard ball approach from selling clubs?   

Beckham chooses Milan

David Beckham has surprised the many doubters among fans and pundits by scoring two goals in five starts for AC Milan and it looks increasingly likely he’ll be hanging around Serie A for a lot longer.

All in all, it’s turned into a very happy move for the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder 

Despite having said soccer was the sole reason behind the deal, the 33-year-old, still one of the most marketable men in sport, has also managed to revamp brand Beckham by stripping down with his “posh” wife Victoria for the Emporio Armani underwear advertising campaign.

Now, Beckham has finally come out and said what had been looking increasingly obvious: that he wants to stay on at Milan once his two-month loan period is up.

A deal could end up costing Milan a lot of money but certainly for the player the attraction is obvious: keeping his international career alive long enough to play for England at the 2010 World Cup.

Does it make as much sense for Milan? Will his lawyers be able to negotiate an exit from LA that’s acceptable to all? Will this bizarre love triangle, in the words of Jeffrey Marcus at the New York Times, finally be straightened out? We’ll find out by March 9, when the original loan deal is due to expire…

Can Beckham’s Milan love affair last?

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, AC Milan have fallen in love with David Beckham and it seems the attraction is mutual.

 ”Our wish is that he continues with us,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said after Beckham had scored his first Milan goal in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Bologna. “Beckham knows what our wish is.”

There has been enough daylight in Beckham’s recent comments too to suggest he might be persuaded to try to extend his two-month loan deal from Los Angeles Galaxy. ”We’ll see,” was all he would say to Italian media on Sunday but note he now isn’t ruling it out completely.

Beckham staying on in Milan is a pleasing thought. The Englishman has looked perfectly at home in Serie A thus far and his continued presence would make the 2010 World Cup in South Africa a realistic target for the former captain.

As everyone now knows, Beckham is not a man to be written off lightly. He showed great character to come back from a bad experience at the 1998 World Cup and regain the respect of everyone in the English game. He also managed to resurrect his Real Madrid career when that looked to have reached a premature end and he has proved that his England recall was richly deserved.

On the other hand, he has always seemed to be a man of his word when it comes to football and it would be out of character to go back on an agreement to return to Galaxy on March 9.