Connolly: Beckham, MLS a good fit
The two have seemingly been linked for the length of each entity's existence. For the longest time, it seemed laughable. Beckham was one of the world's best players on the world's most revered sporting franchise -- Manchester United -- while MLS was looked at as a nice league for Americans, past-their-prime stars and young Caribbean and Central American prospects who weren't able to sign on with a European side.
More recently, the union between the two at least seemed like a possibility, but someday down the line. Perhaps it would happen after Beckham experienced another run at a Champions League medal with Real Madrid or after a triumphant return to one of the Big Four clubs in the English Premier League.
But in 2007, when he is only 31 years old and still capable of changing outcomes of games with one swing of his magical right foot on a free kick or via a seeing eye whipped ball to the back of the six? Not a chance.
Right?
You have to hand it to Phil Anschutz, Don Garber, MLS, Alexi Lalas, the Galaxy, and anyone else who played a hand in today's blockbuster signing -- and I'm assuming there are many -- of the former English captain. They got it done despite so many obstacles being against them.
David and Victoria Beckham may love the West Coast, hobnobbing with the Cruises and the idea of living away from a continent that neither celebrity can walk down the street in without having paparazzi in their glossy faces. But that doesn't make for an easy move from one of the most famous clubs in soccer history to a league that has been in existence for 11 years. The impending transfer from Real Madrid to the Galaxy likely took hard sell over hard sell over hard sell.
If Beckham was looking for money, there are clubs in other leagues that would've given him a blank check just for the publicity his signing would bring. There are sheiks in Qatar and Saudi Arabia who make Chelsea's Roman Abramovich and Man U's Malcolm Glazer look like blue-collar schmoes.
If Beckham was looking for glory, he would have signed with a team that has a chance to win a Champions League title in the next two or three years.
And if Beckham was looking to get back into his national team, he would have signed with a club in England to prove something to Steve McClaren between now and Euro '08.
While the Beckham brand name will not exactly take a hit in the shadows of Hollywood and the adidas execs in Oregon will find a way to get his jersey and cleats on every club-aged kid in America, his move to MLS also has a little bit to do with -- drum roll, please -- soccer. It's the one aspect of his life that hasn't been under his control as of late.
Beckham is worshipped by most every female walking the planet. He has the type of power and influence where he could single-handedly start a new fashion trend by combing his hair differently one morning. He already has more money than he'll ever spend. He has achieved a level of worldwide fame that only Pele has ever reached in this sport. And he has the girl of his -- and most every other man's -- dreams.
But he doesn't have a starting role on Real Madrid and he doesn't have a place in the England national team. By coming to MLS, he assures himself a chance to play the game he loves, knowing full well that one or two other internationals won't be brought in specifically to beat him out for his position the way it has been at Real Madrid as of late. He also won't be the whipping boy when things go wrong, as was the case in England for a long time.
Next summer should be quite the spectacle. MLS has seen the likes of Carlos Valderrama, Roberto Donadoni, Youri Djorkaeff, Lothar Matthaus and Hristo Stoitchkov pass through its doors since 1996. They created buzz, had their own media following from their native lands, and attracted attention at every stop they made. But only Pele's jaunt through the NASL in the '70s will be similar to the attention that Beckham's presence will incite.
As for on-the-field production, Becks will look to emulate what Valderrama, Donadoni and someone like Peter Nowak were able to do, and what Matthaus failed to do. That is, come in and up the level of the match almost instantly, proving that the game he plays is in a stratosphere higher than both his teammates -- even Landon Donovan -- and every one of his opponents.
Beckham cannot allow a young U.S. player like Justin Mapp to outplay him on his side of the field or look ordinary against an Andy Dorman. He will be expected to perform on a daily basis without taking games off - not when a place like Giants Stadium swells to 60,000 fans on a Saturday night from 10,000 three nights before when another team was in town.
Right down to the day he retired in 2002 as a 41-year-old, Valderrama played a different game than anyone in MLS. He was that good during his seven years in the league. His 114 assists in only 175 games is still a league record. To put it into proper perspective, Steve Ralston will likely break this record over the next two years having played nearly twice as many matches.
During Nowak's five years with Chicago, there were only one or two players at any given time that other head coaches around the league would take on his side over the fiery central midfielder. He willed Bob Bradley's Fire to a championship in 1998, and influenced a gaggle of future U.S. national team standouts such as Chris Armas, Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley and Josh Wolff with his intellect, training habits and leadership qualities.
Both Donadoni and Djorkaeff showed their class in their respective brief careers in MLS, yet were both mired on troubled teams in New York under multiple head coaches. Stoitchkov also had his moments with Chicago during his first two seasons in MLS, yet exited after a less-than-stellar final two years, which included a tumultuous final campaign with D.C. United in 2003.
As for Matthaus, well, he was 39 years old by the time he played his first match for the MetroStars, and seemed to go into cruise control mode shortly after taking residence in his lair along Central Park.
Beckham now becomes the latest name in Major League Soccer's roll call of world stars, immediately vaulting himself to the top of the list. He is not a take charge player or leader like a Nowak, and he is not a one-of-a-kind talent like Valderrama. Instead, David Beckham is a gifted midfielder with more grit than his GQ looks would lead you to believe, and a player who has the ability to change the game on dead-ball situations and through his passing. He is not a one-man show in the least bit. His success will come if Nate Jaqua can find space in the box to get on the end of his serves and if Donovan plays like the player we saw win three MLS Cup titles in a five-year span.
The Galaxy is the perfect place for Beckham to roam, too. He'll be playing on a flawless field that is as wide as they come, and in a stadium that still smells like a brand-new car. He'll have a boss in Alexi Lalas who will purposely be controversial if it means that it'll take the focus off of his team's superstar for a day or two during a rough stretch. And he'll be playing for a coach that has played as a professional in England and knows how to deal with athletes as well as anyone in MLS.
In other words, if Beckham needs a day off, Yallop will grant him it before he even has to ask. Think that happens with Fabio Capello?
Maybe this is the type of treatment that Beckham needs right now to help resurrect his career and reinvent himself a bit after a non-spectacular run in Spain or at the international level since leaving Old Trafford in 2003. Maybe Beckham needs MLS as much as MLS needs him.
David Beckham and Major League Soccer. It still hasn't set in yet.
Marc Connolly is the managing editor of ussoccerplayers.com and regularly writes for MLSnet.com. Marc can be reached at marc@oakwoodsoccer.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs
