Champions League Overshadowed

Today’s post was supposed to be a brief recap of the action in Matchday One of the Champions League. And it certainly wasn’t a bad two days. We saw Arsenal absolutely dominate a very good Seville team, (the gooners might now very well be favorites for the cup, as well as other trophies) Thierry Henry score his first for Barca, Manchester United squeak by Sporting in a snoozer, and we watched Real Madrid do what it has done for the past eight months: turn on the jets in the second half and outlast the competition.

All of this has been overshadowed, however, by the most shocking result so far: Chelsea drawing with lowly Rosenborg at home in front of a half-empty stadium that had seemingly become bored by their home team. Or, to be more specific, the Champions League was overshadowed by what seems to be the direct result of that match. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has resigned.

Although there have been rumors circulating about Mourinho leaving Chelsea for quite some time now, the particular timing of the resignation could not be more shocking. Yes, it’s true that Chelsea have not been getting the results they wanted in the Premiership, and the draw in Europe was a bad omen, as was the sparse attendance. But with key players injured and Manchester United hosting on Sunday, this was the worst time for Mourinho to walk away (or be pushed away; details of what exactly happened will surely become clearer in a few days). Avram Grant has taken over the club for now; he has a “good guy, good coach” reputation but we don’t know much about him.

So this could be, at the very least, a short-term problem for Chelsea. They are already a little behind in the standings and missing key players Drogba and Fat Frank. Dropping three points at Old Trafford on Sunday could drive them out of the top four for the first time in recent memory.

That situation will bear watching, as will considerations about Mourinho’s time in London as a whole. I, for one, have mixed feelings abut the man the press insists on referring to either as “The Special One” or, perhaps even more stupidly, as “The Portuguese,” as if the newsmen from The Sun had never met someone from Portugal before. On one hand, I sort of liked Mourinho personally (not that I knew him, but from afar); he was smart, funny, and spoke his mind. He also obviously won, which is kind of the point of football in the first place.

But Mourinho was also increasingly making me despair. His version of football was getting grimmer and grimmer, as his team ground out one 1-0 win after another. It got to the point for me personally that I couldn’t stand watching Chelsea; I really can’t tell you the last time I watched an entire Chelsea match. Reportedly, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich first wanted to buy a football team after watching the now-legendary Real Madrid-Manchester United Champions League match in 2003 in which David Beckham came off the bench to score two goals, a game so good that Beckham ran into the locker to get an extra jersey so he could swap shirts with more than one player. Obviously, Abramovich loves attacking football, and he wasn’t getting it with Chelsea. Mourinho, for his part, was clearly getting players he didn’t want (like Andy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack) and felt he was getting undercut by front-office men brought in by Abramovich.

So the Mourinho era is over at Stamford Bridge. For all the boring games, I will miss Jose. As he once said, however, he will simply take some time off, watch professional wrestling with his son (Jose is a huge fan of the WWE, bizarrely) and then get another million-dollar contract to coach another team. Chelsea, on the other hand, must now see if they can continue the winning tradition they only so recently started.

Beckham: Progress Report

It has now been almost two months since David Beckham officially joined the Los Angeles Galaxy and became a part of the MLS. Since this was easily the most newsworthy thing to happen to American league football since Pele left, I thought this would be a good time to see how things are going. Beckham’s arrival was supposed to change American soccer, and turn all of us into Football Fanatics. How’s it going so far?

The Good:

1). First and foremost, David Beckham, when he has played, has been very good. The Galaxy look like a different team when he is on the field (in other words, not awful) and Beckham himself looks like he is close to being the best player in the MLS already. Beckham’s ability to make lesser players around him look better is good for him personally and good for the MLS and American soccer as a whole.

2). David Beckham has made a lot of people (including himself) lots and lots of money in the few weeks he has been over here. Reportedly, the LA Galaxy has already earned back his salary on shirt sales alone. One would hope this would encourage other MLS owners to bring big stars over to play in the U.S.

3). David Beckham has brought a lot of attention to the game, just as everyone thought he would. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and has been responsible for tons and tons of ticket sales. When he has played, people seem to really enjoy watching him. His beautiful free kick against D.C. United is an iconic moment that played on sports reports across the country, something that doesn’t happen to often in America.

4). By all accounts, Beckham is a nice person who treats everybody with kindness and decency. He is as good an ambassador for the game as one could find.

The Bad:

1). He has been injured. A lot. He missed his first few games because of injury, came back in fits and starts, injured himself again, flew to England and played 90 minutes for the national team, injured himself again, and then finally seriously injured himself again last night playing in a silly tournament concocted to pit MLS teams against Mexican clubs. Any publicity momentum from his signing is long gone; America has turned its attention elsewhere, and the MLS may have a hard time getting it back.

2). Beckham’s selectivity in deciding where to play has been disappointing. He played in Washington, D.C. (which has natural turf) then claimed he was “injured” again for the New England Revolution game, which has artificial turf. He was remarkably healed again in time to play the New York Red Bulls the next week. He later disappointed fans the same way in Colorado. Doing this has earned him more detractors than he probably needs.

3). Beckham’s intense dedication to the English national team is admirable, but in doing so he has made the MLS (and by extension their fans) seem as if they are far less important to him. For example, Beckham flew 4,000 miles to play in an absolutely meaningless friendly in London. He then flies 4,000 miles back to L.A. to play a club game the next day, seemingly to prove how dedicated he is to his club. Doing this, of course, caused him to miss his next game, and probably led to his extended absence due to injury now. He should not have gone to England, as much as he wanted to. This may be the moronic Steve McClaren’s fault more than Beckham’s, but he is still left alienating American fans.

The Ugly:

I’ve written about this before, but the ugliest situation of all is how the MLS and the American clubs have tried to greedily cash in on the Beckham phenomenon with little regard for their own fans. Obviously, the MLS and teams in the league have been advertising Beckham’s arrival as bigger than anything that has happened to the MLS, and forcing their customers to pay for this “event.” As an example, consider what the Revolution did. I am most familiar with what the New England Revolution, as I am a season ticket holder. If one wanted to buy a ticket to the Beckham game (which was massively hyped by the Revs, who advertised Come See David Beckham, one had to purchase tickets to four games. Then, when Beckham announced he would not play (in retrospect, he was not as injured, probably, as he claimed) the Revs sanctimoniously announced that one buys a ticket to “see a team, not one person” which was entirely contrary to their advertising campaign throughout the season. To top it off, Beckham took the field in a tracksuit and most people in attendance (including myself) hoped he would play as a sub. The home announcer never let on that Beckham wouldn’t play, forcing the sell-out crown to stay, presumably to buy more beer and hot dogs.

I’m not picking on the Revs alone here. They have been undeniably sleazy by cashing in at the expense of gullible fans, but virtually every other club (and especially the Galaxy) has done the same. Beckham is largely uninvolved in this, but if he fully understood what was being done in his name, perhaps he would be less enthusiastic about the MLS.

The Grade (so far)

Beckham is a great player who has looked good when he has played. But it hasn’t been enough, and all the momentum from earlier this summer is lost. By cashing in with little regard for their fans, the MLS has looked exactly like the image it is trying to change: a small-time league pretending to be the big-time. Perhaps next year, which is probably the next time we will see David Beckham in a Galaxy shirt, they will get it right.

Busy Day of Friendlies

Today I spent a less-than active day parked in front of my television set watching internationals. Always hyped to the hilt, internationals can be a mixed bag: they can bring out the passion and excitement, but some matches (especially friendlies) tend to be bores. Here’s what transpired:

1:00pm: I started the day with the second half of the Portugal-Armenia game on Sentanta. The game was 1-1 in the first half and that’s how it finished. Not that I knew that while I was watching it: they never showed the game clock or the score during the second half, so I had only a vague idea the teams were tied. On top of that, because the game was played in Armenia, the footage was all grainy, like the Zapruder film. I kept waiting for the motorcade with JFK to go by. Perhaps Christiano Ronaldo was the second gunman?

2:00pm: After Portugal I switch over to watch the end of the Brazil-Algeria game. Saw Ronaldinho score. Spent most of the game fantasizing about the upcoming Brazil-USA friendly which will be played in Foxboro Stadium, my home soccer stadium. Will Kaka and the other big names come to Massachusetts? Ah, the drama.

2:30pm: Live on Fox Soccer Channel, its USA v. Sweden! My Dad, who watches part of the match with me, is positively startled by the size of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s nose. The game finishes 1-0 Sweden, but the US really doesn’t play all that badly. As with everyone else, they need to finish their chances. Benny Feilhaber continues to impress me.

5:00pm: The main event, England v. Germany. Kind of like World War Two, except without the bombings and the genocide and the whatnot. Germany wins 2-1, but England actually plays pretty well. Beckham, Micah Richards and fat Frank Lampard all look good for the Three Lions. Paul Robinson, er, does not. By the time the game has ended English columnists are already filing stories killing mildly-retarded England skipper Steve McClaren for flying Beckham 8,000 miles to play a full 90 minutes on a bum ankle for a friendly. If he then loses Beckham for the next three months (and thus blows his shot at qualifying for Europe) he really only has himself to blame.

Regardless, a rare fun of day of international friendlies. But back to business this weekend!

Mailbag and more on Beckham

Grant Wahl, the fine Sports Illustrated writer, has an occasional mailbag about U.S. Soccer which always has some fun tidbits. It can be found here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/grant_wahl/08/14/soccer.bag/index.html

I found his writing on Beckham to be particularly interesting this week, especially his take on the sleazy way the New England Revolution handled the whole thing. To quote Mr. Wahl:

Well, if you're talking about Beckham's on-field efforts, let's be honest: The guy has only played for 20 minutes in a competitive MLS game, and there's no denying that Beckham's lingering ankle injury has been a huge buzz-kill for ticket-buyers (like the ones in New England, who had to buy tickets for four games if they wanted to see Beckham, only to have Becks not dress for the game in Foxborough on Sunday).

Still, I try to bring the voice of reason to this column, and Beckham's standard line these days ("I'm here for five years") is worth remembering. It's not like he's faking the injury, after all, and he's in a tight spot.

Would Becks and the Galaxy have been better served if he'd stayed in L.A. to rehab his ankle instead of playing only 20 minutes on the Galaxy's three-game road trip?

Sure, but it would have been a p.r. disaster if Beckham hadn't at least been in the stadiums. (I do have a problem, however, with the fact that it was never announced to the fans in New England that Beckham was unavailable to play. It reeked of an attempt to keep people in the stands -- and buying concessions -- for as long as possible.)

I'm not trying to beat dead horse with this, but just point out that I'm not quite crazy.

Assorted Injury Bullshit, parts I & II

Last night the David Beckham Traveling Roadshow came to Foxboro, Massachusetts as the LA Galaxy took on the New England Revolution. I was there as always (I have season tickets) and can report that it was a strange, frustrating experience.

We left home early to get to the game. Normally, anywhere from 8-12,000 people attend regular season Revolution games. This means that I can normally arrive at the stadium ten minutes before kick-off, watch the game, and leave immediately afterwards. For David, however, we left two HOURS before the game, and it took us nearly an hour to get there. We were comfortably in our seats 45 minutes before the game. The Revs reported that 32,000 seats had been sold for the game.

David Beckham did not play. We did not know it in the stands, but he did not even dress for the game. (He was wearing a tracksuit that looked like his uniform.) He did not warm up, and only came out a few moments before kickoff. He signed autographs for children before the game and apparently signed more for a half-hour after the game ended. The crowd had a weird vibe, partially because so many of them seemed unfamiliar with soccer and partially because almost everyone expected Beckham to play at some point. When they showed Becks on the big screen in the 88^th minute, he was roundly booed.

The Revs won 1-0 on a nice Taylor Twellman goal, and thus there was a happy ending. But the crowd (and myself) were disappointed that Beckham didn’t play, especially as he played 20+ minutes in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night. I left a little disappointed that I didn’t see the big star and wondering if the Revs would ever get that kind of crowd again.

A few other thoughts from the evening:

• If there was any one element of the experience that was more frustrating that any other, it was the sanctimonious bullshit being slung by the Revs, the Galaxy, and the MLS. All we have heard from all three organizations since January was about David Beckham. As a Rev’s season ticket holder I can assure you I have received countless emails and ads proclaiming ‘Come see David Beckham!’ But when Beckham got hurt, the mantra changed, and weasels like Alexi Lalas started mouthing the line ‘You buy a ticket to see a team, not one man.’ Fair enough, but that makes the sleazy ad campaign deceiving and a bit frustrating. And extra sleaze props have to go to the New England Revolution, who made fans buy tickets to four games just to get a ticket to the Beckham match. Nice money-making scam, and I am quite sure no refunds will be offered.

• Some of the fans at the match were ridiculous. The crowd seemed largely split between those who openly wanted to see Beckham and those pretending to be fanatical Revs fans who spent most of the game screaming obscenities at the Englishmen. The problem was that I had never seen many of the “fanatical” Revs fans before, even though I have season tickets. I have a feeling these fanatics won’t be attending any more Revs game sin the future.

• Lastly, there’s Beckham himself. I like Beckham and am a fan. I also understand that there is nothing you can do about injuries, and that Beckham is not soft; if he isn’t playing, he’s genuinely hurt. He was also a good guy for signing all that stuff for the kids. But he made a rare faux-paux earlier in the week when he claimed he may not play in New England because of the artificial turf; a premonition that sadly came true. Beckham backtracked when he realized his mistake, but the truth is he knew this league had artificial turf when he signed up, and he is going to have to learn to play on it.

In other depressing injury news, Wayne Rooney broke his foot yesterday and is likely out for two months. I’m not a big Rooney fan, but I wanted to see him in that side, especially playing alongside handsome Carlos Tevez. Football is always more fun when the best players are on the field, so this is sad news for fans of the Premiership and Manchester United. Will Rooney turn into one of those players who has enormous promise but never quite fulfills it? He has had THREE broken foot bones in his young career, and could use some unbroken playing time. Come back soon, Roonster! We need some cheering up here at that Fan-atic!

More Spain

Here is an amusing column by CNN/SI columnist Greg Llalas on the whole Beckham/Real Madrid/LA Galaxy non-controversey that has been going around lately.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/greg_lalas/06/11/beckham.real/index.html

Not a Bad Day for David Beckham…

…although, honestly, he probably doesn’t have all that many to begin with, what with the millions of dollars and the playing football for a living and all. Still, this one was pretty good. First, he was the central part of his club, Real Madrid, winning today, keeping them in first place in la Liga. He did it by setting up two goals and generally commanding things from midfield. If you watched the match carefully you would note that he missed a hat-trick by about two feet, although he actually didn’t score at all; he banged a free kick off the post and rolled two other shots that passes within a foot of the outside post. So, all-in-all, it was a good game. Barca won as well today to keep pace, although Ronaldinho was given first dibs on the soap because of a red card and thus will not be playing next week. Just like this week (and the last few weeks) next weekend looks to be another great one in la Liga.

David Beckham was also called back up to the English national team today, a band of merry men he used to captain. Since Steve McClaren’s men presently could not beat the England U-13 girls squad, the coach thought it might be a good idea to bring back a guy who can do crazy things like complete short passes and, you know, cross the ball once in a while. Becks will get a shot during next week’s friendly against Brazil (meaningless but hopefully two tons of fun) and also their Euro 2008 qualifier versus Estonia. Better win that one, boys, or the crazy English press will REALLY get mad. And let’s all admit that it’s good to see Beckham back in the fold. I’m looking forward to getting him here in the states this summer.

Book Reviews Coming Soon

I received a nice email today from a reader asking when I plan on posting some new book reviews. In fact, I have been swallowed up by football books lately and plan on posting some new reviews soon.

Right now I am actually reading four books at once, largely because they are all so good: a biography of Eric Cantona, George Best’s latest autobiography, Paddy Agnew’s memoir of Italian football (Forza Italia), and Phil Ball’s book on David Beckham’s first year at Real Madrid. I will probably publish the Cantona review first, and then perhaps the Best autobiography review. I plan to review Agnew’s book alongside another great Italian memoir, Tobias Jones’s The Dark Heart of Italy (which isn’t entirely about football but is still fantastic.) Finally, I will probably review Phil Ball’s book much later, and will do another joint review along with Jimmy Burns’ When Beckham Went to Spain and John Carlin’s fantastic White Angles. It is almost absurd that three major books have been written about Beckham’s first year with Real Madrid, and it is shocking that all three are actually quite good. (And two of them are brilliant.) But that’s how popular David Beckham is. Safe to say we will probably see another slew of books covering his first year with the Galaxy. And, I promise, I will get to some reviews soon.

Everything’s coming up Football!

As a football fan, it is easy to have a lousy weekend. Your favorite club can drop its third game in a row; your team’s striker can be on a cold streak so pronounced he should move to Antarctica; or perhaps your team’s coach acts like an escapee from a mental institution. Hey, it happens.

However, every once in a while, everything comes up roses for the football fan. This weekend was one of those weekends for me. I follow a bunch of teams, allowing for lots and lots of bad things to happen, but everything came out aces. Here’s what transpired:

Real Madrid v. Real Sociedad (2pm, Saturday)

I started the day with my Spanish team, Real, perhaps because I am a glutton for punishment. Rumor was Real coach Fabio Cappello was a goner if the Whites dropped another game in a row. Amazingly, Cappello backtracked last week and announced he would not only play, but start David Beckham after banishing him in January when he signed his big contract with the Galaxy. Real went down 1-nil, but Beckham brought them back even in storybook fashion on a nice free kick. Good for Becks. Rudd van Nistleroy headed in the winner after the break, and the team closed out the game as if it were a collection of actual professional soccer players. Good start to the weekend.

Sheffield United v. Tottenham Hotspur (late night Saturday)

After a very fine Saturday evening spent with family and friends, I returned home to watch my favorite English club, Sheffield United, take on the Spurs and the jowls of their coach, Martin Jol, who looks, at this point, like he swallowed a whole pumpkin. Sheffield predictably goes down 1-nil on a sloppy throw-in after five minutes, and I settle in for an uncomfortable 85 minute stomach-ache while I contemplate relegation. However, and slightly more unpredictably, the Blades score two going away, the first off a Rob Hulse header and the second from a Phil Jagielka penalty kick. The later also has the benefit of justifying my decision to keep Jagielka on my fantasy team. Anyway, the Spurs play the second half like a team that is already contemplating where they are going to go golfing during the summer break. My boys aren’t free and clear yet, but they’re not in the relegation zone either. Also, I’m two for two this weekend.

Siena v. Cagliari (9am, Sunday)

I’ve been a big fan of Siena since I visited the gorgeous town with my wife this fall. I even purchased a Sienna club shirt which I wear on occasion. Anyway, good game here: Siena has had SERIOUS trouble scoring goals this season but scores two in this one to draw with Cagliari and keep them mid-table. Corvia’s first goal was particularly sweet. When watching the game, I was only able to see a few thousand spectators in the crowd; I assumed Cagliari’s stadium was one that was subject to the spectator ban. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The fans just didn’t give a shit. This has got to be worrying for Series A. I, however, will gladly take a draw, and thus consider myself three for three.

Fiorentina v. Udinese (midday Sunday)

Fiorentina is my favorite team in Italy, so I was bummed I didn’t get to see them this week. I checked the score on the ‘net around noon, and saw that we won. Sweet. I was four for four. Having no other games to watch for a while, I accompanied my lovely wife to Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island for a little lunch. Federal Hill, for those who don’t know, is sort of the “little Italy” of Providence. Anyway, we walk into an Italian grocery store, and what’s on the TV above the meat counter, but the Fiorentina game! Apparently they get the RAI channel in Rhode Island, while I don’t. Regardless, I watched transfixed while the wife buys food. This really is my weekend.

AC Milan v. Livorno (Sunday evening)

I’m not necessarily a big fan of AC Milan, but I watch all their games because my favorite player, Yoann Gourcuff, wears the red and black. Unfortunately, he didn’t play Sunday, so I can’t really consider myself five for five. However, Ronaldo was substituted in at about the sixty minute mark, and so I gladly took in that. Ronaldo looks surprisingly thin to me. I mean, Barcelona thin. I think he could end up doing some damage this year, as long as he keeps this weight down. On the other hand, I have heard that Northern Italy has some pretty good cuisine….

All-in-all, however, it was a great weekend. May football fans everywhere occasionally experience one just like it.

A Tale of Two Transfers

This morning, as has been expected over the past few days, it was announced that Ronaldo has been transferred from Real Madrid to AC Milan. While one can question if this transfer will have great effect (Big Ronnie hasn’t played much lately) there is no doubt that Ronaldo will be the biggest name to transfer this month.

Personally, I am on record as saying I like Ronaldo, and I hope he does well. The sport as a whole is more fun when larger-than-life superstars like him are doing well and scoring goals. Hopefully this move will shine a little much-deserved light on Series A and perhaps give Milan the nudge they need to start winning a few more games.

All that being said, I am a little surprised at how things played out for Real Madrid this transfer season. If you had asked me a few months ago what would have happened to Real’s last few Galacticos, I probably would have said that at least one of them would be gone. But I would not have predicted where.

I honestly believed that David Beckham would have stayed in Europe. Believe what you will about Beckham, but he has always been a fierce competitor, and at 31 I thought he was too young to give it all up to come to America. I thought there was a decent chance Beckham would re-sign with Real (and they eventually did offer him everything in the world except playing time) and if not I believed he would sign in Italy; perhaps with one of the Milan clubs or Juve. Instead, Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy. He said it was to open up the sport of soccer to the big time here in America. Others believed he was seduced by the fame and relatively stress-free lifestyle the MLS would promise. I guess time will tell.

On the other hand, if you remember, there were a number of credible rumors that the New York Red Bulls, the Big Apple’s MLS franchise, was going to make a play for Ronaldo. That, to me, made sense. Ronaldo had the reputation as a fun-loving party guy who had become too fat for football but not too big for the ladies. He still loved soccer, but he could play it on the weekends in front of undemanding fans and have fun the rest of the time. On top of all that, it was a much shorter flight to Rio!

But Ronaldo proved me wrong. Aside from the fact that New York probably couldn’t match Milan’s fee, it was obvious that Ronaldo still had something to prove at a big club; for better or worse he still sees himself as a top player, and that is something that is to be admired. While Beckham has taken what could be argued is the easier path, Ronaldo has chosen to test himself again against the world’s best. We will see how it goes in the long run, but I will find myself again rooting for Big Ron.

MLS and Ronaldo

Two quick things for today. First, the news is now heating up that another star is leaving Real Madrid, only this time it is the enigmatic but truly great striker Ronaldo. As the rumors now stand, Ronaldo will go to AC Milan. Madrid Coach Fabio Capello has announced that Ronaldo will not play for the remainder of the season, and thus Milan has wisely said they will take the striker off their hands, but only at no cost. This, of course, is a bold move, as reports have circulated that Milan actually offered more than $28 million dollars for Ronaldo just last August. (Real rejected the deal because they also wanted Kaka; yes, it was a nutty request.) It would be astounding if Milan now was able to get Ronaldo for free after offering so much money just a short time ago.

There are also persistent (but probably just hopeful) rumors that Ronaldo is going to go to the New York Red Bulls. I don’t really think the Red Bulls would pay a large transfer fee either, and reports are that Ronaldo wants to go to Milan because he still thinks he has something left in the tank. While I would love to see big Ronnie in New York, it just seems like a player of that stature should be playing his football at a big club like Milan.

On the never-ending Beckham front, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated has a great article on the anatomy of the Beckham deal, demonstrating how it was actually a years-long process. The article can be found here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/grant_wahl/01/17/beckham.qa/index.html

David Beckham coming to LA

In Madrid today, Real drew nil-nil with Real Betis in a dismal match in the Copa del Rey. Although Gago played better (a hopeful sign) there has been no obvious evidence that the biggest club in the word will be improving anytime soon. Things continue to look grim.

All of this is, of course, hardly news at all, as it has been dwarfed by other news from Madrid: that David Beckham has signed with the LA Galaxy. Since this website is dedicated to the American football fan, it is obvious this seismic turn of events deserves comment.

So what happened? Why did Beckham, the most famous football player in the world, sign with an MLS team? First and most obviously there is the money. Most media outlets are reporting that Beckham will be paid $250 million dollars over the next five year; it seems that is true, but it is not pure salary from the team. That money will include endorsement deals and other such sidelines. Still, that’s a lot of clams.

Beckham also is telling everyone that the decision was about building the sport of football here in the states. He correctly notes that soccer is the most often played sport by children here in the US, but by the time those kids have grown up, it is well behind the traditional American sports in popularity. Beckham will certainly give a boost to the MLS and to the game of soccer here in the states in general.

Aside from this, Beckham will have a number of other positives: he will become the face of both his franchise and league, and will have a guaranteed starting spot, something he did not have at Madrid. He will have many, many more commercial options available to make even more money. Presumably, as most cynics have noted, both he and his wife Victoria will love being in the constant spotlight and hanging around Hollywood low-lifes like Tom Cruise.

So why am I a little surprised by all of this? A few days ago, in an earlier column, I was still convinced there was a good chance Beckham would stay at my favorite club. Why?

Because as much as Beckham is a media whore, he is also a good guy and good footballer in every sense of the word. At one time, basically his last three years of so with Manchester and his first year or two with Real, Beckham was one of the best players in the world. He was also, as he is now, the most famous football player in the world. But through all of that he remained a good guy to have in the clubhouse, a guy who always trained hard and a guy who always cared out on the pitch. There are stories (see December’s FourFourTwo cover story on Madrid, for instance) that a lot of Madrid’s galacticos really didn’t train hard and didn’t care much what happened to the team. These were big names, genuine stars of the game. Beckham was never like that. He always played hard and always cared. He seemed to relish being part of massive clubs like Manchester and Madrid.

In a recent interview Beckham said that one of the things he least liked about Madrid was the lack of a team feeling; after training or a game, all the players would go their separate ways. Deep down, although Beckham always played hard for Madrid, I think he missed what it meant to play in England for a club like Manchester. Part of me seriously thought he would go back there, to another club, to catch again that feeling of being a star of English football. But I was wrong.

Obviously one of the most important factors in all of this was the fact that Beckham was not getting playing time for Madrid. Perhaps he was told flatly that this would not change in the future; I don’t know. One thing seems certain, however: if there was only a slim chance that he would ever play for England again after being dropped from the team this summer, slim just left town.




So what does this mean for American fans? Only good things, I believe. More publicity for the league; more big names from Europe coming over to play here; perhaps even a “big game” feeling when the Galaxy come to town. The MLS will be more visible on TV and in other medias. We’ll even get to see the most famous player in the world face our local sides once a year. It should be fun, although it will also probably be a little strange. I think Beckham belongs at a massive club; let’s see if he can turn the LA Galaxy into just that.

What to Read and a Friendly Little Threat to David Beckham

Continuing in my goal of helping Americans better appreciate and enjoy the most beautiful game, I thought this week I would write about some of the magazines and periodicals that are fairly easily acquired in the United States that cover the sport of football. This is, obviously, not an exhaustive list of football magazines; it is simply a summary of magazines that are easily available here in the states. Most of the items listed below can be found in major American bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. Some, however, are more easily found than others, and all tend to be available much later here in the States than they are in England or wherever they were originally created. So generally you tend to read fairly old news.

One final note, although this is obvious: you can subscribe to these magazines, and pretty much any other magazine you want here in the States, but subscriptions from Europe can be expensive, as is buying the magazines one at a time. Sometimes it might make more sense to pick and choose than to subscribe.

FourFourTwo

For my money the best football magazine in the business. Covers the game on a world-wide scale, (with an admitted focus on England and Europe) with the best writers and the best photography. Some of their features (like the monthly feature story “More than a Game”) are consistently excellent. Always has strong interviews with players and personalities from the game. If I could only get one football magazine, FourFourTwo would be it. It’s in most major bookstores in the US, but very expensive. It’s also worth it.

World Soccer

Probably the best magazine in America that truly covers the world game. Plenty of good info here that is sparsely covered in other magazines, including coverage of leagues in Asia, Africa and South America. Excellent coverage as well of national tournaments like the World Cup. It’s a less expensive magazine and readily available here in the states.

Shoot

For the follower of the English Premier League. Glossy, “Tiger Beat”-esqe magazine that’s low on real content but high on pretty pictures and fluff interviews with English stars. On one hand, Shoot gets interviews with anyone they want; on the other, it is because they ask questions like “What music are you listening to right now?” and “What brand cell phone do you use?” If you truly want to know if Steven Gerrard is as good as his reputation, or perhaps a little overrated, this is not the magazine for you. However, if you want to know which female television celebrities Steven Gerrard thinks are cute, than this is your magazine. Inexpensive and easily accessible in the states.

When Saturday Comes

Oftentimes great magazine that mostly covers the English game. Very strong writing, and the magazine as a whole has a very strong and unified voice. Often focuses on lower leagues and teams, providing information that we otherwise couldn’t get here in the states. The magazine’s anti-capitalist, anti-commercialization stance is often appreciated, at least by me, but sometimes gets frustrating. English soccer is not going back to 1860, to the days of amateur players and no advertising. Sometimes I wish they could just let it go and focus on what they do really well, which is writing about the game. Inexpensive and often tough to find here in the States.

Calcio Italia

Bills itself as “The magazine for English-speaking fans of Italian football.” Fun magazine that focuses on a country that is not well covered here in the states. Good photography and the writing is okay, although they often throw in a bit of fluff. Still the best place to get information on Italy. I wish they published something like this for La Liga. Calcio Italia is inexpensive and easily found (it seems even more so since Italy won the World cup) but often dreadfully late. Not the place to get up-to-date information.

Organizational Magazines

Organizations like FIFA and UEFA both publish glossy magazines that can be found here in the states. Although they contain some exclusive interviews, they are basically house magazines that are promoting a product. They are often, in my mind, expensive and not worth the money.

Club Magazines

Some of the giant clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea publish their own glossy club magazines which can be had here in the states. Similar to above, only they promote a single club. Again, it is a good place to get exclusive interviews, but certainly not vital unless you are a huge supporter of that particular team. That being said, if Real Madrid or Fiorentina produced something like these in English, I would probably buy it.

Others

There are other magazines that you can get in the states (including Match) but these are harder to find. If you feel I’ve missed something obvious and would like me to cover it, drop me a line and I’ll check it out.

One more quick thing for today: Apparently Real Madrid has “warned” David Beckham (according to ESPN Soccernet) that they want the contract thing settled by next week. Obviously I like Beckham and like Real Madrid, so I would like to see him sign. However, “warning” your employees does not seem like a skillful negotiating tactic; this may be the surest sign yet that Becks is on the way out. We will have to wait and see, although there is a good chance this will still not be resolved by next week.