Beckham LA Galaxy Story
Wearing a black suit with white shirt and black tie, Beckham shared his thoughts a day after agreeing to a five-year contract with the LA Galaxy that could be worth $250 million.
"I'm coming there to make a difference. I'm coming there to play football," Beckham said Friday via satellite from Madrid. "I'm not saying me coming to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America. ... But I think soccer has a huge, huge potential. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe in this project. This could create something that we've all never seen before."
Those who orchestrated the deal are convinced Beckham not only will raise soccer's profile in America but help the Galaxy win.
"David is still a very good player," said Tim Leiweke of AEG, the sports and entertainment company that runs the Galaxy. "Peyton Manning in football, the other football, Allen Iverson in basketball and Tiger Woods in golf are all the same age (31) as Beckham.
"Certainly, he will bring an audience, a fan base and an intensity to our sport that we've never had."
The Galaxy didn't say exactly what they'll pay him. The $250 million figure includes salary and commercial endorsements over the length of his contract. In other words, his move could be worth $1 million a week.
"I'm coming there not be a superstar," Beckham said. "I'm coming there to be part of the team, to work hard and to hopefully win things."
He's also coming as the most recognizable soccer player in the world who just happens to be married to the former Posh Spice of The Spice Girls and counts Tom Cruise among his closest friends.
Beckham said he talked on the phone with Cruise the past two nights seeking advice about life in LA.
"He's a good friend of mine and I told him a deal may be near," Beckham said. "It's a big help to have friends in LA."
After all, Beckham's cult of personality has few believers in America. The superstar, whose best playing days are likely behind him, has helped sell millions of European tabloids but has been able to walk American streets in relative anonymity.
"I realize I'm not as recognized in the U.S. as I am around Europe, around other parts of the world," he said. "Hopefully playing for the Galaxy will change that."
His mandate calls for raising the profile of an average team in a soccer league that has little respect overseas and less recognition than the University of Southern California football team.
On Friday, Beckham returned to his daily routine training with Real Madrid for nearly two hours. The British player smiled to reporters upon his arrival and left the training ground in the outskirts of Madrid before his global news conference.
In Los Angeles, the Beckham effect was felt immediately: The Galaxy sold 1,000 new season tickets Thursday morning. Their season begins April 8.
The team averages 22,000 to 24,000 fans in its 27,000-seat stadium in suburban Carson, although attendance was down last season when the Galaxy missed the playoffs.
"They know we Latinos are filling the soccer stadiums. That's why they want to bring stars here," said Juan Munguia, a 30-year-old Mexican hotel cook. "I will go just to see Beckham."
Already in the works is a 2008 Galaxy tour of Asia, where Beckham is wildly popular. A new team logo will be unveiled this summer and the Galaxy's owner is nearing a deal to slap a prime sponsor's name on its jerseys.
"We will absolutely market the Galaxy as a global brand," Leiweke said.
Beckham will become the biggest star to play U.S. professional soccer since Pele and Franz Beckenbauer were in the now-defunct North American Soccer League in the 1970s.
"David Beckham is a global sports icon who will transcend the sport of soccer in America," gushed Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber.
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| Beckham played at the Home Depot Center against the L.A. Galaxy in a 2005 friendly match that drew a huge crowd. (Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press) |
But Beckham hasn't won a major trophy since joining the Spanish team Real Madrid in 2003 from Manchester United, where he won six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League title.
Beckham started only five of 25 matches for Real Madrid this season. He turned down a two-year contract extension from Real Madrid, where his fading skills left him on the bench.
Last Aug. 11, the former England captain was dropped from his national team altogether, signaling the end of his international career.
It came after a dismal 2006 World Cup. He led England to the quarterfinals last summer, scoring from a free kick in the second round to beat Ecuador 1-0. But he was taken off the field early in the second half against Portugal with ankle and Achilles tendon injuries, and then watched as his team was eliminated in a penalty shootout.
A day after the game, Beckham stepped down as captain of the team - a post he had held for 58 of his 94 international appearances.
But he'll start for the Galaxy.
"He's coming here to make a difference," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "He's not coming here on vacation."
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