Beckham Benched

Just two days after announcing that he has accepted a $250 million dollar offer from the LA Galaxy to play the 2007 Major League Soccer season, David Beckham's coach at Real Madrid says the international soccer star will sit out the remainder of the season.

Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello, citing concerns that the club cannot count on a player who has made such a commitment to another league, has benched David Beckham for the rest of the year. "He is not going to play anymore," Capello told the press in Spain's capital on Saturday.

The LA Galaxy will kickoff the MLS season on the road in Houston, Texas, on April 8, 2007, while David Beckham's contract with Real Madrid does not expire until June 30. Vowing to fulfill his current contract, Beckham had not intended on joining his new club until several weeks into the MLS season. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Times reported that the LA Galaxy sold an additional 2,000 season tickets within a few hours of Beckham announcing his big move to play soccer in the City of Angels.

It is unclear how Real Madrid's benching of David Beckham will affect these plans. Some are speculating it will provide an out for the global sports icon to join his new club for the season opener in Houston.

Just how much snap will be in that famous corner kick for the 31-year-old midfielder, after several weeks off the field, is a legitimate concern to Los Angeles soccer fans. David Beckham only started seven of 25 matches this season with Real Madrid, and sitting out the remainder of the season -- especially if he does fulfill his contract through June 30 -- might spell bad news for the LA galaxy and MLS.

David Beckham's heyday undoubtedly came with Manchester United from 1993 to 2002. There, he led the elite English soccer club to six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and one European League Championship with his trademark free kicks and long distance goal scoring. In a match against Wimbledon in 1996, David Beckham scored a soaring goal from midfield, a spectacular shot that made him an instant star. He joined Team England later that year.

In international play David Beckham is the only Englishman to score a goal in three separate World Cups (1998, 2002, and 2006). Fans in the US might recall a dehydrated David Beckham, physically and emotionally drained, forced to the sidelines to watch Team England fall 3-1 to Portugal on penalty kicks after the score had held at 0-0 at the end of extra time. David Beckham announced he was stepping down as team captain the following day.

Part of the reason Beckham has chosen to come play for the LA Galaxy, according to sources, is to prove to the world that he is not yet done as a top-notch footballer.

But David Beckham is as much a brand name as a footballer these days. Already a rising superstar, his comet shot through the stratosphere when he married Victoria Adams, otherwise known as "Posh Spice" of the Spice Girls, in 1999. The couple became fast favorites of the celebrity-enamored British press, and David Beckham has subsequently landed lucrative endorsements with Gillette, Pepsi and Motorola, among others.

Major League Soccer aspires to join the ranks of the "big leagues" in American sports. In acquiring David Beckham, MLS and the LA Galaxy have taken a $250 million shot on that particular goal. Now they must only hope that the 31-year-old midfielder, despite being benched by his current coach, can keep those trademark corner kicks fresh enough to bring out the crowds this spring.