Is America Ready for Beckham?

In a country where Baseball had Babe Ruth and Basketball had Michael Jordan a new superstar has arrived for Soccer in the shape of 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) David Beckham. The tattooed pretty boy, nicknamed 'Golden Balls' by wife Posh Spice Victora, made his debut for new club LA Galaxy against English Premier League team Chelsea in a friendly on the 78th minute. Chelsea won the friendly 1-0. Although I am a Manchester United fan and was sad to see David Beckham leave Old Trafford, I and I'm sure other Man Utd fans wonder is the MLS ready for a player of Beckham's caliber or then again is David Beckham making a mistake pulling on LA Galaxy's number 23?

To someone reading this article I might seem biased, maybe I am, maybe I'm not but either way, to really get a taste of David Beckham's skill, one will have to take a look at his professional history starting in the season of 1994, although he signed for Manchester United in 1992, from 92-94 one could say this time was spent getting the experience needed to make the impact he did. Following the departure of 3 experienced first team players, Beckham and other hopeful youths were given the chance to make their mark despite Ferguson receiving criticism for this unexpected move when other managers would have went straight out and spent the money.

Although Manchester United started the season with a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa with Beckham scoring their only goal. It was only the beginning for Beckham. With a new found confidence gained and some time on the field in front of a 55,000 (in 1995) audience helped him to become a regular first time player in which he helped Manchester United win the Premiership and FA Cup double, while playing against Chelsea in the semi-finals, Beckham scored the winner. He also had his fair share of setting goals up for his fellow team mates, in the FA Cup final Beckham took the corner setting up and allowing the one and only Eric Cantona to score, leading Utd to FA Cup success.

August 1996 and already a fan favorite David Beckham had done something no other player had done before or has done since, while playing against Wimbledon, David received a pass from another Utd player and although he played on the right wing, he gently dribbled the ball slowly making his way forward and once on the half-way line he raised his head up looking to see who was free, when he noticed Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was quite away out from his line and so he done the unthinkable and shot for goal. The ball lifted up into the air as if picked up by the hand of God himself and effortlessly dropped into the back of the net behind the gob-smacked Sullivan, the crowd in the stands went ballistic and Utd players from all over the field rushed over to congratulate him. The Premiership was founded in 1992, and since then and to this day, that 57 yard strike has never been repeated.

Many things differ between the MLS and the Premier League or even European soccer for that matter, the pace of the game, the money involved and even the quality of the game, but none more so than the season, in the US the MLS season lasts 8 months whereas the Premier League lasts 10 months. It's with this kind of timetable that Manchester United had long dreamed of achieving "the impossible dream", to win the treble, the Premier League, the FA Cup and Champions league. In the final game of the season 1998/99 Utd was playing Tottenham Hotspur and it was a game they had to win for any chance to become league champions, Tottenham was looking too good for the confident Utd side, when just before the whistle was blown, Beckham scored the winning goal allowing Manchester Utd to win the league.

In the Uefa Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona, Spain and United was losing 1-0 with 90 minutes having been played the referee added 3 minutes of injury time. The Bayern colors was already tied to the trophy when "Golden Balls" David Beckham stepped up to take a corner, Beckham from the corner hit it to the feet of Ryan Giggs who mishit his shot, sending the ball to Teddy Sheringham who was then able to send the ball just inside the Bayern net. The red half of the Stadium went wild, so loud in fact that match commentator Clive Tyldsley could only say to the millions of fans watching back home "...name on the trophy."

Bayern fans and players alike were no doubt in a state of shock but just moments later number 7 David Beckham stepped up for another corner this time sending the ball high into the air for United to head the ball across the face of the goal, and in what seemed to take forever the ball fell to the ground with everyone scattering for it until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer poked the ball past Bayern Munich keeper Oliver Kahn and into the roof of the Bayern goal. All around the world Manchester United fans were going crazy, fans inside the stadium where so loud that once again match commentator Clive Tyldsley happily announced "...Manchester United have reached the promised land." Seconds later the referee blew his whistle, and they had achieved what was once considered an impossible feat for any English club, "the impossible dream".

That season and those performances led him to finish behind Rivaldo for European Footballer of the Year and Fifa World Player of the Year 1999.

Before leaving Manchester United to play for Real Madrid he had 265 appearances and 62 goals (Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only) and when he went to Real he had 116 appearances and 13 goals, not exactly a stellar record, perhaps he played the best his career was going to get at Manchester United. $250 million dollars later and the US is as excited as a child on Christmas morning, awaiting the arrival of David, when he was introduced on 13th July LA Galaxy had announced that over 250,000 of the new jerseys (with a new logo) had been ordered within 48 hours of going on sale. Already Beckham has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated in his new uniform and he has his own TV show "David Beckham's Soccer USA" on Fox Soccer Channel. With LA Galaxy we will see Beckham earn $6.5 million per year in base salary, up to $10 million a year in direct salary, and up to $10 million per year in profit sharing and with endorsement's, which are never included in American sports contracts, Beckham will easily get an additional $35 million per year off the field.

I know its hard to keep in mind but he is injured and with everyone throwing money at him it only takes one mistake for all the millions upon millions of dollars to be flushed down the toilet. Perhaps even David Beckham is too big for the United States of America.