CARSON, Calif – So, on Day 1 A.D. – After David – what have we learned from David Beckham’s MLS debut with the Galaxy Saturday night? What do we know after his 13-minute cameo in a 1-0 loss to Chelsea that turned a meaningless friendly into an international sporting event?
Not much more than we already knew.
The supernova-bright star that the Galaxy revolves around trotted onto the Home Depot Center field in the 78th minute. Though his left ankle swelled up even more, he knew the game’s importance with 19 ESPN cameras, a crowd rife with celebrities and the eyes of the sports world trained on him. He proved ever the showman.
“With me not training all week, the decision was really late. But I’m really pleased because I wanted to be out there. I know how much attention was on (Saturday night),” Beckham said. “It was nice to get out there and kick the soccer ball again. It was just nice to be out there with the lads, and get the game over and done with. I enjoyed it.”
As did all the celebrities who watched, and rubbed shoulders at the Tom Cruise-Will Smith-thrown VIP party afterward. Kevin Garnett was there, but Beckham was the real Big Ticket in town.
We learned Beckham is still hurt. Though he said he hopes to play in Tuesday’s game against Pachuca and is looking forward to Saturday’s big Superliga match with Chivas de Guadalajara – which probably is the kind of chippy game he should avoid, if he’s still hurting.
Beckham took a hit from Steve Sidwell in the 90th minute. Already expected to miss five MLS games for England duty, he can ill afford to get banged around even more. Though he’s already made the Galaxy an estimated $23 million, sooner or later they need him on the field at full strength.
He played in the middle of the field instead of his customary right wing, which is going to free Landon Donovan to push up closer toward goal. Though the Galaxy captain had to cede some of his set pieces to Beckham – he deferred last night on a corner kick – it will make the struggling club far more dangerous.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said Beckham’s presence already is helping the Galaxy’s offensive attack.
“The objective was just to get him on the pitch, to give the people the dessert they wanted. It was very, very important. To make Americans fall in love with the game. . . . He’s the one to do that,” Mourinho said. “For these players who are not at a high level, to play with David Beckham must be huge. It’s a big motivation.”