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Beckham discusses decision to leave Galaxy


[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsMNSFuVXf8]

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  1. i would much rather MLS get known as being a league that produces great young players who then go on to shine in the top European leagues, than a league that is perceived as a retirement league for faded superstars.

    A 35 year old Frank Lampard is the next 5 million dollar man? There’s an opportunity cost there. For every 5 million you spend an a has been euro star, it’s 5 million that’s not going into developing talent at home.

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  2. I think Beckham was/is great for the league. As a marketer he brought the league to new heights in interest, recognizability and credibility. As a player he’s still one of the best to grace our fields. He may have taken it for granted when he jetted for his loans with AC Milan, but he righted that ship and got down to business for the LAG the past few years. I think he’ll be an MLS executive after one more season as a player abroad. Ideally I’d love to see him return to Man U to say goodby to the fans properly but SAF has too much pride for that to happen. Paris St. Germaine makes the most sense. I’ve always liked him and though he does come across a bit squirrelly at times, I wish him and MLS the best.

    And while Grant Whal is tabbing Lampard to replace him, my money is on Kaka. Sure his brother is with the NYRB but that just means the NYRB will screw it up, cut Kaka’s bro and they both end up in LA.

    You heard it here first.

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  3. if MLS can’t get good TV ratings for the MLS Cup final with La Galaxy playing and it being Beckham’s last game then the league has to seriously consider drastic changes.

    I think the “eurosnobs” may outnumber the MLS fans.

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  4. Beckham’s always been coy about his plans. It encourages the speculation and adds to the mystique, at least, temporarily. But in today’s ADHD media, temporary mystique has value.

    When Beckham says he has “one more challenge” for his playing career, I think he means winning MLS Cup next month. If he goes to China or Australia, he’d have to play more than one season to have any impact. Otherwise, it’s a grab for money and cheap publicity, both of which he has plenty of. He might not want to retire but as somebody told me, Beckham might be like the boxer who doesn’t know when to quit — and suffers severe injury as a result (like Muhammad Ali). We’ve seen that in the way he’s dealt with injuries over the past five years (even when he had to take cortisone shots to play in Real Madrid’s 2006-07 season finale that they won to earn the La Liga championship).

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  5. Exactly,if he goes to asia or australia he will be back stabbing MLS and will be setting a different standard for players to come here and go to another sucky league by getting double checks. I would love for him to retire in MLS so he can set a standard for educated players but he won’t (he can also double retire, in mls and epl) but He is going to back stab the MLS for sure, either by goingto asia or australia and will hurt mls image. Just go to cosmos or red bull but no asia or australia bcus he will hurt mls for the next 10 years.

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    • He seems to be looking for one last crazy big lotto payout in China or the Middle East. Don’t think Oz will come up with that kind of cash.

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      • I never thought he would do that- mls needs to fix the season schedule by expanding to 20 teams ASAP . In order to have a nice season with abalance schedule and have 20 teams- ten and ten in east and west. Once MLS hits 20 teams, it will be easier to attract dps from young to old and any part of the world. Oh I forgot, every team should have their stadium and sponsor. Asfor david, hopefully you won’t make it back to MLS after ur big paycheck bcus ur always teasing us.

  6. I was pretty convinced he was going to NY….but if you read between the lines, this interview definitely makes it seem like he is leaving the USA. I really hope it isn’t to China or AUS, because I see them as the competition.

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    • I dont think that implied anything but id say that a return to england or a move to the nasl cosmos would be best.. But a move to asia/australia is best for his bank account

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    • It wasn’t very revealing. He hasn’t made a decision where he’ll go next – nor what he’ll be doing wherever he goes. Says he decided a couple weeks ago, heading into the playoffs, but kept it under wraps until after LA qualified for the MLS Cup. Then he winked at Adam Serrano and Serrano fainted from pure ecstasy.

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      • You forgot the parts where Serrano swooned and asked Becks if it was okay to dream of him. That’s when Becks winked.

        Context is everything.

  7. I believe there’s a level of groupthink associated with Beckham’s arrival to Major League Soccer and his impact on the league. While it unquestionably raised the league’s profile and general awareness in the U.S. and across the pond, and while I also appreciate the fact he also actually played for his team and helped him out, I feel his impact may be overstated too easily.

    I think in order for MLS to succeed, it has to become a league that’s seen as a breeding ground for the young talent that can move on to big things within the league, within the player’s national team and perhaps in leagues abroad like the EPL. I’m worried that Beckham’s arrival paved the way for other declining European stars to come over to the United States after their useful careers in leagues over there was mostly over, and arrived to the MLS to collect easy paychecks.

    I think the MLS should avoid playing up these types of players in their marketing and focus it instead on players like Graham Zusi and Matt Besler (just to pluck two random examples who happen to be on the same team) and push them higher in the soccer followers’ general consciousness. This way, MLS can become more like the Eredivisie, a league that may not have the resources to compete toe-to-toe with a league like the EPL in our lifetime, but can become a breeding ground for exciting American, Canadian, Central and South American, European and Asian players to come and hone their talents and move up in the soccer world, rather than a resting place for careers gone by.

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    • Mr. 80,

      The veteran coming over for a retirement paycheck was a well- established phenomenon long before Beckham ever got here.

      Taken in total Beckham’s tenure here was a massive success and he was certainly worth every penny. The league may not have needed Beckham but he certainly gave them the boost they were looking for. But he is obviously a unique case and a non- repeatable phenomenon.

      Pele did something similar for the NASL but that league was too poorly run and the state of the game in the US at that time was not strong enough to long survive his leaving.
      MLS is different. And the game is on much firmer footing in this country now than in the NASL days.

      Veteran foreign players do look at the paychecks but many of them are also very intrigued by the idea of playing and living in America. I can guarantee you that most of them would prefer to come here rather than Qatar, Russia or China if the sums being offered to them there were not so outrageous. And even then it doesn’t seem they are very happy there but who knows. Given MLS’ fiscal structure it seems to me sensible teams can’t afford to be wrong on their DP’s. Of course, idiots will always find a way.
      The high priced foreign savior is a phenomenon in every league in the world with the possible exception of Serie A so he will be with the MLS for a long time but I’m sure they won’t be on the level of what you saw with Beckham.

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    • I think there’s room for both categories of players and their marketing — as long as the league continues to have the good sense not to bankrupt itself.

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    • Ya its much better to focus on home grown talent than overpaid forgieners but id say i am pleasently surprised with beckham’s time here. He played much harder than i thought he would and really elevated the level of play of the galaxy. As for the rest of the league/nationi wouldn’t give him credit for that but a lot has changed in the time he has been here. Overall your description of the aging big paycheck player he was not. Besides him 80% of DPs have been im glad our most expensive one worked out!

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    • While I tend to agree with you that MLS should focus on becoming a league that develops young talent, I think these older DPs play an important role in that development. Having guys like Beckham, Henry, Nesta, etc who have played at the highest level and have had success only benefits young guys coming up through academies. MLS does not have a fully established youth development system, nor should we expect it to after 16 years, like the Eredivisie or Liga MX does. These older DPs provide invaluable mentor-ship and show our young guys how to be professionals.

      MLS is still a young league and it’s not surprising that we still rely on imports. However, we’re already starting to see the infrastructure improve. We’ve got coaches and directors of youth academies who played in the league. We’ve got veteran players who have achieved success in the league and at the international level who also can serve as mentors. We need this infrastructure to become a league that develops top talent.

      Foreign DPs bring more than merchandise dollars, which is vital in and of itself, they bring experience from the top leagues in the world.

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      • I think a lot of people overlook the effect that the Sounders, and subsequently their northwest rivals, have had. I am not a Sounders fan, but the presence of an atmosphere like that has set the bar very high for what to expect from an MLS game, and I think other markets have reacted. People see that on TV and they want to check out their local version, or existing fans are unwilling to be so completely outdone. A crowd like that really legitimizes the event, and people get on board. I think that has more of an effect on the overall rising tide in enthusiasm around the league than Beckham. Although, as a Galaxy fan, I definitely appreciate what he finally brought.

    • the ideas of developing youth AND having foreign stars come play in MLS are not mutually exclusive, there is room for both.

      having followed the beautiful game for many decades from my perch in the USA, I cannot tell you how freakin’ awesome it is to be able to buy a ticket and go see David Beckham, Robbie Thierry Henry, Cuatemoc Blanco, and othe DPs who come to the states and lay it on the line…worth every penny imo.

      and yes, we need to develop talent too, but these DPs contribute to that as well. again, the two are not mutually exclusive. The 50K fans at the SJ-Galaxy game at Stanford earlier this year was the best MLS atmosphere I’d ever experienced, and you can thank David Beckham for that

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    • MLS is definitely a breeding ground for regional countries’ national teams. Just look at Jamaica & Honduras, now both in the Hexagonal. Canada & Colombia are benefitting, too.

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