Photo by ISIphotos.com
David Beckham faced the New York (and some international) media on Wednesday. He got some softball questions, but also some tough questions, including one from Grant Wahl, author of the controversial book "The Beckham Experiment."
Here is the video from today's press conference, and it begins with Beckham's answer to Wahl's question:
What did you think of Beckham's answers? Could you hear him sounding a bit shaky as he answered Wahl's question? Are you planning to go to the Red Bulls/Galaxy game?
Share your thoughts below.
madmax: No, MLS stands for, in Paul Gardner’s words, “MLs (Marketers, Lawyers & soccer)” … with the s in soccer being lower case because it less important than the first two words.
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Aww… Is someone a NY Pink Cows fan?
Beckham wants out. He says he wants out. MLS insists he play as part time guest. What sporting team would promote this absurdity, or allow it. Mickey Mouse MLS.
td said: “give the guy a break …”
Yes. Yes, please do. That is exactly what he needs. Preferably compound, and of the fibula and tibia both.
Posted by: KingSnake | July 16, 2009 at 02:23 PM
I just snorted out Diet Coke all over my keyboard.
I hope England does win the World Cup — with Beckham out of the squad. He doesn’t deserve to be there; he’s not good enough anymore.
madmax: No, MLS stands for, in Paul Gardner’s words, “MLs (Marketers, Lawyers & soccer)” … with the s in soccer being lower case because it less important than the first two words.
td said: “give the guy a break …”
Yes. Yes, please do. That is exactly what he needs. Preferably compound, and of the fibula and tibia both.
MLS and Galaxy have promoted a part time, guest player for dollars. They have reaped what they have sown, more dollars crappy football. MLS, Mickey Mouse Soccer League.
would LA have given him that contract if they knew his commitment priorities were:
1. England national team
2. any other european team
3. any other team eastern hemisphere
4. any south american team
5. LA
6. Canada
If Beckham said that Landon had apologized, then Beckham is two-faced about not wanting to talk about his controversy w/Donovan. I was at the Monday training session. A reporter asked Beckham twice if Donovan had apologized. Beckham responded that the incident is over and that he doesn’t want to talk about it. When the reporter asked if Beckham had asked Donovan to apologize, Beckham turned from the reporter, smiled that pursed smile of his and asked, “Anyone else?”
Beckham and his representatives are all about control and, as it turns out, misleading those who want real answers.
Maybe Becks would’ve been ok with the book if Wahl had included the word “SHOCK” in the title. Brits love to throw that in with any soccer/football related news.
I don’t think anyone was prepared for what having him play here was going to be like.
He is going to do whatever it takes to get a shot to play in the World Cup. He received an offer to play for AC Milan, which NO ONE would refuse.
I believe that he will be in MLS for a long time, and all of this Hubbub is good for the league. People are paying attention.
What blows me away about this interview is how he seems to truly believe that HE’S the one who’s been slighted and deserves an apology. He doesn’t feel he owes anyone an apology, yet it’s important that “Landon has apologized” with no mention of his own flaws and faults and role in the turmoil? Please.
Beckham, you owe Landon and all your teammmates and every single Galaxy fan an apology for allowing your people to foist Ruud Gullit on the Galaxy, and for phoning it in last year when your best buddy got ousted from his secret paid consulting job with the team, and then for deciding to play again the second you hit Milan.
But most of all you owe an apology for allowing yourself to be bullied into coming back when the league is better off without your “commitment.”
“Plus all the pundits are giving England as one of the favorites to win the WC for the first time in 30 years with all the talent and the best coach they have had in a long long time… To me, it is a no-brainer.”
BWAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Becks sure seemed to fit in that he is SUPER professional into every question he answered…..sure sounds like someone is a little worried about making sure everyone thinks he is a professional…….
ha ha ha ha
GO TEAM DONOVAN!!! 🙂
give the guy a break he wants to play for his country and england is at the level that doesn’t find mls players useful…except maybe at keeper
Posted by: td | July 16, 2009 at 12:33 AM
If by “England” you mean the EPL/BPL, well, they don’t exactly find many English players all that useful either these days (nor does the rest of Europe).
Plus all the pundits are giving England as one of the favorites to win the WC for the first time in 30 years with all the talent and the best coach they have had in a long long time… To me, it is a no-brainer.
Posted by: DCUfanTX | July 15, 2009 at 08:03 PM
This is by far the funniest thing I’ve read in a long, long time! England winning the 2010 World Cup? Ha! There is no future in England’s dreaming!!!!!
Olde Beckham should step aside and make way for the younger players who will play his position so they can get valuable match experience.
Classic example of the downside of soccer becoming more mainstream. Endless stories about ‘who said what to whom’, and off the field whining.
That’s all ESPN and SI does anymore. It’s ‘People’ magazine geared to athletes (mostly – poker?) So tiresome.
David Beckham is a petty petty man. Here in the USA the most widely-mocked books are “official” ones. Sorry Wahl’s “journalistic integrity” gets in the way of you making more money, Becks.
Neumannator said it best. Becks=Corporate whore
Grant Wahl has turned me into a Beckham supporter.
MLS and Galaxy can spin this till everyone is dizzy, but Becks said he wants out, ASAP, to play in Europe and for England.
Just go away, already!
watching tonight, you bet. “Go Becks!”, but don’t tell me you are “really” committed to MLS.
“Is this for a second unofficial book?” Sorry Beck’s, it’s a free country and people get to write what they want, whether you approve or are getting paid. You had your chance to get your side out, and instead you asked Grant for money just to talk, as if you didn’t have enough already. Even his desire to play in the WC is part of his PR and money calculations more than patriotism. If he’s not on the team he will become old news fast.
If England is #1, and you have to play in Europe to be on the team… Then why did you sign a huge $$$ contract to play in the US? And only now remember that you wanted to play for England, after the checks cleared?
It’s a relief to be able to go back to disliking this guy….
So where do I sign up for the Grant Wahl fan club?
I think Beckham might be mentally ill. Seriously.
Its just seems he is reiterating himself in every interview he does. I WANT HIM OUT! I would rather deal with a player like Ronaldinho, a player with actual skill but, also a guy that likes to party. Beckham is just a PR move, not a soccer move.
It must be fun to be lectured on professionalism by the only Captain of England to get sent off. That was very professional of you to kick Diego Simeone while he was lying on the ground.
David Beckham is and always will be a petulant little boy. Just because he’s a billionaire now people treat him like an oracle.
If I was Grant I would have given him another shot. No one needs his authorization to write a book. It’s not a biography and the subject of the book is not how does Beckham feel about Beckham. He doesn’t need permission to ask other people how they feel Beckham has been so far in America. Secondly, no matter what the question is for, it’s a legitimate question, answer it.
Aside from that, after Beckham’s first month in Milan (where his form prompted Milan to extend his Loan) I feel he kind of did the same thing to Milan that he did to LA: He faded down the stretch. I know that he’s been getting calls into national team camps, but I don’t think it’s a far stretch to think he won’t make the England Cup team. He’ll be 35, there’s younger midfield option, and he seems to fade out after more than a handful of games. It would be very amusing for Capello to use him to help qualify for the World Cup, but then call in someone else who can handle the struggles of more than 2 games in a row (like on normal international dates)
Lol get off da man nuts. When he plays the number of attendance grows increidbly , n really that’s the reason y they wanted him anyways, for more fans. The only thing that sucks that the american people will pack a stadium for becham a english wank but they won’t to support our own American league. I blame all these fake fans who only show up when known players come. If u wanna see some top players come into the league than start supporting the league n spend the 35-40 $ to purchase a ticket. I really dnt care bout the whole beckham situation cuz it’s kinda dumb, he was told AFTER his commitment statement to the MLS that if he wanted a chance in the WC2010 that he would have to habr playing time in Europe. And like he said, he will do anything to get a chance to play for his country in 2010, n honestly who wouldn’t? I’m pretty syed landycakes would do the same. I don’t think beckham would have said his fully commitment statement knowing that England manager would have told him that his only chance to play in WC is to play in Europe. Only thing is that he won’t admit that, no one will! If u wanna lie n say he has to man up n say the truth ….PLEASE!!! Lmao like u knew what it would b like to be in
His shoes. Let the man breathe, get off his nutsack, if he leaves be leaves, if he stays ,he stays…acting like complete fools over 1 player lol it’s so sad. N btw I’m not a beckham fan at all, I could care less bout him n his commitment. My commitment is to the newyork new jersey red bulls!
Everyone who defends Beckham because “you can’t blame him for wanting to represent his country in 2010” misses the point entirely. The damning part of Wahl’s book is that Beckham checked out on the Galaxy for the entire second half of the season.
This is an organization to which he was contractually obligated and a team from which he—sub rosa—finagled the captaincy. Whether the organization in question was Manchester United or the Portland Timbers, that contract was valid, that arm band meant something (especially since he “asked” for it), and he had an obligation to be a professional and to assume the mantle of leadership associated with being team captain. He failed on both counts and neither he nor any of his Galaxy teammates have refuted Landon Donovan or Grant Wahl on that point.
It’s a totally false dichotomy to suggest that he couldn’t have had his people work on the Milan loan while still behaving professionally and leading his team on the field and in the locker room. Or, you know, showing up to big games even when injured. Because that would be way too much to ask of a captain, right?
Without reading through the entire comments list, I’m tending to agree with Kris and DCUfanTX. Dude is taking on a lot; playing professionally, getting to WC2010, helping the England MNT, getting into said team, growing U.S. soccer, growing MLS…
was this press conference held at the W hotel in hoboken? i cant think of any other hotels worthy of Beckham in NJ
With how much the MLS has bloomed because of DP’s, I really don’t see anymore good ones coming just because of this.
I know this is off topic…but I would love to know how much Beckham has made since beginning his ‘stint’ with the galaxy, and how much a player like Bryan Jordan, Omar Gonzalez, or just say the lowest paid player on the LA roster.
Could you find that out Ives?
I think there would be some questioning of Beck’s dedication in the back of my mind if I made $35,000 a year compared to his $3-5 million. Plus–plus who ‘buy’s the captaincy of a soccer team, what a tool.
CUT HIM.
Cockney d-bag.
His answer sound rather phony. From the standpoint of the game, I questioned the wisdom of this deal from the get-go, but always thought of Beckham as a good guy; heck, I played pick-up soccer in the guy’s jersey. But this latest ordeal showed me his lack of character and duplicity — he cannot even admit that he simply wants out. His answers did nothing to change my negative perception. I think the Galaxy should sell him ASAP, if they can.
Sell him while you can! The Galaxy are fine without him. Now that Seattle is in the league, we don’t need a freakshow on tour.
I read the book, and for me the more interesting parts had to do with how he didn’t integrate with the team well for various reasons. If you look at the situation from DB’s perspective, he is committed, but on his own terms, and he has the clout to control the terms. You won’t convince me that he is really committed to US soccer though – if he ends up buying a team, maybe I will think differently. Just because he thinks he is committed does not make it a reality.
I hope he plays well the rest of the season along with Landon.
Hey Becks!
I’ve got a AA with your name on it, ya wanker! The field is easily within range of the front sections at RFK. See you in a few weeks!
give the guy a break he wants to play for his country and england is at the level that doesn’t find mls players useful…except maybe at keeper
Why on earth is there a scientology ad on the front page? Can someone do something about this?
My feelings towards him have largely been mirrored by the media the past few years… it’s just turned into too big a joke to not be questioned outright. He clearly has no committment to MLS, or at least doesn’t actually know what the word means. He will do anything and everything to play in WC 2010, and then if there is room for MLS, he’ll do that too.
Can’t wait to boo you in person tomorrow, Becks.
I have to agree that the treatment Beckham is getting shows a certain growth in American soccer. Can we really compare this situation to anything that happened in the NASL? With the Cosmos? I don’t think so… but I stand to be corrected. It seems like even though the NASL was huge for a while, there was no real critical mass of quality American soccer players to compare foreign stars to, and no one to call out half-committed Euro stars like DB.
Is he committed to MLS? Obviously not on the field. He said he wants to be an ambassador, and to be involved, but he didn’t make it clear that he wants to actually PLAY in MLS… certainly not leading up to SA 2010. Being an ambassador and being involved could mean just cooking up advertising campaigns and ponying up money for a Miami franchise (for example).
Pele did a lot for American soccer after he left the pitch, but he also played with the Cosmos in some horrible conditions early (and later) on, and didn’t go running back off to Brazil. Not that he was operating under the same conditions, but I really question whether Beckham will be willing to front for MLS in the future.
i am actually concerened with the drama on the field. The galaxy have held the fort and are still in the playoff hunt with beckham missing for the first half of the season and Donovan missing A LOT of time with the NT.
With all their pieces back they are now sporting IMO the best starting 11 in MLS and actually have some depth this year. not many teams can bring klien and kovelenko off the bench
Scott:
That’s a good point Scott. I thinks he doth protest too much.
And I don’t even hate the guy, but it’s funny how he keeps repeating the point that nobody in his entire career has questioned his professionalism or commitment…except for the several players on the Galaxy who did…
I’d rather read an “unofficial”–what does that even mean–book by Wahl than an official one by the semi-literate Beckham