If Los Angeles Galaxy supporters needed an extra confidence boost ahead of Sunday’s MLS Cup final against the Houston Dynamo, here’s an interesting tidbit, which ESPN analysts happened to mention before I could:

At both of David Beckham’s previous permanent homes, Manchester United and Real Madrid, he won a league title in his last season.

Given that Sunday will more than likely mark the end of Becks’ stay with the Galaxy and in MLS, and that the Galaxy are favored to claim the crown, it’s a piece of information that merits a mention. It would be quite fitting for him to mark his final MLS campaign, and his best one at that, by continuing that trend and help lead the Galaxy to their first title since 2005, wouldn’t it?

Of course, even if the Galaxy are tangling for the title in the very, very friendly confines of their very own Home Depot Center, it’s premature to put their name on the trophy already, as the Dynamo, even without their biggest threat, will be raring and ready to upset the odds and end their own title drought.

PAST AND PRESENT

The Galaxy are making a record seventh MLS Cup final appearance, with their most recent appearance coming in 2009, when they lost to Real Salt Lake on penalties. A win would give them their third title, following their triumphs in 2002 and 2005. On both of those occasions, they outlasted the New England Revolution 1-0 in extra time.

Last season, the Galaxy claimed the Supporters’ Shield (given to the team with the league’s best regular season record) only to get trounced 3-0 by Dallas at the Home Depot Center in the Western Conference final. But this season, they finished ahead of Real Salt Lake in the competitive Western Conference and won a record-tying fourth Supporters’ Shield, and they’ve carried that fine form into their playoff run, which saw them dispatch the New York Red Bulls 3-1 on aggregate in the Western Conference semifinals and top Real Salt Lake 3-1 in the Western Conference final.

As for the Dynamo, this is their third MLS Cup final appearance, and they’re looking to make it three wins in three trips, following up on their wins over New England (always a bridesmaid…) in 2006 and 2007.

After a disappointing 2010 season in which they missed the post-season for the first time in their history, the Dynamo made the move from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference to accommodate the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps, and it’s a move that paid immediate dividends for the Dynamo.

By virtue of getting hot down the stretch, the Dynamo finished second in the East, two points behind Sporting Kansas City, which booked them an automatic place in the conference semifinals. In the Eastern Conference semis, they defeated the Philadelphia Union 3-1 on aggregate, and they followed that by stunning Sporting 2-0 on the road in the Eastern Conference final.

TEAM BREAKDOWN

Los Angeles Galaxy

When you look at LA’s squad, it’s hard for three names not to stick out, given that they’re three of the most well-known and gifted talents currently playing in MLS.

Beckham, Landon Donovan, and August acquisition Robbie Keane are certainly key to the Galaxy’s run to this point and will be once again on Sunday.

Becks notched 15 assists in 26 appearances in the regular season, and he’s picked up an assist in each of the Galaxy’s three playoff matches. Donovan has been ever-present this season as well, scoring from the spot in the last two matches after finding the target a dozen times in the regular season. And Keane, who was sidelined by an adductor injury for a few weeks in October, was the best player on the pitch in the Western Conference final, as he scored once and should have had a few more with it.

But you can only accomplish so much without the right supporting cast, and the most notable member of the Galaxy’s supporting cast is forward Mike Magee. It might be easy to lose track of Magee with other threats to tend to, but he’s shown in the playoffs that he should be far from an afterthought, as he’s been on the receiving end of each of Beckham’s three playoff assists.

And as formidable as they might be expected to be in attack, the Galaxy posted the league’s best defensive record in the regular season. They allowed only 28 goals in 34 matches, which made them the only team in the league to allow an average of less than one goal per game. Their tightness is at the back is thanks in no small part to having continuity at the back, with the quartet of Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, and A.J. DeLaGarza all with more than 30 appearances this season.

Even the best back line is prone to the occasional error, so the keeper has to be counted on to step up in crunch time as well, and Josh Saunders is coming off of a fantastic performance against Real Salt Lake. Josh Saunders stepped in when Donovan Ricketts was injured against San Jose in June, and he kept his place in the starting XI even after the Jamaican, who had been L.A.’s #1 keeper for two-plus seasons and was named the top keeper in MLS just last season, returned to fitness.

There is some bad news on the injury front, however. Striker Chad Barrett, who has seven goals and five assists this season, will miss the final after dislocating his right ankle in training last Thursday. With Barrett out, Bruce Arena will likely partner Keane with Adam Cristman, who scored one goal in 11 appearances in the regular season.

Houston Dynamo

While LA are dealing with the loss of a key starter, Houston head into the final with a much more significant injury blow.

Brad Davis was Houston’s top creative force this season, notching four goals and a league-leading 16 assists in the regular season and picking up an assist in each leg of the East semi against Philadelphia. However, he suffered a torn quadriceps in the first half of the East final and won’t be on the pitch against the Galaxy.

That’s big, big blow for Houston’s chances, but to write them off would be a mistake.

While there aren’t the same marquee names on the Dynamo’s roster as there are on L.A.’s, this bunch is hot at the right time, and that counts for a lot. Houston lost only twice in their last 13 regular season games, and they finished the regular season an unbeaten 4-2-0 in their last six, including a 3-1 home win over the Galaxy in their regular season finale. They’ve stayed hot in the playoffs, and after winning in Kansas City, they’ll feel confident about their chances of winning in the Galaxy’s home stadium, even without Davis.

Without their star playmaker, Houston will need to stand tall at the back. That’s been a big part of their unbeaten run, as they’ve allowed only six goals in those nine matches and haven’t surrendered more than one in any of the last eight. With the firepower that they have, the Galaxy will have no shortage of chances, but the Dynamo defense must ensure that few of those chances are clear-cut ones, and keeper Tally Hall, who’s wrapping up his first season as a starter, will have to be at his best.

It won’t be easy to keep the Galaxy off of the scoreboard, but they are prone to defensive lapses, and Houston will have to take advantage of those opportunities. Their chances in attack might not be as plentiful without Davis in there, so they’ll have to make the most of the chances they do get.

The Dynamo don’t have the kind of threats that the Galaxy do, but they’ve gotten production from many sources this season. Their leading scorer is Brian Ching, who had five goals in the regular season and has one in the playoffs, but midfielder Geoff Cameron, defender Bobby Boswell, and forward Will Bruin each hit five in the regular season. And in the playoffs, their five goals have been scored by four players, and their top scorer is defender Andrew Hainault, who struck in the away leg against Philadelphia and notched the opener in the East final.

So, this team knows how to get it done, and with an experienced coach in Dominic Kinnear, who led the Dynamo to their back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, they’ll undoubtedly be prepared for the challenge that awaits on Sunday.

MATCH PREDICTION

Why Los Angeles will win: They’re the better team, plain and simple, and they’d be favorites even if Houston had Davis’ services.

And though the Dynamo will certainly have their share of supporters in the stands, this does amount to a glorified home game for the Galaxy. That’s something that can’t be discounted, especially considering that they’re unbeaten at the Home Depot Center this season.

And after the disappointments of the last two seasons, they’re not only due, but it looks like it’s all come together this season, both in terms of talent and in terms of intangibles.

Why Houston will win: Often enough, getting hot at the right time can lead to glory, and the Dynamo are certainly hot at the right time.

Confidence and resiliency can often trump talent, especially when a title is on the line, and even without their best player, Houston will believe they can win. They successfully navigated 50-plus minutes without Davis in a hostile environment in Kansas City, and already knowing that they won’t have him on Sunday means that they’ll have time to prepare mentally and tactically. His loss is a huge blow for the Dynamo, but they’ll be ready.

For what it’s worth, winning the Supporters’ Shield has rarely translated into playoff success. Of the previous 15 MLS champions, only five had won the Supporters’ Shield that season, and the only team who’s done the Supporters’ Shield/MLS Cup double since 2002 is Columbus, who accomplished the feat in 2008.

However, of the six times that the Supporters’ Shield winner has been in the MLS Cup final, they’ve won it five times, with the only loss being Chicago’s 4-2 defeat to San Jose – led by Landon Donovan, with Dominic Kinnear as an assistant coach – in 2003.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

It’s another step in the forward moving efforts to increase the profile of Major League Soccer (MLS), and one that carries with it more weight than the recent World Football Challenge (WFC), which saw the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus make fleeting pre-season visits to US shores.  Certainly the signing of Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane is one that should bring flair, quality, excitement, and audiences to the Home Depot Centre in California, Los Angeles. 

It was with that in mind that Glenn Hoddle made Keane his big early season signing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2002, after a World Cup in the Far East that saw the Irishman score three times.  On the day Hoddle revealed his new £7million purchase, Teddy Sheringham caressed home a stoppage time penalty against Southampton to propel Tottenham Hotspur to the summit of the Premier League after four games of the 2002-2003 campaign.  At that instant, watching from the stands Keane may have viewed it as an opportunity to play in a team with grand ambition and momentum, who would target a place amongst the established group, frequently challenging for the Champions League places. 

It is with a sad quirk of fate that the chance of top European football should fail to materialise in a Spurs shirt until eight durable years after his debut, by which time he was no longer a fixture in the first team.  It should have said something to Keane that in the very next match after signing, his new team surrendered a two goal lead against Fulham and with it a place at the top of the table.  It was that kind of infuriating moment that has encapsulated Tottenham Hotspur’s progress over the past nine years during which their mercurial and enigmatic Irish star has given pride, beauty and pleasure to his admiring and appreciative supporters.

Keane was a fans favourite throughout his time at White Hart Lane

Finishing; tenth, fourteenth, ninth, fifth, fifth, eleventh, and eighth, from 2003 to 2009 respectively, demonstrates how the team from North London never got close to challenging for the title and on many occasions illustrated little more than mid-table mediocrity.  However, throughout Keane was a beacon of light searing rays to all four corners of White Hart Lane.  His skill and intelligence delivered some wonderful moments for a self proclaimed underachieving club, which so often refers to a history of glory and grandeur.

The standard of his goals were breathtaking, and his appreciation for teammates irrespective of their ability was a standout feature of his game.  Keane looked as wonderful in a Spurs team that only secured Premier League survival with two games to spare in 2004, as he did when they were one game away from the Champions League in 2006.  His partnership over the following two seasons with Dimitar Berbatov was one of the most devastating in the clubs history, not just because of the quantity of goals it brought, but because of the excellence it came with.  

Keane and Berbatov shared the Premier League Player of the Month Award in April 2007

You could suggest, that for the first few years of Keane’s time in blue and white he carried the team, if not in the literal sense then certainly in the hearts of Spurs supporters.  He gave them hope throughout that irrespective of success the club’s philosophy would not be lost.  His crowning moment was of course in the 2008 League Cup Final, which to this day remains Keane’s only major honour.  Nevertheless, it could be argued that his biggest responsibility was on returning to the club in January 2009, after what can now only be looked on as a sabbatical at Liverpool, having initially departed for £20million six months earlier.  At a period when Tottenham Hotspur was still bottom of the table he dependably accepted the team captaincy, and instantly raised the standards of those around him steering Tottenham to a secure ninth place finish.

Of course it would be easy to diminish the Irishman’s achievements on the basis that Spurs have experienced their most successful run in the league and in Europe for many a year without a significant contribution from the former Leeds United forward; Keane has taken loan spells at Glasgow Celtic and West Ham United in that time.  But it should never be forgotten that the man from Dublin preserved the spirit and wonder on which the club was founded at a time when it couldn’t muster fourth place finishes and “glory glory nights” in the Champions League. 

Departing now for pastures new it is incredible to think that the more mature Keane is still only 31.  But for those that he leaves behind it is important to recognise the gift he brought, and to appreciate how lucky they were to have him.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The MLS 2010 season came to a close with Colorado Rapids winning the MLS Cup and LA Galaxy winning the Supporters’ Shield. Now that league and cup competitions are approaching their climax, Major League Soccer has gone on a break and waiting for the 16th season to start on March 15th, 2011.

Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will make their MLS debut – taking the total number of clubs to 18. Both the Timbers and the Whitecaps will join the Western Conference and Houston Dynamo will move into the Eastern Conference.

As far as the kits are concerned, adidas is the lone supplier of the kits for all the clubs playing in the league. Because of that, questions are raised about the amount of involvement by the club in the final decision of the kits. For example, when Seattle Sounders’ third kit for 2011 was unveiled, fans and media personnel wondered whether the Sounders actually opted for electric yellow or was it forced upon them.

The general consensus is that, clubs do have a final nod in the decision of the kits they will wear. So yes, Seattle Sounders did opt for electric yellow as their third color only after joining MLS in November 2007.

You can see the 2011 MLS jerseys here for all the 18 clubs participating.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Due to an increasingly obvious desire to once again saunter amidst the vivid hum of Premier League life, David Beckham (along with the legal suits at Tottenham Hotspur) is currently beavering away, exploring all the channels available to him in his joint bid to turn a brief training excursion/flagrant PR exercise into a full-bodied loan move.

Beckham was officially given the go-ahead to start training with the Tottenham first string after making it through a bout of routine fitness tests at the club’s Spurs Lodge training ground in Essex on Monday morning – though it seems that the LA Galaxy veteran is not content with his current lot, and will continue in his attempts to engineer a deal that will allow his to partake in first-team duties should he be required to.

Negotiations between Tottenham and the Galaxy are ongoing, with three distinct sticking points thought to be repeatedly coming to the fore.

Firstly comes the question of insurance, with the MLS side understandably keen to ensure that their $250 million investment doesn’t do himself a mischief akin to the ruptured Achilles that he suffered whilst on loan at AC Milan last season – an injury which duly forced Beckham to miss out on being held directly culpable for England’s World Cup dirge, lucky sod.

Beckham dodged England's World Cup misery due to injury

Secondly, the Galaxy execs have told Spurs that Beckham is to return to Los Angeles by 10th February – thus giving him plenty of time to reintegrate into their squad in time for their first game of the season against the Seattle Sounders on 15th March – though the Premier League side are hoping to persuade their American counterparts into letting them borrow their prize-asset for a few weeks longer.

Thirdly is the complicated nature of his £160 million (approx.) contract that Beckham has with the Galaxy, which is stuffed to the hilt with various top-ups, revenue percentage agreements and image rights stipulations – though it’s though that he is perfectly willing to waiver certain payments in order to smooth over any cracks that may occur.

Harry Redknapp is still hopeful a deal can be struck

As is, there is no official deal in place, meaning Beckham is free to come and go as he pleases, though Spurs manager Harry Redknapp hasn’t given up hope of coercing Galaxy into allowing the 35-year-old midfielder to pull on the famous Lilywhite shirt in anger (so to speak) at some point during the coming weeks:

“It’s great to have him here. We worked hard to get him here hoping that he could come and play.”

No-one could have worked harder than Daniel Levy, the chairman. They grafted away trying to get a deal done where he could play for us. It’s a bit complicated but you never know. We’ll see how it goes.

[The Spurs board] work on that side of it. I’ve got the easy part. I just identify people, say ‘I’d like to get David – I think he’d be good for us’. It’s up to them. They do the hard work and put the deals on.”

Redknapp was also full of praise for Beckham, praising his fitness levels despite being firmly fit for the knacker’s yard in footballing terms – though the Spurs boss once again insisted that it is still unclear as to whether the former England captain will be made available to him in terms of selection:

“[Beckham's] a fit lad, he looks like he’s in great condition, looks like he looks after himself.

He’s a model professional so that won’t be a problem. Whether a deal will be possible to pull off, I’m not sure.”

An intriguing sideline to the whole debacle is that, should Tottenham be able to tie up a deal by the weekend, Beckham could be in line to make his debut against his former club Manchester United (i.e. the only Premier League club he’d ever entertain thoughts of playing for again) at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Everton manager David Moyes has expressed his desire to bring David Beckham to Everton.

In previous season’s the former England captain has departed current club L.A. Galaxy on loan during the Major League Soccer off-season in order to keep his match fitness in order to play for his country, and Moyes, who played with Beckham during his time at Preston North End, would welcome the 35 year-old to Goodison Park if he chose to do so again:

“I would hope that if David wanted to come he would pick up the phone and call me. I know him and if David Beckham wanted to come back to the Premier League, he would only need to call me or Phil. We would be here for him at Everton.

We would have to look into it financially, but if he came and said to me I would like to come and play I would have to go to the chairman and ask if we could do it, if we think we can make it work by selling enough shirts.”

Moyes is also looking to re-sign Beckham’s L.A. Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan, who had a three-month loan spell at Everton during last season’s MLS off-season, and proved popular with the club’s fans.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Welcome to Fergie Time, a new roundup/newsletter type deal that delivers news, opinion and links directly to your screen, plus made-up quotes, knee-jerk reactions and awards that don’t really exist. As the name suggests, there will be some exaggeration, nsfw moments, canceled press conferences (oh, who are we kidding) and late, late, late scoring of points. You’ll like it, trust me.

HOORAY HENRY?

The Liverpool ownership saga is over. Mostly. Tom Hicks and George Gillett have lost the legal battle, and so the sale of Liverpool FC to New England Sports Ventures (aka the Boston Red Sox people) is now signed, sealed, delivered and posted on Liverpool’s website. It’s bad news for newspaper editors, who can no longer enjoy the cost-saving measure of republishing the business pages in the sports section, but good news for Liverpool fans who will be understandably relieved.

However… Tom Hicks is about as happy as a man who just lost around £140m, and so he isn’t isn’t going quietly. Hicks is blaming “the British establishment” (does he mean Queen Liz?) for the sale and is threatening to sue for… wait for it… one point six billion dollars. Presumably he demanded that figure with his little finger in his mouth.

I’m happy for Liverpool fans. But I’m hoping there’s a little caution in their cheers. Seems that new owner John W. Henry is being greeted as a hero, mostly because he’s not Tom Hicks (or George Gillett). That’s a pretty good qualification to have right now, but I’m thinking Liverpool fans shouldn’t start celebrating too much too soon. Let’s see what Henry does next.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The players of Liverpool Football Club will play an actual football match against the players from Everton Football Club tomorrow. In terms of pre-match build up and actual on-field news, this has to be the most ignored Meseyside derby in the history of Red and Blue. I’m half-expecting Monday’s match reports to focus on the financial implications, analyzing how Fernando Torres shooting will impact fourth quarter profits and why Glen Johnson’s defensive positioning could adversely affect Liverpool’s share price.

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER:

No, England drawing 0-0 with Montenegro at Wembley was not a good result. But it wasn’t the apocalypse either. I foolishly listened to BBC’s 606 Football Phone-In (Moan-In?) after the game, where the first caller used up the BBC’s annual quota of the word “disgrace” in less than three minutes.

The rest of the show was devoted to everyone agreeing that a country the size of England (population 51 million) should always always always be able to beat a country the size of Montenegro (population 600,000). By that logic, England should always lose heavily to China (1.3 billion and rising) and India (1.1 billion), but should beat smaller countries like the Netherlands (16.5 million) comfortably.

THE QUOTE THAT COULD CAUSE TROUBLE:

“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season. None. I’ve been training for the last two months. I haven’t missed a training session, so there’s no problem with my fitness.” – Wayne Rooney.

This will not go down well with Alex Ferguson, who left Rooney out for a couple of recent games, citing said ankle injury. So Fergie is a liar who’s misleading the press, right? Maybe, except when Rooney subbed out of the Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Bolton late last month, he could be seen sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his ankle. The plot thickens.

AWARDS:

Best undiscovered talent: LA Galaxy captain and USA attacker Landon Donovan, whose deadpan unhappiness in this FIFA 11 commercial deserves an Oscar. I guess if you spend that long in L.A. you’re going to pick up some tricks.

Most pro-active health food advocate: US women’s national team striker Abby Wambach, who struck a shot during the warm up that knocked some over-priced junk food out of a fan’s hands. “Go buy some salad!”, she didn’t shout to the guy afterwards.

Craziest fan of the week: Not the idiots who got the Italy vs Serbia game abandoned. They’re not fans. The craziest and most dedicated fan of the week has to be Atletico Nacional supporter Felipe Alvarez, who had an entire team jersey tattooed onto his torso, complete with a #2 on the back to honour Andres Escobar, the popular Atletico Nacional defender who was murdered just days after scoring an own goal at the ’94 World Cup. The obvious question is: Will Alvarez get his tattoo updated when Atletico Nacional release their new kits?

PODCAST:

In the latest episode of 3 Up Front, the boys discuss Wayne Rooney, England, Serbia and more. They also interview Studs Up creator Chris Toy, asking Chris where he gets the inspiration for his football web comics. Listen to the episode nine, and then subscribe via iTunes to receive future episodes.

FANTASY FOOTBALL:

Everyone has a football fantasy. Mine is to win some more money on the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game. There’s between $40 and $200 in prize money available each week. Take a look at the top assist makers in the Premier League before picking your team.

FINALLY, DON’T FORGET:

Fergie Time is only a small part of the Soccerlens experience. You can also follow us on Twitter, find us on Facebook, watch us on YouTube and subscribe to our RSS.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Silly season is never too far away in football, and the prime example of that is the shenanigans surrounding Liverpool FC, their owners, their board, their primary creditor and various interested purchasing parties. International football is overshadowed, England spared a butchering, all because some people made promises they couldn’t keep. Happens all the time, right?

Anyway, on to today’s top three rumours.

Wayne Rooney to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid

Even though this story has no legs or arms or any other shred of evidence to suggest that it exists, we seem to have bought into the notion that Rooney could leave for Madrid if he’s unhappy, and now every such rumour gets extra legs because of the doubts sowed in our minds by the earlier rumours. It’s brilliant, it’s also hogwash.

Rooney has had a horrible summer, and a torrid start to the football season. If every player packed his bags and left for another club when their form went down, we’d never have seen Berbatov’s hattrick against Liverpool or Ronaldo’s magnificent 42 season, or…well, you know what, it’s bollocks. Fergie benching him and trying to get him back to form by shielding him from the press has the opposite impact on the press. Seems like whatever the manager does, you’ll have a go at it.

And so will Rooney, apparently. Which is why he’ll be off next summer, right? Right…

Ronaldinho to leave Milan for LA Galaxy, Kaka to leave Madrid for to Milan

An interesting double-header, I’m not sure if this is interpid journalism by a football store or someone just pulling our legs. Actually I’m pretty sure, but I’ll let you decide.

Claim by Soccerprose:

“Soccerprose.com understands that no new orders for Kaka or Ronaldinho name sets for the backs of soccer jerseys are being sold to suppliers in anticipation of these moves which is a sure sign that are going through.”

So what do you think? Is it:

A. SoccerPro (Soccerprose’s parent company) is floating the rumour just to get backlinks to their “news” site?
B. SoccerPro’s suppliers are handling the transfer dealings for Real Madrid and AC Milan (Adidas!)?
C. The ‘suppliers’ are going to skimp on another 8 months of earnings as there’s no way Ronaldinho will join Galaxy mid-season or Mourinho will let Kaka will leave mid-season?
D. This is just bollocks.

Comments (on all rumours, plus this 11-year-old Chelsea signing) below.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

LA Galaxy’s midfielder David Beckham™ has admitted that he doesn’t envisage returning to Europe on a temporary basis this season, as he has done in recent years.

In a bid to temper his frustrations at catching a surprise second wind on the international scene after prematurely moving from the Real Madrid doldrums into a lucrative semi-retirement in the MLS sustain his fitness following the culmination of the American season in November, Beckham has returned to European football twice in the last two seasons – joining Italian giants AC Milan on loan on both occasions.

The 35-year-old, speaking in an interview with FIFA.com, said that it is unlikely (though not impossible) that he will pursue a similar move this term, as he believes he is still returning to full fitness after rupturing his achilles tendon six months ago – despite returning to Galaxy’s first-team earlier this month;

“I don’t think [I'll return to Europe]. I’ll never say never, but after my injury I need to really focus on getting my full fitness back. Physically I need to get myself back in order after a very long time out of the game. I can’t say for sure, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

When asked if we’d seen the last of him in an England shirt, Beckham inferred that he still has an eye on making a comeback for the national team, despite manager Fabio Capello hinting that his 115-cap international career could be over;

“No, I wouldn’t say that [you've seen the last of me]. But whether it’s over or not is not really down to me. I want to continue to be available to play for England. That’s all I can do. I am passionate about playing for my country and I have been for 15 years now.

Ever since I was a little kid all I ever wanted to do was to play for my country. Whether the road is over or not, I don’t really know, but I will continue to work hard to get my fitness right because that’s the important bit at the moment. Once I’ve done that, we’ll know more.”

Perhaps Beckham’s most telling quote came in response to the final question he faced. When asked what he thought he owed the game of football, the former Manchester United star replied;

“The game has given me everything. I owe a tremendous amount to the game. The biggest thing it’s given me is the opportunity to see the world, and have the experience of playing in some of the biggest leagues in the world and with some of the best teams in the world.

It’s given me the chance to give back to kids with my academies, and hopefully some of these young kids can go on to have a similar kind of experience. These are the things that I cherish about all these years I’ve been playing.”

I know many (this bitter scribe included) poke fun at him for his readiness to ‘go to market’ – and these quotes could just be sterile PR-conscious waffle we’ve all become accustomed to – but for a man in a position that would easily allow the ego to inflate to character-suffocating levels, Beckham’s perpetual local-boy-done-good brand of humility constantly serves as an anti-thesis to the grease-swathed preening nouvelle riche ‘superstars’ that populate his profession.

There, I said it.

You can read the full interview with David Beckham on FIFA.com

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Rumors in and out of the executive suites of professional and international soccer are a perpetual game of partial information.  There is usually some truth, some falsehoods, and some bluffs being run through the press.  It’s a lot like Texas Hold ‘em poker in that executives, agents and managers have to make player acquisition decisions based on some information, but not quite all of the information at hand.

This column will rate some of the rumors going around the world of soccer as either Raise (strong likelihood this is true… bet on it), Call (probably true… but don’t wager any more than you have to), and Fold (false…  don’t make the mistake of telling your friends this is going to happen because it’s not).

Of late the LA Galaxy, David Beckham and Landon Donovan have been getting a lot of attention.

David Beckham’s return will be the boost the Galaxy needs for its playoff run.  CALL

Despite what a columnist over on ESPN says the Galaxy need David Beckham.   The most annoying word bandied about the World Cup this past summer was talisman.  According to the press, every team had one or two or three, and it was usually their star player, how many times did we hear “Messi is Argentina’s talisman.”  Why not simply say M.V.P. or star player and stop with the talisman stuff.  Other reporters would go a step further and define the engine of the team, or the leader of the team as the talisman, while closer to the meaning of the word talisman, again there still were better words to describe them like… engine or leader. 

Except in one case:  England did have a talisman.  He was a man who does seem to embody supernatural or magical powers and he sat on their bench like a good luck charm/weapon.  David Beckham, mostly on the basis of crosses and free kicks they’ve named movies after, embodies performance in the clutch, leadership and a general aura that Fabio Capella wanted with his team.  His role despite some scouting duties was more accurately a person embodying the characteristics of a talisman than any other player mislabeled as such. 

In L.A.  his role is slightly different.  Once fit, he’ll slide back into the team and be a little bit of an engine, a little bit of a leader, a little bit of an M.V.P. but he’ll still be a little bit of a talisman.  He’s a World Class star and his return to training has coincided with the Galaxy picking things up a bit.   Beating the Crew 3 to 1, with Beckham only playing 20 minutes, midfielders Juninho and Dema Kovalenko stepped up their game.  Landon Donovan went as far to say that Beckham back healthy would be the biggest addition to any MLS team in the midst of all the high profile signings like Thierry Henry.  He’s a talisman because L.A. believes his presence makes them stronger, more confident, and better. 

Landon Donovan will not take another loan deal to England or Europe this year.  FOLD.

On first blush this should be a call or a raise, as Donovan has stated he’s wiped out from the World Cup and he needs a break.  However, far more telling was the afterthought that maybe after a week or two he’d feel fit again.  Some people have suggested Landon talks out of both sides of his mouth and if that’s true then we shouldn’t hold him to anything he says.   Not quite so judgmental here, as those folks ignore the fact that he’s said some pretty controversial things (particularly in regard to Beckham) and stood by those comments. 

Truth is Landon says what he’s feeling at the moment and is more honest than most in this approach.   Still, he changes his mind quite a bit and that sometimes makes it look like he lied or glossed over comments previously.  Though, if you want to read into Donovan’s mindset or what he’s likely to feel next, he’s statement on his short-term future said a couple of things and we can imply a couple of others:  I need a short break, if after that, I feel energized and/or get a decent offer I will be on a plane to England, Spain or Italy… but probably not Germany.

David Beckham will feel that itch again to get back into the England side even if it means chasing loan deals of his own again.  FOLD

Yes, Beckham is a patriot and a competitor will probably play for England as long as they ask him to.   He could be retired with a beer belly and dead leg from a freak tatooing accident, and get a call similar to the one Paul Scholes and Jaime Carragher got this past year, and be the first one at training the next day.  So the itch will always be there, no disputing that, but what is in question is the best way for Beckham to get back into the team.  He’s probably realized by now he can’t make the squad if he can’t play. 

Loan deals to AC Milan that put him in the mix but also put him into rehab training aren’t going to work.  Even Beckham has probably accepted he can only put his body through so much.  Year round playing at his age will only break him down and not build up his English candidacy.  Look for him to contribute to the Galaxy’s stretch run, rest but probably still train, as he did with Arsenal previously, in the MLS offseason, and then look to come out in strong next year making a big enough mark in the MLS that Capello hears about in England (yes, that will have to be big).  Plus, it’s more likely this year a high profile side like AC Milan won’t be dialing Beckham up, despite his jersey sales, so he may not have to make a decision.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Major League Soccer’s hottest commodity is not one of their new, highly-paid foreign stars, but their homegrown California kid, Landon Donovan, and they must do everything they can to keep him or pay the consequences.

Donovan, the all-time leading goal scorer for the United States Men’s National Team, is being closely watch by a handful of the top European clubs, but the MLS can ill afford to lose him.

The MLS is in it’s 14th season, but still in its infancy stage, so if they want to continue the sport at the grassroots levels then they must keep Donovan in this country.

International superstars David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg – as well as the host of Mexican international players – will do a good job at selling jerseys and filling seats, but they will not do the job a player like Donovan is capable of doing.

Donovan has become an instant American icon following his exertions and leadership at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and it will help young teenage boys stay with the sport rather than abandon it for one of the other major sports here in America.

Dependent
MLS Commissioner, Don Garber, has already said that the Los Angeles Galaxy star is not for sale, but he needs to stick to his guns, or the league – as well as American soccer – will be setback another four to eight years.

Big spending Barclays Premier League clubs – like Manchester City and Everton, a club he spent time with on loan with last season – will definitely be testing – if they already haven’t – Garber’s resolve which would have to be a record-setting transfer fee for an American player.

Donovan will more than likely be in the American starting line-up against Brazil, but if the rumors surrounding the future are true about Bob Bradley’s future, then another English club might reach out with a bid for Landon.

A win or decent performance by Bradley and Donovan against the all-mighty Brazil could all but secure their time on this side of the Atlantic with Aston Villa interested in the New Jersey native boss.

Villa, who is owned by Cleveland businessman, Randy Lerner, could very easily make Bradley his next manager following the somewhat shocking resignation of Martin O’Neill.

Bradley did a solid job on the world’s biggest football stage in South Africa this summer, but Sunil Gulati, who is the President of United States Soccer Federation, has said that the team failed to meet his expectations.

Despite retracting that statement, Gulati has put the sword to Bradley and might force him to leave his post, which would make Donovan his number one target if he lands a managerial position at European club.

If all this speculation is true, it would be frightening to see Donovan line-up on the opposite side of Ashley Young with two strong targets to aim for in the middle at Villa Park next season.

Villa already has an American contingency with three Americans on their books with Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan and young Eric Lichaj, so adding Bradley and Donovan would help both settle in.

Landon Donovan has been the most consistent performer and the face of Major League Soccer, so it is imperative that Don Garber keeps his prized-asset to help grow this sport.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News