Becks got about 10 mins coming on as a sub against Croatia today. He didn't do a whole lot, but it was nice to see him getting a run out, and he'll be nice and fresh for Dallas this weekend. Galaxy got a name check too, with the commentator saying about how scored against Chivas and would be travelling to Greasy Wheel Park.
Had one nice long ball to Milner, another substitute, but as stated not much else to mention. Two non-football observations: -- Huge ovation from the Wembley crowd when our former captain entered, although I'd love to hear the English media debate about how much of that was for Lennon -- who had an excellent match for England. -- DB has persisted with the short sleeves--which I think is a first in an England shirt. Rooney and some others were wearing the long sleeves. This will sound odd, but I had somehow thought he was wearing short sleeves only in LA as some sort of internal protocol decision he made in his head. Because that's how I think his head operates (always thinking about the image). But perhaps he's moved past that and now simply does what he wants.
He wore short sleeves in the last friendly game with Holland as well. He started this since he came back to US. And yes, I think since he did not have that huge responsibility on his shoulders, he's a lot more relaxed and just enjoys the journey as far as he can go.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmFelcwJ7wk"]YouTube - David Beckham on Ellen DeGeneres 09/08/09[/ame] Becks tells Ellen that he is going back to Europe for the sake of the WC but he is based here.
Or maybe his handlers are hoping fanboys will feel compelled to buy BOTH short and long-sleeve beckham shirts.
I feel the long sleeves were to hide the "tats" to be "family-friendly" to a US audience. The short sleeves since July are another signal of not worrying about that particular audience.
While that sounds like a possible reasonable interpretation, I was under the impression that DB *always* wore the long sleeves, long long before he ever worried about catering to and US audience. Didn't he wear them at Madrid and ACM? Sanda - you would know if that impression is correct or not.
beckham's worn long sleeves since his early days at man united. he has said that one reason he wore long sleeves is indeed to hide his tats, as some people found them offensive. who knows why he stopped. i assumed it was due to weather here in the summer. i remember him wearing short sleeves for a few matches in euro 2004 and world cup 2006. i assume it's because of the weather, but who knows.
my theory: always been a little self conscious about the tats on the field (not off). after a yr or so playing in the oppressive heat common in MLS in july & aug in Dallas, DC, etc, got tempted to try the short sleeves. did so, and each time he did it, it got easier and felt less self-conscious. finally became comfortable to go short sleeve in europe as well.
Likely to return to LAG on 15th July 2010. EPL ends on 9th May 2010 Serie A ends on 16th May 2010 Mid-May 2010 Capello has announced the England team have 3 weeks training at altitude in Austria. World Cup opens 10th June 2010 in South Africa the WC final is on 10th July. The only way I see Beckham back in March for MLS is if Capello has completely dropped and killed any hope of DB ever playing for England again. Which I think is unlikely. The MLS is too lucrative for the final two years, and sponsorship plus MLS team ownership for Beckham to walk away. I think realistically that Landon will be gone in as soon as the 09 Season ends.
As the man himself has stated, there is a very real possibility he does not make the England squad. Lennon just played the match of his life in an England shirt and Shaun Wright Phillips is going gangbusters for Man City. Neither bring what Beckham can bring, but what they do bring is quite possibly much more desirable -- the ability to pin back defenders, the ability take on people one v. one, and that little thing called speed -- and really, how many right sided midfielders does a team need? And what does a team not need? Drama. As a person, DB seems rather low key. As an entity, his baggage is something of a nightmare for coaches and teams. Capello has laid down a new order on the England squad, demanding protocols (such as curfews, dress codes at all times, no crisps on the plane, etc.) that are designed to create cohesion and eliminate any diva mentality from the millionaires he's managing. He obviously respects Beckham and what he brings -- and Beckham certainly brings something different to the England locker room than he does to the LA locker room. But is it worth it? Pure speculation obviously, and at this point I actually hope Beckham makes the squad so that these last few nightmarish years won't be entirely and ludicrously for less than naught. And there's bound to be injuries. But I wouldn't lay any money on it.
It DOES seem unlikely. Capello likes him. No..make that he LOVES him. Hehehe... http://goal.com/en-us/news/85/engla...pello-hints-that-beckham-will-go-to-world-cup [.....Clearly a keen admirer, Capello explained the importance of the former Manchester United man both on and off the pitch. He said to The Daily Mirror: “We will have to wait and see what happens in the next few months. "But David Beckham is always with us because, for me, he is an important player. “He is good in the group, he is good at every moment in training. Some players are important for the position and morale of the group.”.....] http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-09-10-250069645_x.htm ....basically the same thing earlier at the top of the article.
Oh..another one.. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/David-Beckham-gets-World-Cup-nod-from-Fabio-Capello-article151979.html
Shaun Wright-Phillips was absolutely brutal against Slovenia, truly horrendous. It was no surprise to anyone even remotely involved to see him get dropped for the Croatia game. David Beckham will be on the squad because he brings instant offense as a late game sub, unlike in the MLS, England can actually convert on the crosses and set piece deliveries. If Theo Walcott & Joe Cole are healthy, I would expect Wright-Phillips to not make the squad at all.
All these points, except the "drama", are valid points and he knew these as well as anyone else. He had a long shot to make into the WC team. There are Walcott, Lennon, Philips, maybe even Bently if he suddenly picks his form back, all ahead of him in the picking order. Plus, he's 35 next year with a long season ahead of him. No matter how well he may play for the season, there's every chance that he picks up a injury right before the tournament and it's all over. However, as long as there's one slice of hope, he will do everything, I mean everything to give it a try. This is his last chance to make a bang. After dropping by McClown, he believed it's over. He's the one who came back from impossible. At this point, this is the gamble he'd love to take. If he won at last, great. If he lost, he wouldn't regret it. I wouldn't lay my money on it either. I will just watch him in action, wish for the true Hollywood ending and enjoy the story unfolding in front me.
As for the "drama" part, I have to say it's laughable. Capello is not Yellop. He dealt with biggest stars through all his coaching career. Besides, Rooney, Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, all of them are bigger football stars than Becks now. No one can create distraction to Capello. He will chew you alive and spit it out.
sanda is correct. capello won't stand for any non-sense and to be honest i've always got the sense when beckham is in an england camp or tournament he's 100% committed to england. i was always under the impression the WAG label was something posh endured (though certainly enjoyed), but something many of the others actively sought out. lennon, swp and walcott are all ahead of beckham in skill, but i don't think there's a current england player who's more passionate about playing for national team than becks - which to be honest is a sad inditement on the state of england side. as an ex-pat and as much as i love the galaxy, i do so want to see england win a world cup before i die.
In Germany 06 the England WAG (wives and girlfriend) culture was a major distraction and circus. Capello has already said "wives and girlfriends – will only be able to visit their husbands or partners on the day after matches in South Africa. Capello said: "We are there to play, not for a holiday. The players will have one day with their family. It will be one day a week, after each game and that is enough. That's it. I like [the set-up] we have made here at training [at their hotel in Hertfordshire] where the players stay together."
David reportedly suffers from OCD. Ritually maintaining things in a certain way (keeping even numbers of food items in the pantry, vacuuming the carpet in straight lines) is a common symptom of OCD. Maybe the long sleeves were part of that. Or maybe it was a player superstition - like he scored a great goal wearing his long sleeved uniform, so he kept on wearing it as lucky charm. I always thought he was just trying to protect his tattoos from an excess of sun exposure to prevent fading. Maybe he has recently discovered SPF 50, or "liquid quilt", offers the same protection, so he is now enjoying short sleeves. I don't believe he cares about hiding his tats from anyone. He is to proud of them. He has a tattoo on the back of his neck, that he can never hide on the field (until they come out with turtlenecked uniforms) and he takes his shirt off after every single game. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Agree with this. Plus he has been wearing long sleeves since BEFORE he ever had a tattoo, while OCCASIONALLY wearing short sleeves in between. The most I've seen him wearing short sleeves with England (before this Croatia match) was when he was bald back in 2000/2001. Maybe he just finally feels the heat playing in US..and couldn't stand it. And perhaps he's been more comfortable since that and starting to enjoy it, thus wore the short sleeves with England (v. Croats). This is actually no big deal, really.
New report that Becks will head back to Milan after the MLS season ends: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/09/10/david-beckham/index.html
Im tired of Beckham. If he wants to go back so bad, it's time to cut our losses and get rid of him. US soccer, and the Galaxy, don't need him. He has not given anything but problems to both, and it would be in their best interest to get rid of him. DB has NEVER shown any sort of commitment to be here, and every comment is "I am committed BUT I reaaaaally want to play for England". We all know where is allegiances lie, so lets just send him there. I refuse to spend any money on the Galaxy until this embarrassing situation is behind the club. Either he commits to the team 100% (no playing for Milan, because that's not 100% commitment), or he goes. There is no in between. David Beckham has done nothing but pocket money from the United States soccer fans and given us NOTHING in return.
its funny how all the hate goes to Beckham. AEG knew what they were doing when they brought him here. they changed the kit because of him. they hired Gullit for him. they let 19Entertainment dictate sht. they mismanaged the team long before Beckham was anywhere close to la. yet shoot the messenger eh. and Leiweke is still here somehow. now thats funny.
I'm a diehard Kings fan and I am not going to argue against anything you said as not true. But what TL did has nothing to do with the dedication that Beckham claims to have and has yet to show. After 2 years, you'd think some sort of dedication would be obvious. If playing for England was so important to him, then he never should have signed a contract to play in the MLS, since it hurt his chances so much. It's like saying "I want to race for Chevy, but I'm going to drive a Ford for a few months and then borrow a Chevy when it comes time." Other than selling jerseys, what exactly has David Beckham, the savior of American Soccer, actually done? I mean, other than uniting how many people don't like him. Don't get me started on TL. I was AT the last Kings playoff game they were in. And I can barely remember it since it was so long ago. You did say that TL mismanaged the team before DB showed up, and then you used several examples of things TL did FOR DB. What did DB do for the Galaxy? Beckham is not the messenger. He is the warrior. The messenger is the guy who told us Beckham was coming to MLS. Beckham is the guy who was supposed to show up and DO something. I was never anti-Beckham until he decided not to return to the Galaxy like he was supposed to.