David Beckham may be a fading sports megastar, hoping to top a marquee some day on the Sunset Strip. Or he might still create magic with a soccer ball, trying to make his new team better and popularise the game in the United States.
Or perhaps he’ll make his mark in both gritty Carson, where the Los Angeles Galaxy play, and Hollywood.
Forgetting for the moment that Beckham’s wife, Victoria, is a former Spice Girl, that they rank Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes among their best friends, and that one of Hollywood’s premier talent agencies negotiated his Galaxy contract, Beckham tried to focus on soccer.
”I’m coming there not to be a superstar,” the 31-year-old Beckham said on Friday via satellite from Madrid. ”I’m coming there to be part of the team, to work hard and to hopefully win things.
”With me, it’s about football. I’m coming there to make a difference. I’m coming there to play football.”
Reporters were not allowed to pose questions. Instead, a moderator did the asking.
Dressed in a black suit with white shirt and black tie, Beckham said he hopes to work with American youngsters and keep them interested in soccer when they are finished with youth leagues.
He’s joining a so-so team in Major League Soccer (MLS), a league not respected by fans in the more fervent soccer countries around the world.
”I’m not saying me coming over to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America. That would be difficult to achieve,” Beckham said. ”Baseball, basketball, American football, they’ve been around. But I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could make a difference.”
Making a difference
Tim Leiweke of AEG, the sports and entertainment company that runs the Galaxy, believes Beckham can make a huge difference. ”Certainly, he will bring an audience, a fan base and an intensity to our sport that we’ve never had,” he said.
The AEG president said Beckham is far from done. ”David is still a very good player. Peyton Manning in football, the other football, Allen Iverson in basketball and Tiger Woods in golf are all the same age as Beckham.”
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas, who was one of the US’s best-known players, said the decision to sign Beckham ”was based on soccer”.
”At the end of the day, this team needs to win on the field,” Lalas said.
Lalas said he did not think Beckham should not be blamed for the lack of success by either Real Madrid or England.
”It’s an easy way out to blame David,” Lalas said. ”And to be fair, he has a target on him. And that’s OK, that’s the pressure he plays under. But the mediocrity of different teams at different times and the blame that’s put on him, I think that’s unfair.
”He’s 31 years old and I think he has some of his best soccer ahead of him. And he’s facing a new challenge. What could be a fresher start for him than to come to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy?”
Beckham plans to fulfil his contract with Real Madrid before heading for the US. He is not expected to join the Galaxy, whose MLS season begins in April, until August.
His five-year deal with the team, one of three MLS franchises owned by AEG, is believed to be for around $10-million a year. His representatives have said that outside endorsements could run his income to $250-million annually.
Attention
Though he won’t immediately be besieged as he is in Europe, he has been gaining attention in the US since the movie Bend It Like Beckham.
”I came to LA about four years ago, and I was walking around and I got a few people coming up to me and recognising me,” Beckham said. ”But then I went back about a year ago, and when I looked out the window in the house I was staying in and there were 45 paparazzi cars outside.
”I realise I’m not as recognised in the US as I am around Europe, around other parts of the world. But hopefully, playing for the Galaxy will change that. ”
His friendship with Cruise and Holmes should make adjusting to life in Los Angeles easier for him and his wife.
”That’s going to be a big help to us, to have friends when we arrive in LA,” Beckham said. ”I talked with him for about an hour last night and an hour the night before.
”I told him there might be an announcement, and asked him for his advice as well. He’s a very wise man and a very good friend of mine. To have his experience and have him explain some things to me, that’s a big favour. He couldn’t speak any higher than what he was saying about LA.”
Beckham said his wife and their three children aren’t packed yet, and added with a grin: ”It might take a while with Victoria.”
The former Posh Spice has been known for her varied and fashionable wardrobe. — Sapa-AP