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Hopeful Beckham Remains Patient
Oct. 09, 2007
David Beckham, ever-optimistic, declared in a recent television interview that he hoped he could return to the field from knee and ankle injuries for the Los Angeles Galaxy in their match against the Houston Dynamo.
It's no surprise that Beckham set that game as his goal. Though the Galaxy's unexpected win streak has given the team a prayer of reaching the playoffs, Houston was probably the toughest team that Los Angeles will face coming down the home stretch. Yet without a win against the Dynamo, the Galaxy were all but eliminated.
To avoid that end, Beckham participated in his first team practice in weeks. His teammates broke out into a smattering of appreciative applause as he stepped onto the field. He was able to run during the scrimmage, but he avoided the full-contact of tackles.
“He's an experienced player, and he knows his limits,” said Galaxy coach Frank Yallop, whose tenure is looking more secure with the recent win streak.
On the other hand, it could be that the Galaxy organization is setting higher limits on Beckham than before.
He did not return to the field after that first practice, as training staff evaluated and monitored his progress. Beckham's knee swelled slightly, so the decision was made to not to include him on the trip to Houston . The Galaxy were able to pull out the win anyway, keeping their improbable playoff dreams alive and giving Beckham another week of recovery.
“David Beckham isn't coming back to play for us until he's completely ready,” said general manager Alexi Lalas. “We're going to be very careful and completely sure that he's healed before he plays.”
Now, like another injured Galaxy player on the mend, Beckham must count on his teammates to get the results required to make the matches he can return for matter.
“We're just hoping,” said defender Chris Albright.
However, even if the Galaxy falter in their late-season push, Beckham as a player still has something to prove in these final games of the year.
With his injury lasting so long, many people have already forgotten his contributions as a player – such as the sublime free kick and canny assist that sent the Galaxy to the finals of the SuperLiga tournament.
Instead, Beckham has been quickly branded a bust, a distraction to his struggling team, and a malingering, fragile has-been.
If anything, his eagerness to prove his worth and help his team probably hurt Beckham more than anything. He tried to push through his ankle injury early on, even though it hampered his effectiveness considerably.
There's also another team Beckham wants to impact. England coach Steve McClaren has already changed course once in recalling Beckham to the squad. It will probably take good performances in matches, even at the lowly level many still consider MLS to be, to persuade him to do so again.
That leaves Beckham with plenty of motivation to return and perform in competitive games as soon as possible. The Galaxy's home match versus Toronto FC is the next option.
It could well be that Lalas isn't the only one who believes in restraint, now, however. Beckham recently flew to England to visit his father, Ted, who was hospitalized following a reported heart attack.
Any brush with mortality tends to put things in a new perspective. It also makes one value health more than ever. Beckham, though he is far from washed up, could be learning to be kinder to his aging frame.
It's a lesson that another major signing in the league, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, has taken well. Blanco has done what Beckham hoped to do – lead his squad into playoff contention – by playing wisely and well. Blanco leaves the all-out tackles to other members of the squad, and he conserves his energy on the field even while delivering tricky passes and knocking excellent set plays. In fact, his coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, recently mentioned that he would like Blanco to run even less, so that he will be fresher in games and ready for the big playoff games the Chicago Fire anticipate having.
Beckham's most recent injury, his knee, took place when he rushed in on a late challenge. No one is expecting him to lose the competitive hunger that has driven him to become such an accomplished player, but as he grows more accustomed to the league, Beckham would be wise to pick his spots in which to pull out the quality that he is still capable of displaying.
After all, it was only a few months ago that Beckham pulled off the phoenix trick he has mastered before – coming back from the exile of the bench at Real Madrid to help them to the championship. Yet as much as Beckham contributed, in the last match, with the title on the line, Beckham was hobbling around the field, clearly affected by the ankle injury he would carry to the Galaxy.
It was when Beckham was finally taken off the field that Real Madrid won the game. Similarly, he is now standing on the sidelines, trying to get by with a little help from his new friends. His return could be triumphant, but at the least, it will not be at a destructive cost to his health.
The longevity of his five-year contract to MLS allows both Beckham and the Galaxy to see the big picture. More chances at championships await, even if this year's ends.
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The Galaxy opened their stadium, the Home Depot Center on June 7. But in order for their home to be ready, the team had to play a record 8 games to start the season and failed to win a game. In fact, the Galaxy finish the season without a win away from home the whole season. After the season's final game, the Galaxy had the final playoff spot in the West. In their aggregate series with the Earthquakes, they seemed well on to vindication for the MLS Cup loss 2 years earlier as they held 4 goals to 0 lead midway through the 2 nd game. A thing happened as the Earthquakes scored four unanswered goals to force a tiebreaker. In that session, the Earthquakes' Rodrigo Farina score to send the Quakes onto the next round.
In 2004 Looking to return to the top, the Galaxy would go through a mediocre 1 st half of the season before 3 straight wins over the summer. But from July 14 on, the Galaxy won only 2 more games, one in September and one in October. The Galaxy had a record of 11-9-10, good enough for 2nd in the West and the playoff, remaining the only club in MLS to have a playoff spot in every year of league in the playoffs, the Galaxy withstood an early challenge from the Rapids to win the aggregate goal series, 2-1, scoring 2 times in Game 2. In the conference final, the Galaxy's season would come to an end in Kansas with a 2-0 loss to Arnaud and the Wizards.
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