Saturday, February 7, 2009

Dora, uh I mean, David the Explorer


Well, there is so much conversation out there with regards to David Beckham's desire to stay with AC Milan rather than return to the LA Galaxy & the MLS. In these discussions, there are the questions, "Is it only about the $?", "He is doing all of this to just be a strong candidate for England's Nat'l team for the 2010 WC?", "The MLS was not what he had hoped it would be?"
From the perspective of the "Zone". I see all of these questions as valid. I think the answer is pretty straight forward. You just have to put yourself in the boots of

Beckham. No matter how much he is known by his work off the pitch, at the core, he is a footballer. When he left Europe, I am sure he thought that this American adventure would be his career finale. I think he really believed he would become the soccer ambassador to a country that quite honestly needed one. At the same time, he knew he and Posh would be perfectly comfortable in LA with all the $ and celeb friends.

The one thing I believe he did not expect was how much he would miss playing at the highest level. This "loan" to the Rossoneri opened up his eyes to (1) his competetive nature (2) his love for the game at the highest levels and (3) his abilities can still contribute at this level. Just the fact that a team like AC Milan was interested in a loan must have been exciting for Becks. If the same thing happens to Hucks - I wouldn't be surprised if his decisions were similar. Look at Rickey Henderson - he was hanging around and hanging around with the hope of a MLB team to become interested in a 40+ yr old outfielder that still had tools. He sure didn't keep playing in the minors for the money. He loves baseball. I really think that Beckham now realizes how much he loves football. Also, Beckham doesn't have to be "the" player at the San Siro - he'll just be one of the boys. He can just focus on his part to help this great team (I am a biased AC Milan supporter). A bonus: I think Becks can learn alot from Kaka :)


Was his short stay in the US beneficial to football in this country? Sure, maybe a little bit. The long-term impact might be significant if other overseas stars see that the MLS is a valid alternative depending on where you are in your career.


(*One thing H pointed out - now I have to figure out another marketing approach to sell my group seats for the Q's vs Galaxy game later this summer..."



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