Bruce Arena praises "wonderful" David Beckham

The England midfielder's return also coincided with claims in a book that he had fallen out with Galaxy favourite Landon Donovan and for a moment it seemed the entire season could turn into a circus.

"The reason it didn't happen is because of the way David played and the way he demonstrated that he cares about the LA Galaxy," Arena said in a teleconference on Tuesday.

"His performances quietened his detractors and I think, obviously at the Milan exhibition there were some frustrated fans ... but I never felt that David wouldn't be able to handle it," he added.

"David has been through an awful lot in his career, he has played with some of the biggest clubs in the world and been through a lot of adversity as a player.

"I think he was obviously well prepared to deal with any kind of issues that he was confronted with when he returned and lets face it he has done a wonderful job with that." Read the whole piece

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David Goes to Lakers Game
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Galaxy to Play for MLS Cup!

After three seasons of losing, melodrama and internal turmoil, the Los Angeles Galaxy will play for Major League Soccer's championship.

Gregg Berhalter and Landon Donovan scored in overtime to put the Galaxy into MLS Cup final with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Friday night.

The Galaxy will play in their first MLS Cup final since 2005 in Seattle on Nov. 22 against the winner of Saturday's Eastern Conference final match between Chicago and Real Salt Lake. Keep reading & see video clip

MLS match highlights here.


David Beckham sparks ticket rush as Los Angeles Galaxy reach MLS Cup final

David Beckham's presence in the Major League Soccer Cup final has sparked a ticket rush for the match in Seattle.

The England midfielder helped Los Angeles Galaxy reach their first MLS Cup final since they won their second championship in 2005 as they beat Houston Dynamo 2-0 in the Western Conference Championship.

Sunday's match at Seattle's Qwest Field against Real Salt Lake was already a 36,000 sell-out before the finalists were known. However, the Galaxy's extra-time victory at the Home Depot Center has prompted organisers to open up another tier of the stadium and make a further 6,000 tickets available. Keep reading

David Beckham backed by England over decision to play for LA Galaxy

David Beckham has said there is no problem between him and the England management following his decision to withdraw from Fabio Capello's squad in order to play for LA Galaxy in the MLS play-offs. Read the story

Kaka: Capello must include Beckham in final squad

Brazilian midfielder Kaka believes Fabio Capello must include David Beckham in England's World Cup squad for next summer's World Cup finals.

Beckham played his part in their qualifying campaign, although is not guaranteed a place in the final 23-man squad and Kaka, who played alongside the L.A. Galaxy star with AC Milan earlier this year, believes his experience and quality are invaluable.

"David Beckham is one of the most intelligent players I have ever played alongside," said Kaka. "I am pleased he is going back to Milan, even though I am no longer there.

''I see that as a great move by Milan to take him again because he will be important to them, as he showed last season. But Milan will also be important to him with the World Cup coming up. Keep reading

England turn to Beckham to boost bid

FA chairman Lord Triesman has turned to David Beckham to help salvage England's flagging 2018 World Cup bid. The cash-strapped bid team will spend £50,000 getting Beckham in front of key players at the World Cup draw on December 4. Read on

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Galaxy vs. Houston
Well, folks - the campaign marches on. Tonight the Galaxy host Houston in their ongoing bid to win the MLS title, in another playoffs round. Good luck Galaxy!!! Kickoff is 8.25pm PT / 11.25pm ET, coverage begins 8.00pm PT / 11.00pm ET.
Preview here.

TV: Deportes, ESPN2

Online: Often ESPN carries MLS games on ESPN360.com, so if your provider carries it, check the page's schedule for LA Galaxy. Justin.tv - visit the page and use the search function to find "la galaxy" (or "galaxy") closer to kickoff. MyP2P may have a list of feeds here. Any software you need for P2P can be found here. Atdhe.net may also have one link here, look down the list for the match's name. :)

There's a little more info here.

Radio: 1120 AM, 1150 AM

Text: ESPN live text commentary or graphic Gamecast.

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NEW Gallery
We've got a new small but totally adorable gallery of photos: David takes Romeo & Cruz to a hockey game! Enjoy. :)


Poll Results: Milan The Environment Beckham Needs To Earn WC Spot
Here is just a little piece about Goal.com's weekly poll, which happened to focus on David's return to AC Milan and bid to make more appearances for England. I wouldn't mention it except it's interesting to see how last year people were against his Milan move, but this year seem more tolerant of it. Food for thought and perhaps a good year ahead for us Beckham fans!

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Chivas 0 - 1 Galaxy

Donovan penalty ensures Galaxy progress
Los Angeles Galaxy reached the Major League Soccer Western Conference final with a victory over local rivals Chivas USA.

The Galaxy progressed to Friday night's game against Houston Dynamo with a 1-0 second-leg win over Chivas at the Home Depot Centre courtesy of a 73rd-minute Landon Donovan penalty that gave them a 3-2 aggregate victory.

The win leaves the Galaxy just one game away from the MLS Cup final which decides the league champions, but next weekend's game against Houston in Los Angeles means Beckham will miss England's friendly against Brazil in Qatar on Saturday.

Beckham had sent in a defence-splitting pass to Donovan that led to Mike Magee being felled for the game-winning penalty kick, but the Englishman was forced out of the action five minutes later having struggled from a knock to his lower back.

The England international had ice strapped to the problem area and watched from the bench as as his team-mates hung on to their lead against a late Chivas rally.

Houston had reached the conference final earlier in the day with a 1-0 home win over Freddie Ljungberg's Seattle Sounders. Brian Ching's stoppage-time winner had been the only game of the two-legged tie and brought to an end a successful inaugural season for the Sounders.

In the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Fire progressed at the expense of the New England England Revolution and will face Real Salt Lake, who knocked out defending MLS champions Columbus Crew on Friday. Source & Watch the video highlights here

Beckham ruled out for England

David Beckham has pulled out of the England squad to face Brazil on Saturday after the midfielder's club LA Galaxy reached the MLS Western Conference final on Sunday.

[...] The former Real Madrid and Manchester United midfielder is England's most capped outfield player ever with 115 appearances for the national team, and is ten games short of goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125-cap record.

England manager Fabio Capello included Beckham in the 24-man squad for the friendly in Qatar with the condition that he would withdraw if Galaxy qualified for the final. Source

David on Winning the Western Conference
Unfortunately this got caught in an e-mail error and I wasn't able to post this earlier; it's a couple weeks old but no less enjoyable. A reader pointed out this video interview with David after the Galaxy won the Western conference. :) Check out the video here!


David Beckham Footprint Painting Sells for $500,000 in Doha

A painting featuring David Beckham’s footprint sold for $500,000 at auction in Qatar’s capital Doha, the committee organizing the country’s bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2022 said.

The 7-foot by 6-foot painting by Sacha Jafri, titled “David Beckham - A Celebration,” was auctioned on Oct. 30, the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee said in a press release today. The buyer was not named in the release.

The painting was sold ahead of an exhibition match between England and Brazil in Doha on Nov. 14, in which Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Beckham may participate. Beckham will join AC Milan in January on loan to boost his chances of being included in England’s squad for next year’s World Cup. Source

Beckham’s Contributions Amount to More Than Celebrity Stimulus

David Beckham curled a beautiful 50-yard pass to Landon Donovan, beginning a sequence that ended with Donovan’s penalty kick in the 73rd minute and a 1-0 playoff victory for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Back spasms forced Beckham out of the Sunday match against archrival Chivas USA, but he continued to exert his influence. When five minutes of extra time were added, he protested so fiercely to an assistant referee that Coach Bruce Arena had to intercede. And when a scuffle broke out at the final whistle, Beckham rushed into the scrum, shoving a Chivas player before calming down as a peacemaker.

In these moments, Beckham clearly showed his passion for the Galaxy, and fans rewarded him with a standing ovation. It was a stark contrast to mid-summer, when he returned from a loan to A.C. Milan and found his previous effort and leadership harshly criticized by Donovan and jeered by Galaxy supporters. Essentially, they accused Beckham of giving up on a struggling team last season. Keep reading

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Hi folks, I was finally able to get online to give you a link for how to find the Galaxy vs. Chivas game on now - leg 2 of the MLS playoff showdown between the two teams.

So here is a link to p2p options, there are several quality ones. The match is being broadcast on ESPN2 here in America, and we're at halftime now. Sorry I was unable to get it to you earlier, but hopefully the majority of you saw that it's on a major network and have been able to tune in!!

News coming soon. :)

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David's Latest Blog

Hi Everyone,

I was pleased with our result against Chivas, they are a good team and we showed resolve to come back from one down and then get a draw. This is an important week and we are all determined as a team to go through to the next round.

As you may have heard, I will be returning to AC Milan for a short-term loan move in January. I need to give myself the best chance to make the World Cup squad and playing for Milan will help me. I’m looking forward to seeing the players & staff again. I want everyone to know, I'm committed to LA Galaxy and MLS in the long term and remain as passionate as ever about growing the game of soccer in America.

In the meantime, I’m completely focused on winning a trophy with the Galaxy. I’d like to thank all of you for your continued support.

That’s all for now.

Take care,
David

David Beckham earned $16.5 million from sponsorships deals in '08

The Galaxy's David Beckham earned about $16.5 million last year from various sponsorship deals, according to British company registry figures.

Beckham's Footwork Productions last year saw its income rise 91% from 2007 and it accounts for about two-thirds of the soccer star's sponsorship deals, according to the Associated Press.

Beckham, 34, earns $6.5 million a year from his Los Angeles Galaxy contract, which is not part of his sponsorship income. (Beckham paid an undisclosed sum to arrange his loan from the Galaxy to AC Milan for five months earlier this year.)

Beckham and the Galaxy anounced Monday that he would again return to AC Milan during the winter for the opportunity to win a spot on England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The plan calls for Beckham to return to the Galaxy in the summer after the World Cup ends. Source

UK Government: David Beckham and Commonwealth War Graves Commission team up for remembrance

Football legend David Beckham has lent his support to an engaging and imaginative new education resource from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which teaches students about the sacrifices made by
footballers during the two world wars.

Glory Days - Football in Times of War is a ten minute DVD aimed at engaging teachers and students. Introduced by David Beckham, and supported by the Daily Mirror newspaper, it has been sent to all schools in the United Kingdom in time for Remembrance Day. The film can be viewed at www.cwgc.org/glorydays/dvd , while the Glory Days website can be accessed at www.cwgc.org/glorydays .

As David says, "We often talk about footballers as heroes, but the real heroes were those men and women, some of them footballers, who gave their lives in the two world wars, and those servicemen and women who still fight for us today. We should remember them always." Keep reading

Victoria Buys David Micro Pigs

Victoria Beckham, David's wife of 10 years, splurged recently on a pair of pigs. Micro-pics, to be exact. The designer breed is all the rage in the UK, especially amongst celebrities. Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, has one. Granted, his first purchase after reaching the magical age of 18 and being allowed to access the money he had earned from the Potter films was, seriously, an ice cream truck.

The micro piggies allegedly cost Posh over $2,300 each. Their names, for now, are Elton and David, after Elton John and David Furnish. Keep reading

Beckham won't leave Galaxy cupboard bare

A year ago at this time, the Galaxy agreed to loan David Beckham to Italian side AC Milan.

Major League Soccer fans and observers gasped and panicked at the move that seemingly left more questions than answers.

Was this the first step on his way out of MLS? How could he turn his back on his club and the league? Where were his priorities?

Now, the Galaxy and AC Milan have once again agreed on a loan deal that, combined with the World Cup, will keep Beckham away from the Galaxy for more than half of the 2010 season. Keep reading

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