My apologies for the lateness in getting this Thursday update out to you all. I dutifully waited until late in the day to top off my news sources, then promptly had a world of internet issues that stood between my post and this site. So, somewhat belatedly, the World of Beckham yesterday:


Worth Every Penny
At Madonna's recent private fund raiser auction for UNICEF to benefit Malawi orphans, Salma Hayek paid $350,000 for an hour soccer session one-on-one with Becks. The top bidders she outbid were Tom Cruise and Anna Wintour. Thanks to the ever-watchful, if ever-controversial, Kickette for keeping on top of things. (And do not click that link if you're unwilling to see some goss about the Armani ad and personal grooming.)


The Latest Blog: England Should Always Win!
David's shared another wonderful blog with us. And for those of us who remain England fans 'til we die, it's an extra warm fuzzy! But he also tackles a few rumors we've touched on here and in the forum...

Hi everyone

It was good to see England win last night and put in a positive performance against Switzerland. I am an England fan and I always want my country to win any game.

I am sure you will have read a lot of Mr. Capello’s call to leave me out of the squad but in truth I admire him as a manager and respect his decision. In his explanation, he said that it was purely down to match fitness and that it was unfair to the other players, competing week in and week out for their clubs, to include me in the squad.

A lot has been made of my trips to Sierra Leone and Brazil but these were only a total of four days in six weeks. I postponed my holidays to spend five days a week training with Arsenal and I did everything possible make myself available for England. The only thing beyond my control is the opportunity to play matches. I want to thank Arsene Wenger and his team for making me feel incredibly welcome at Arsenal and helping me to get fit for the start of the season.

I am now back in Los Angeles training with LA Galaxy. On Saturday and Sunday every player had to undergo fitness tests, and I feel good for the start of the new season. There is a real sense of excitement here with Ruud at the helm and players like Carlos and Celestine arriving. I will keep you posted on how the pre season goes.

Take care

David

As always, c/o DavidBeckham.com


MLS Says "FIFA Who"?
Yahoo's on top of some interesting articles regarding the MLS schedule and international duty. This article focuses on the 2008 season schedule, released yesterday, and the fact that the scheduled matches clash with no less than 4 previously-arranged international games. As we have already explored, this may be an issue for David, and it will also be an issue for Landon Donovan. On August 21^st the Galaxy will host Chicago Fire, yet the 20^th is the probable date for a USA match in (also probable) Guatemala. Early September also brings a massive schedule collision for the England vs. Andorra match, when the real competition for England begins. And, it's also a conflict for USA and Cuba. A similar problem occurs mid-October, with USA and Cuba, and England and Kazakhstan.

The good news? This year's schedule is much more realistic for the Galaxy. We ought to see less injury and less fatigue overall.

This article talks more specifically about the conflicts between MLS scheduling and David's quest for the 100^th cap. As we already saw, there's a bit of a problem with the Galaxy's season opener and England's next game, which occur within a couple days of each other. The next definite chance would be the Andorra match in early September, an issue for a match vs. Real Salt Lake. (There is a possible England friendly later in August, but however you cut it there will be conflict.) As Ruud Gullit has already promised to rest Beckham, it all hangs in the balance. Whether David is rested for the opener (if he's called for England vs. France) or misses Real Salt Lake (if he's called for England vs. Andorra), it looks as though MLS is determined to keep him on American soil. Thankfully, Gullit seems more than willing to give Beckham a break.


Bye Bye, SuperLiga
Unfortunately, the Galaxy have been dropped from the SuperLiga competition. This year Houston Dynamo, DC United, the New England Revolution and Chivas USA will represent MLS. That news is also reported in the two Yahoo links above.


More About the...zzzz...Oh, Sorry, 100^th Cap
Personally, I am rather tired of the 100^th cap speculation since it's totally out of our hands, but the pundits certainly aren't. For those of you who remain interested in what they have to say about Capello's potential (permanent) choices for his England squad, Dominic Raynor has a piece here discussing the struggle England's "old guard" -- including Becks -- may face to be included in the team once more.

David's century is a really important issue to him and to us fans. But ultimately it is only Capello who can make that call. As such, we will have to wait patiently for his plans for England vs. France. As said, it's a massive schedule issue for the Galaxy season opener, which may not bode well. But Becks will have 5 matches under his belt before that game, 2 of them at competitive (cup) level, so Capello can't really use the "not match fit" excuse again. We shall see. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and know that even if it isn't vs. France, he could make his triumphant return vs. Andorra over the summer, if Gullit remains willing to rest him for international duty.


Posted by Dina Ely, soccer editorial/commentary writer. Blog: Eleven Men