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