No-one does send-offs like David Beckham.
In 2003 he curled in a beauty at Everton in his final match for his boyhood club Manchester United, who had just clinched the Premier League title. In 2007, his fine late-season form in the colours of Real Madrid proved decisive as the club claimed their 30th domestic championship and Beckham’s first major trophy in Spain to cap off his four-year stay in La Liga.
It has not been confirmed yet whether the part he played in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s triumph in the MLS Cup final last weekend will prove to be his final appearance in the United States. But if it is, it would be an apt way for Beckham to go.
There have been ups and downs for Beckham during his five years in Major League Soccer. He spent two separate loan spells at AC Milan in Italy in 2009 and 2010 after an injury-hampered first couple of years in the US. By signing for the Galaxy, Beckham also saw his place in the England squad jeopardised, and he had to battle his way back into the reckoning by persuading the initially unconvinced England manager that his performance levels would not dip despite his less-than-illustrious surroundings.
However, all of that was forgotten on Sunday as Beckham helped to set up Landon Donovan for the winning goal against Houston Dynamo to give the Galaxy their first piece of silverware since the arrival of the former England captain in 2007. As football stories go, it was a classic Hollywood ending.
If the rumours are to be believed, Paris looks the most likely destination for Beckham now. From a purely footballing standpoint, some may question the value of signing a 36-year-old. But the commercial appeal of Beckham is still immense, and the off-the-field impact he has made in the United States has shown precisely why numerous top clubs would love to have him on board.
Ahead of the MLS Cup final, league commissioner Don Garber described the 2011 season as “the best year in the history of the league”, and it is easy to see why. Prior to the championship game, attendance was up seven per cent to 17,872 per game in 2011, better than last season’s NBA and NHL average crowd figures, and nearly one-third of MLS’s regular-season matches sold out. Since Beckham arrived, franchise expansion fees have quadrupled, illustrating the appetite from investors to get involved in the league.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa displayed a burgeoning passion for the game in the United States, with record TV audiences tuning in to watch the national team’s progress through the tournament. After a 1-1 draw against England – a result that the New York Post hailed as the “Greatest tie against the British since Bunker Hill” – the USA fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a thrilling draw against Slovenia, and then secured a place in the last 16 with a last gasp goal from Galaxy star Donovan against Algeria.
Nearly 15 million US viewers tuned in to ABC to watch the US’s World Cup challenge eventually curtailed by Ghana after a heartbreaking 2-1 extra-time defeat in the knockout stages. The audience represented the best for a men’s US World Cup match since the country hosted the tournament in 1994. Donovan and US coach Bob Bradley were even invited onto the popular Daily Show to speak about the team’s campaign with soccer continuing to knock on the door of mainstream media.
Beckham is clearly not the only reason why soccer is showing signs of real promise in North America, but he has been a crucial vehicle for taking the sport into the mainstream. The continuing challenge for MLS is to establish the league as a destination of choice for players in their prime and not just those who are the wrong side of 30.
With upwards of 10 million youngsters participating regularly in soccer in the US, MLS has a huge pool of untapped local talent at its disposal. The designated player rule, which allowed Beckham to come to the US in the first place, ultimately needs to be scrapped if MLS is to be regarded as one of the world’s top football leagues.
The long-term goal of MLS must be to ensure that top home-grown superstar players are the rule rather than the “designated” exception. National team heroes such as Donovan rather than fading greats are far more integral to the future success of soccer and MLS in North America. If MLS is to reach its potential, administrators of the game must ensure kids grow up with posters of Donovan, rather than Beckham, on their walls.
However, if this is to be his farewell from soccer in the States, Beckham can board the plane to Europe safe in the knowledge that he has played an integral role in the development of the world’s biggest sport in the world’s biggest sports market.
THIS WEEK’S ARTICLES:
KEIR RADNEDGE: ENGLAND 2, WALES 0
ROGAN TAYLOR: WHO WRITES THIS STUFF?
GERRY COX: QATAR – A DESERT STORM BREWING?
Rory Squires is the Director of Squires Media Ltd, a provider of bespoke content, publishing and communications services for the international sports industry. Visit www.squiresmedia.com or email rorysquires@squiresmedia.com for further information. Follow Squires Media on Twitter for more sports industry updates.
The views of our regular columnists are independent, and as such do not represent those of Leaders in Football.
