Back of the Net!

David Beckham is BACK - in training.

The England midfielder is set to turn out for AC Milan after the Italian winter break, and has joined them for his first training session in Dubai. Continue Reading »

Is it time for a new baby in the Beckham household?  Certainly on previous form, with a (loan?) move to AC Milan a massive possibility (depending on terms) then Mrs Beckham is likely to want to exercise the rights of every mother and name another baby after a cosmopolitan city.

Seriously, however, the move is right for David Beckham at this stage of his career, and just what he needs to get back to full form for England.

What is curious however is his timing.  If the former England captain - chasing an England record of appearances for an outfield player - went to American’s LA Galaxy in order to prolong his career, then how exactly does playing what amounts to over 12 months of football help him achieve this?

Sure, he’s fitter than most players of his age, but regardless of this it is an interesting point.

One thing seems to be certain in all of this.  Fabio Capello’s influence on the England player at the very least has got Beckham thinking about how to remain a part of things, and the very fact that he wants to remain a part of things after the events of the last few years speaks volumes about Capello.

The message from a BBC article this week is that Major League Soccer would have gone the way of previous US soccer leagues if David Beckham hadn’t moved from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy .

Apparently, the league didn’t need him as some great educator or champion of the game - consecutive World Cup qualifications (from one of the World’s less challenging groups)  saw to that.  The Beckhams took their glamour to Los Angeles as  an act of consolidation.

We have a very patronising view of American “soccer” here in Europe - we’re convinced its only played for a bit of a laugh, and that MLS is made up of ex South American and European internationals earning a pension.

Yet a Quarter Final placing at the last World Cup indicates that fitness levels are good, and skill levels have come on leaps and bounds since the 1970.

Whatever his professional reasons for moving (and let’s face it England looked a lot more settled when he came on as substitute on Saturday) what the Beckhams have done by moving to the USA is escape the European press intrusion - their places in the tabloids have been usurped by Mr and Mrs Ashley and Cheryl Cole and Mr and Mrs Wayne and Coleen Rooney.

David Beckham might have trademark freekicks and pinpoint long passes - but he also knows how to score a goal from his own half of the pitch…

That’s 70 yards - final score in this LA Galaxy vs Kansas City Wizards on May 24th 2008 was 3-1 to Galaxy.

On Saturday 17th August 1996, a young David Beckham playing for Manchester Untited put the ball past Wimbledon FC (now MK Dons) keeper Tim Flowers… from behind the halfway line:

International sports icon David Beckham just cannot stop - but at least he’s happy to poke fun at himself!