David Beckham (R) and his
Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Peter Vanegas practice during the first
training session for the 2008 Major League Soccer season in Carson,
California Feb. 4, 2008.
Soccer star David Beckham and his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates
began training for the 2008 Major League Soccer (MLS) season on
Monday, hoping to erase the memories of an injury-filled and
disappointing 2007 season.
Beckham made his debut with the Galaxy on July 21 of last year
amid one of the greatest promotional buildups in American sports
history.
However, Beckham missed five of the next six games because of an
ankle injury sustained June 6 while playing for England in a Euro
2008 qualifying game against Estonia.
His performance disappointed fans and raising questions about
the team's credibility regarding its statements on Beckham's
health.
Beckham then sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in
his right knee in the Aug. 29 Super Liga final against the Mexican
team Pachuca and didn't play again until an Oct. 18 MLS game
against the New York Red Bulls.
By the time the MLS season ended Oct. 21 with the Galaxy failing
to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season,
Beckham had missed twice as many games, 16, as he played. He played
eight games in various competitions, scoring one goal and assisting
on three others.
Since the end of the MLS season, the Galaxy changed coaches.
Ruud Gullit, a Dutch soccer star of the 1980s and 1990s who played
and coached against Beckham in England, succeeded Frank Yallop, who
was released from his contract to become coach of the San Jose
Earthquakes, an MLS expansion team.
The Galaxy will begin 2008 play Feb. 20 by facing Gamba Osaka of
Japan's J-League in the Pan-Pacific Championship in Honolulu. It
will play a second tournament game Feb. 23, then head to Seoul,
South Korea, for a March 1 exhibition against FC Seoul, and
Shanghai, China, for a March 5 exhibition against the China
All-Star Union team.
Following the June 30 expiration of his contract with Spain's
Real Madrid, Beckham signed a five-year contract on Jan. 11,
2007,that could bring him as much as 250 million dollars.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)
