David Beckham dribbled, juggled and passed the ball during a Los Angeles Galaxy practice on a stiflingly hot afternoon Wednesday at RFK Stadium in Washington, offering at least some hope that the 45,000 people who have bought tickets for today’s game will actually get to see him play.
“It’s looking up,” Beckham said Wednesday. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Today would be a good time to start, given the sellout crowd that has been anticipating the Galaxy’s game against D.C. United, but Beckham’s tender left ankle will have the last word. The English star who elevated MLS’ profile to new heights simply by signing a contract still hasn’t played a MLS game, a frustration compounded by the fact he knows the fans have been let down.
“There’s obviously going to be people who maybe don’t understand, but it’s a sports injury,” Beckham said at a news conference that had to be held in one of the stadium’s baseball batting cages to accommodate the media. “I can’t really apologize for being injured because that’s just the way of life in any sportsman’s career. I’m doing everything possible to get fit, and that’s all I can say.”
If Beckham plays today, it won’t be for long. He spoke of getting perhaps 10 or 20 minutes as a substitute, depending on how his ankle feels after his limited participation in two days of practice.
“If it’s not right, it’s not right,” Beckham said. “It’s one of those injuries that has to be right for me to play because I don’t want to set myself back another five or six weeks just for 20 minutes on the field.”
Beckham sprained his ankle while playing for England in June and aggravated the injury in a game with Real Madrid later that month.
He made a 16-minute appearance in an exhibition game against English club Chelsea shortly after joining the Galaxy in July and has since missed all three of Los Angeles’ SuperLiga games as well as Sunday’s scoreless draw at Toronto.
England: The country’s biggest prize easily could remain in American hands.
After Malcolm Glazer’s Manchester United wrested the Premier League title away from Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich last season, Liverpool’s Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have opened their wallets.
Hicks and Gillett, who own baseball and hockey franchises, bought control of Liverpool last season. They gave manager Rafa Benitez the funds to make 16 new player signings following a third-place finish in the EPL and a loss to AC Milan in the European Champions League final.
Benitez has brought in Spain’s Fernando Torres, the Netherlands’ Ryan Babel and Ukraine’s Andriy Voronin to join an attack that already features Dutch star Dirk Kuyt and 6-foot-7 Englishman Peter Crouch.
“The manager has been backed with good money and he’s spent it well, and now it’s time for the players to deliver,” Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said.
Europe: European soccer’s governing body will investigate reports of alleged racist taunting of American midfielder DaMarcus Beasley by fans in Montenegro during a Champions League qualifier.
The taunts occurred during Tuesday night’s game, when he scored his first goal for the Glasgow Rangers in a 1-0 victory over FK Zeta in Bijelo Polje, Montenegro. A small section of fans made “monkey chants” aimed at Beasley and teammate Jean-Claude Darcheville.
U.S.: Peter Nowak will coach the American under-23 men’s team that will attempt to qualify for next year’s Olympics.
Nowak, 43, an assistant coach for the full national team since December, takes over for Bob Bradley, currently the head coach of the full team.
