HOLLYWOOD, CA Hollywood Today (AFP) – Forget Posh, what’s really important to many Los Angeles fans and David Beckham himself is becoming an official member of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday, bringing a distinct blend of buzz and credibility to North American soccer.
“People probably do think they’re going to see me turn out, and we’ll win our first game 10-0,” Beckham told The Sun newspaper. “That’s one thing I’m worried about.”
Major League Soccer’s Galaxy have scheduled a news conference at the team’s Home Depot Center facility to introduce the 32-year-old Beckham.
The midfielder’s first game for Los Angeles will be an exhibition match against Chelsea who are getting ready for the new season with a pre-season tour of the United States.
Beckham, who helped lead Real Madrid to a Spanish league title in June, recently signed a 5.5 million dollar deal which could potentially reach 250 million dollars over five years in profit-sharing and sponsor deals.
Oddly enough, Beckham’s move to American soil, with his pop-star wife Victoria, comes at a time when his career has started taking off again after a disappointing 2006 World Cup.
The former English captain recently rejoined his former mates in international competition playing in the last qualifier for next year’s Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.
But there is no question he is switching to a lesser league and a team that is the second worst in the league with just three victories in 12 games.
If the MLS is looking for a savior then they might have to wait a little longer.
“I’m not a player who will run past 10 players and score three or four goals. My game is about working hard and being a team player.”
Just five of the MLS’s 13 teams are expected to turn a profit this year. But the Galaxy have already started to realize the economic benefits of bringing in Beckham as season ticket sales have climbed past 11,000.
The increased ticket sales and sponsorship has resulted in about 20 million dollars in added revenue, says Tim Leiweke, chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group which owns the team.
But the question remains is how will Beckham handle playing on one of the worst teams in the league with players making as little as 11,500 dollars a season?
Beckham will also be trying to succeed where others like Pele failed in trying to bring football to the American mainstream sports fan.
Despite the excitement of landing one of the greatest of all-time in Pele in the 1970s, the North American Soccer League still went bankrupt.
There are 14.5 million Americans playing football but its popularity pales in comparison to the top three sports: American football, basketball and baseball.
Victoria Beckham’s career has also seen a rejuvenation of late with the announced reunion of the Spice Girls.
American broadcast network NBC has also planned a one-hour television special called “Victoria Beckham: Coming to America” which will be shown on July 16.