David, it’s time to leave L.A.
In June of 2009 David Beckham left A.C. Milan after his six-month loan spell to return to the Los Angeles Galaxy to see out the rest of his contract. Nevertheless, it seems to be the belief of most journalists and fans that Beckham will be back in Europe by January and this time on a full time basis. In fact, there is a slight possibility that he could be back by the end of August should he get his way.
It became evident that Beckham had had enough of his ‘American holiday’ when he began to push to remain at Milan for the full six months rather than the originally agreed three-month spell. During his time at Milan Beckham experienced the emotions of playing competitive, high quality football in a club of importance, these sensations took him back to the top of his game and meant that he was called up for England on a regular basis once again.
Upon his return to Los Angeles, Beckham was criticised by Landon Donovan for not putting in enough effort and being unprofessional: “Maybe he’s not a leader, maybe he’s not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum, you should bust your ass every day and that hasn’t happened.” While Donovan is entitled to his opinion, it is difficult to accept it considering that throughout his career David Beckham has been an example of professionalism. Furthermore, a real professional would never criticise his own teammate; therefore, what this outburst demonstrated was in actual fact a lack of professionalism from Landon Donovan. Beckham has since spoken of Donovan’s outburst claiming he would sit down and clear the air with him.
What this recent tension seems to indicate is that Beckham will be staying at L.A. Galaxy for as little time as possible. Federico Buffa, an Italian journalist and expert in tactics was recently at the Home Depot Stadium to watch the Galaxy and was not impressed to say the least. Speaking to Sky Sports Italia he said: “Mr. Arena, please forgive me but I have to say that L.A. Galaxy play a repugnant style of football, it was so bad I had to leave at half time.” Buffa also explained that if L.A. Galaxy fails to make the Playoffs, (which is more than likely) Beckham could take advantage of FIFA’s Article 17 and buy out the rest of his contract allowing him to return to Europe by the end of August.
It is therefore down to David Beckham to decide whether he wants to see out this ‘American holiday.’ However, in order for Beckham to guarantee himself a place in Capello’s World Cup team, it is my feeling that he must get back to playing regularly in a European club as soon as possible.
