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Canales Daily: Old Buddy Wants Becks Back
Jovan Kirovski was once a youth teammate of David Beckham's at Manchester United. Now he waits as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy for Beckham's loan deal with AC Milan to be resolved.
Feb 11, 2009 4:14:25 PM
By Andrea Canales
Once upon a time in Manchester, England, Jovan Kirovski and David Beckham lined up on the field together as young hopefuls in Manchester United's youth system. While one went on to great glory in Manchester United's first team, another was stymied by the work permit regulations in England.
Obviously, that was Kirovski, the American, who found himself a decade later as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy facing off against Beckham in an exhibition match.
That was in 2005, when Beckham was part of the famed Real Madrid squad that also featured greats such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Beckham and Kirovski exchanged jerseys after the game that day, and reminisced a little over old times. Yet few believed Beckham when he said he might come play in Major League Soccer one day.
Kirovski, an experienced forward/midfielder, did not last the 2005 season at the Galaxy, as he was traded away to the Colorado Rapids. The Los Angeles squad went on to win the league championship that season, but have since failed to make the MLS playoffs, including the two seasons that Beckham has been a part of.
Yet Kirovski, who signed with the Galaxy in the offseason, still felt Beckham had brought value to the league.
"He's made a huge impact on our league," said Kirovski in an exclusive interview with Goal.com after a recent Galaxy practice. "Hopefully, he'll be back after this little stint in Italy."
Kirovski admitted that he was not privy to any ongoing negotiations between the Galaxy and AC Milan, where Beckham is currently on loan. Though Beckham has now expressed his preference to stay at Milan and the club has made an offer to MLS for him, Kirovski wasn't sure if that was going to happen.
"I don' t know," Kirovski acknowledged. "I think he'll be back - that's part of the deal."
Regardless of the outcome of Beckham's loan deal, Kirovski said the Galaxy players in preseason training were focused on getting ready for the start of the MLS season, which begins in March.
"We'll just concentrate on what's going on here and work hard in this preseason and hopefully get us back as contenders," said Kirovski.
In Kirovski's view, little about Beckham's game had changed through the years they had crossed paths.
"He was a good player, a good passer of the ball," said Kirovski. "It's the same as he is now."
In fact, in their short off-season tour of New Zealand before the Milan loan, the old Manchester youth connection seemed to be back in effect as Kirovski and Beckham formed an effective partnership on the field.
"It was great to play with him in New Zealand," said Kirovski. "We had good games there. Hopefully, he'll come back and we'll connect again."
Though it's possible that Kirovski will miss out on playing with Beckham on the Galaxy for any length of time, he still found it an interesting coincidence that the two now share ties to the Galaxy.
"It was kind of funny, just to be back together again," Kirovski said. "Things come full circle."
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com
Once upon a time in Manchester, England, Jovan Kirovski and David Beckham lined up on the field together as young hopefuls in Manchester United's youth system. While one went on to great glory in Manchester United's first team, another was stymied by the work permit regulations in England.
Obviously, that was Kirovski, the American, who found himself a decade later as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy facing off against Beckham in an exhibition match.
That was in 2005, when Beckham was part of the famed Real Madrid squad that also featured greats such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Beckham and Kirovski exchanged jerseys after the game that day, and reminisced a little over old times. Yet few believed Beckham when he said he might come play in Major League Soccer one day.
Kirovski, an experienced forward/midfielder, did not last the 2005 season at the Galaxy, as he was traded away to the Colorado Rapids. The Los Angeles squad went on to win the league championship that season, but have since failed to make the MLS playoffs, including the two seasons that Beckham has been a part of.
Yet Kirovski, who signed with the Galaxy in the offseason, still felt Beckham had brought value to the league.
"He's made a huge impact on our league," said Kirovski in an exclusive interview with Goal.com after a recent Galaxy practice. "Hopefully, he'll be back after this little stint in Italy."
Kirovski admitted that he was not privy to any ongoing negotiations between the Galaxy and AC Milan, where Beckham is currently on loan. Though Beckham has now expressed his preference to stay at Milan and the club has made an offer to MLS for him, Kirovski wasn't sure if that was going to happen.
"I don' t know," Kirovski acknowledged. "I think he'll be back - that's part of the deal."
Regardless of the outcome of Beckham's loan deal, Kirovski said the Galaxy players in preseason training were focused on getting ready for the start of the MLS season, which begins in March.
"We'll just concentrate on what's going on here and work hard in this preseason and hopefully get us back as contenders," said Kirovski.
In Kirovski's view, little about Beckham's game had changed through the years they had crossed paths.
"He was a good player, a good passer of the ball," said Kirovski. "It's the same as he is now."
In fact, in their short off-season tour of New Zealand before the Milan loan, the old Manchester youth connection seemed to be back in effect as Kirovski and Beckham formed an effective partnership on the field.
"It was great to play with him in New Zealand," said Kirovski. "We had good games there. Hopefully, he'll come back and we'll connect again."
Though it's possible that Kirovski will miss out on playing with Beckham on the Galaxy for any length of time, he still found it an interesting coincidence that the two now share ties to the Galaxy.
"It was kind of funny, just to be back together again," Kirovski said. "Things come full circle."
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com
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