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Beckham: Feud With Donovan Is Finished
David Beckham has spoken to his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates and cleared up any bad press since his departure, says the midfielder.
Jul 13, 2009 10:20:14 PM
While on loan with AC Milan, several of David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy teammates spoke lowly of the English international in a book by Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl entitled The Beckham Experiment. Most notable of the detractors was Landon Donovan, who questioned Beckham's leadership and professionalism.
Beckham returned to the United States and had his first training session with the Galaxy on Monday. Afterward he spoke to the congregated press and announced that any words spoken were put behind them and everything had been resolved by face-to-face conversation.
“We spoke the two of us and also with [LA head coach and general manager] Bruce [Arena], and like I said it's finished, and we move on,” Beckham said. “These things happen all the time in soccer. It happens every week in Europe. Sometimes it's not as highly publicized as this one and sometimes they are. But it happens all the time. It happened many times when I was at Manchester United. That's the way it is, and look how successful we were.”
The 34-year-old has yet to recapture the successes of his time in Europe in America. Since he's arrived, the Galaxy has yet to make the playoffs. But Beckham brushed aside suggestions that any extra pressures is on him and the team to perform this season.
“Every year is make or break in soccer,” the former England captain explained. “If you don't win something then there's going to be criticism. It's been tough the last two years because we haven't made the grade and we haven't made the level that we wanted to, but now it's important we forget about the years gone past and we move forward and try to get into the playoffs.”
Since Beckham took his leave for Italian shores, Arena and his staff have turned over a large part of the squad. A blend of experienced veterans and eager youngsters has stayed largely at par, drawing nine games out of 17 to land midtable in the Western Conference. However, with three wins in a row, Beckham is eager to build on recent results.
“There's a lot of new faces in the squad,” Beckham said of his first practice with the Galaxy. “The last three games have been really good, we've got some good results and we're moving forward.”
Furthermore, Beckham thinks the current roster has what it takes to win trophies. According to him, the only ingredients needed are luck, team unison, and hard work.
“My expectations are always to win something. That's not changed from the day I moved out here and also from two years on,” Beckham asserted. “We're definitely capable of winning it. It's about getting into the playoffs first, and you need a certain amount of luck. If we stick together as a team and we play hard, then we have a chance.”
Veteran midfielder Chris Klein, one of the players who questioned Beckham's leadership abilities in the book, welcomed the player back with open arms.
“If the cameras weren't here it wouldn't be any different,” Klein said. “We're really comfortable with him, and you really see in training the way he fits right in. As I said before, it's a world class player we're adding to our team at this point in the season, and I think that's very good.
“I think we've seen that he's a guy who can come in and work very hard. He adds a lot to our team, both with his personality in the locker room with the younger players and definitely out on the field.”
Beckham is expected to play his first match of the season with the Galaxy on July 16 against the New York Red Bulls.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page
Beckham returned to the United States and had his first training session with the Galaxy on Monday. Afterward he spoke to the congregated press and announced that any words spoken were put behind them and everything had been resolved by face-to-face conversation.
“We spoke the two of us and also with [LA head coach and general manager] Bruce [Arena], and like I said it's finished, and we move on,” Beckham said. “These things happen all the time in soccer. It happens every week in Europe. Sometimes it's not as highly publicized as this one and sometimes they are. But it happens all the time. It happened many times when I was at Manchester United. That's the way it is, and look how successful we were.”
The 34-year-old has yet to recapture the successes of his time in Europe in America. Since he's arrived, the Galaxy has yet to make the playoffs. But Beckham brushed aside suggestions that any extra pressures is on him and the team to perform this season.
“Every year is make or break in soccer,” the former England captain explained. “If you don't win something then there's going to be criticism. It's been tough the last two years because we haven't made the grade and we haven't made the level that we wanted to, but now it's important we forget about the years gone past and we move forward and try to get into the playoffs.”
Since Beckham took his leave for Italian shores, Arena and his staff have turned over a large part of the squad. A blend of experienced veterans and eager youngsters has stayed largely at par, drawing nine games out of 17 to land midtable in the Western Conference. However, with three wins in a row, Beckham is eager to build on recent results.
“There's a lot of new faces in the squad,” Beckham said of his first practice with the Galaxy. “The last three games have been really good, we've got some good results and we're moving forward.”
Furthermore, Beckham thinks the current roster has what it takes to win trophies. According to him, the only ingredients needed are luck, team unison, and hard work.
“My expectations are always to win something. That's not changed from the day I moved out here and also from two years on,” Beckham asserted. “We're definitely capable of winning it. It's about getting into the playoffs first, and you need a certain amount of luck. If we stick together as a team and we play hard, then we have a chance.”
Veteran midfielder Chris Klein, one of the players who questioned Beckham's leadership abilities in the book, welcomed the player back with open arms.
“If the cameras weren't here it wouldn't be any different,” Klein said. “We're really comfortable with him, and you really see in training the way he fits right in. As I said before, it's a world class player we're adding to our team at this point in the season, and I think that's very good.
“I think we've seen that he's a guy who can come in and work very hard. He adds a lot to our team, both with his personality in the locker room with the younger players and definitely out on the field.”
Beckham is expected to play his first match of the season with the Galaxy on July 16 against the New York Red Bulls.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page
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