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Has injury ruined David Beckham's £125m American dream?
30.08.07
David Beckham crashes out of an LA Galaxy match with yet another injury - and suddenly the £125 million he was paid to go over to the US looks an even more expensive deal than anyone first thought.
He limped out of the first half of Galaxy's Superliga final clash with Mexican outfit Pachuca nursing a knee injury, which may keep him out for four to six weeks, meaning he will miss England's vital European championship qualifiers.
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Sidelined: David Beckham limps off with a damaged right knee during a rare outing for LA Galaxy last night
Beckham tripped over the ball when challenging Pachuca midfielder Fernando Salazar.
His premature departure from the match comes less than a fortnight after he managed his first league start for Galaxy.
A long-standing ankle injury kept him from playing a full 90 minutes for his first appearances for the club - and any hopes that the problem was fully behind him evaporated in recent days when he started feeling the effects of the injury again.
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On his knees: David Beckham crashes to the ground and is now nursing another injury
Now this latest injury is prompting speculation about his future. The extraordinary £125 million five-year deal — financed by Major League Soccer as well as the club itself — is about raising the profile of "soccer" in the US rather than just securing a famous player for the LA team, but so far the increase in media attention for what at the moment is a minority sport has been tempered by a rash of negative publicity for the club.
Supporters have been riled by his noshows, and the cynicism of those exploiting the Beckham phenomenon has started to cause a backlash among fans.
When Galaxy played away to New England, supporters could only get tickets by buying a "Beckham package" which included three other matches or attending in a large group - only to discover that Beckham was not going to play.
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Down and ouch: just when we thought Beckham was fit again
And now this. Last night's clash with Salazar saw Beckham remain face down on the grass for a few seconds before limping to the sidelines.
He made his way to a wall on the sideline, bent over and held on to it before a Galaxy staff member arrived to help him to the bench.
Posh is nursing her own battered pride
He sat down and had his right leg taped, then buried his head in his hands. At halftime, Beckham gingerly walked across the field to the tunnel.
He did not return for the second half. His injury may been exacerbated by Galaxy's exhausting schedule combined with his England commitments - Beckham had to contend with playing two games on back-to-back days last week.
After playing against Germany at Wembley last Wednesday he then turned out for Galaxy against Chivas in Los Angles 24 hours later.
But whatever the reason, fans seem to be beginning to run out of patience.
When Alan Gordon replaced Beckham in the 33rd minute, it triggered massive booing from the crowd of 12,500.
While Beckham struggles with his injury problems, his wife Victoria - fresh from her less than successful attempts to revive her singing career - is having to come to terms with the fact that her attempts to launch a US television career have not got entirely to plan.
The documentary about her arrival in the US, Coming To America, was virtually ignored by the public - pulling in just 4.9 million viewers.
The critics gave the show a severe drubbing. The New York Post called the fly-on-the-wall documentary - designed to show that Victoria has a sense of humour about herself - "an orgy of self-indulgence".
30.08.07
David Beckham crashes out of an LA Galaxy match with yet another injury - and suddenly the £125 million he was paid to go over to the US looks an even more expensive deal than anyone first thought.
He limped out of the first half of Galaxy's Superliga final clash with Mexican outfit Pachuca nursing a knee injury, which may keep him out for four to six weeks, meaning he will miss England's vital European championship qualifiers.
Scroll down for more
Sidelined: David Beckham limps off with a damaged right knee during a rare outing for LA Galaxy last nightBeckham tripped over the ball when challenging Pachuca midfielder Fernando Salazar.
His premature departure from the match comes less than a fortnight after he managed his first league start for Galaxy.
A long-standing ankle injury kept him from playing a full 90 minutes for his first appearances for the club - and any hopes that the problem was fully behind him evaporated in recent days when he started feeling the effects of the injury again.
Scroll down for more
On his knees: David Beckham crashes to the ground and is now nursing another injuryNow this latest injury is prompting speculation about his future. The extraordinary £125 million five-year deal — financed by Major League Soccer as well as the club itself — is about raising the profile of "soccer" in the US rather than just securing a famous player for the LA team, but so far the increase in media attention for what at the moment is a minority sport has been tempered by a rash of negative publicity for the club.
Supporters have been riled by his noshows, and the cynicism of those exploiting the Beckham phenomenon has started to cause a backlash among fans.
When Galaxy played away to New England, supporters could only get tickets by buying a "Beckham package" which included three other matches or attending in a large group - only to discover that Beckham was not going to play.
Scroll down for more
Down and ouch: just when we thought Beckham was fit againAnd now this. Last night's clash with Salazar saw Beckham remain face down on the grass for a few seconds before limping to the sidelines.
He made his way to a wall on the sideline, bent over and held on to it before a Galaxy staff member arrived to help him to the bench.
Posh is nursing her own battered prideHe sat down and had his right leg taped, then buried his head in his hands. At halftime, Beckham gingerly walked across the field to the tunnel.
He did not return for the second half. His injury may been exacerbated by Galaxy's exhausting schedule combined with his England commitments - Beckham had to contend with playing two games on back-to-back days last week.
After playing against Germany at Wembley last Wednesday he then turned out for Galaxy against Chivas in Los Angles 24 hours later.
But whatever the reason, fans seem to be beginning to run out of patience.
When Alan Gordon replaced Beckham in the 33rd minute, it triggered massive booing from the crowd of 12,500.
While Beckham struggles with his injury problems, his wife Victoria - fresh from her less than successful attempts to revive her singing career - is having to come to terms with the fact that her attempts to launch a US television career have not got entirely to plan.
The documentary about her arrival in the US, Coming To America, was virtually ignored by the public - pulling in just 4.9 million viewers.
The critics gave the show a severe drubbing. The New York Post called the fly-on-the-wall documentary - designed to show that Victoria has a sense of humour about herself - "an orgy of self-indulgence".
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