Galaxy’s David Beckham again seeks a European loan deal to revive England career
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Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, who turns 36 on May 2 and will be in the fifth and final year of his contract with Major League Soccer when the season begins on March 15, still harbors dreams of playing for England.
With that in mind, Beckham told British reporters on Sunday night that he is actively seeking a European club to play for on loan during the MLS off-season. Considering that MLS pre-season training begins at the end of January, the idea is far-fetched to say the least.
But Beckham, who was in England to accept a ‘lifetime achievement’ award at the BBC’s annual ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ ceremony, appeared intent on finding a temporary club.
‘It would be nice to go somewhere because I want to keep myself fit and within a chance of getting called up for England again,’ Beckham said. ‘To do that, I have to be somewhere, so fingers crossed.’
Los Angeles, apparently, is not ‘somewhere’ and training with the Galaxy, even with the likes of Landon Donovan and, possibly, Juan Pablo Angel, on the same field is not enough, in Beckham’s eyes.
But then, for Beckham, MLS, Real Madrid and even AC Milan, where he spent the past two off-seasons on loan, were never ‘home.’ ‘I’ve missed playing in the [English] Premier League since left it seven years ago now,’ Beckham said. ‘It’s one of the most competitive leagues in the world and maybe one day I’ll come back and play here, but I’ve always said it will only be for Manchester United.
‘I’m not holding my breath on that one, but we’ll have to wait and see. Going back to AC Milan is not possible because of getting onto the roster for such a short space of time.’
Beckham’s name has been linked to several English teams, but his former coach with England, Sven-Goran Eriksson, admitted Monday that Leicester City, where Eriksson currently coaches, had made two runs at Beckham but was resigned to not landing him.
As for the award, a teary-eyed Beckham said he was ‘in shock’ and ‘honored’ to receive it and to share the same stage with the likes of such Manchester United greats as Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs, not to mention the show’s host, 1986 England World Cup star Gary Lineker.
‘A lifetime achievement award is usually given to you at the end of your career . . . but I still want to play football, I still believe that I can play football at the highest level,’ Beckham told the BBC. ‘I’m enjoying playing in America at the moment and I’ve got a year left there, but in the future, who knows?’
Who, indeed? But perhaps Bruce Arena, the Galaxy’s coach and general manager, might drop Beckham a note and remind him that training begins in five weeks at the Home Depot Center.
Carson is not London or Paris or Milan or Madrid, but it is where his paycheck is cut.
-- Grahame L. Jones