David Beckham re-signs with LA Galaxy. Good for North American Soccer?
seathanaich
2012/01/19 20:02:31
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I'm a fan of the Vancouver Whitecaps, and Mr Beckham didn't join his team for their one visit to Vancouver in 2011.
I think we can all agree that his "image" is bigger than his playing skill or his on-field contribution, but he's a better player than his critics admit. Watching his performances in the 2011 playoffs and MLS Cup show that rather conclusively.
He was being courted by Paris Saint-Germain, and will play for the "Great Britain" team at the 2012 Olympics in London (as one of the allowed "over-age" players). He has flirted in the past with AC Milan, and has periodically appeared to give the MLS and his team, the LA Galaxy, some pretty obvious snubs: but not last year, when it seems he finally got serious about the club and the league.
I think that his signing is of interest to the non-soccer fan who follows "celebrity" more than the sport. But I also think that the fact that he has re-signed for 2 years, effectively finishing his career, sends a signal to the world media and to other players that this isn't just a retirement project, or a money grab (like playing in Qatar); that he (and people like Thierry Henry) are helping MLS lose its self-consciousness, and that the MLS is now fairly well established as a solid "second tier" soccer league on the world stage, on par with Brazil, Argentina, or France, and behind the "big four" of England, Germany, Spain, and Italy. What do you think? Intelligent answers only please.
I think we can all agree that his "image" is bigger than his playing skill or his on-field contribution, but he's a better player than his critics admit. Watching his performances in the 2011 playoffs and MLS Cup show that rather conclusively.
He was being courted by Paris Saint-Germain, and will play for the "Great Britain" team at the 2012 Olympics in London (as one of the allowed "over-age" players). He has flirted in the past with AC Milan, and has periodically appeared to give the MLS and his team, the LA Galaxy, some pretty obvious snubs: but not last year, when it seems he finally got serious about the club and the league.
I think that his signing is of interest to the non-soccer fan who follows "celebrity" more than the sport. But I also think that the fact that he has re-signed for 2 years, effectively finishing his career, sends a signal to the world media and to other players that this isn't just a retirement project, or a money grab (like playing in Qatar); that he (and people like Thierry Henry) are helping MLS lose its self-consciousness, and that the MLS is now fairly well established as a solid "second tier" soccer league on the world stage, on par with Brazil, Argentina, or France, and behind the "big four" of England, Germany, Spain, and Italy. What do you think? Intelligent answers only please.
Travel to COMEBOL is pretty long. They have great continental competitions, but they're not part of our continent. I didn't like the "guest" teams at the Gold Cup - it devalues the competition.
MLS is already on par with or superior to every Euro league except Eng, Ger, Ita, Spa, and probably Fra. There are a few clubs wealthier (Porto, Rangers, Ajax, etc), but those leagues are weaker. Slow steady growth will see MLS outpace the Arg and Bra leagues within the decade, other than a few uber-clubs like Flamengo or Boca Juniors.
Agreed on academies, but we also need to see a stable Tier II, currently the NASL and USL Pro teams.
That's great, but people aren't going to go to the stadium when it's cold and snowy. Did you see the highlights from England last week? The weather turned the games into a bit of a farce.
Yes, I'm on Vancouver Island. We play a winter soccer sched here. That doesn't mean it's appropriate for the rest of the continent. Cheers.
but they need more players like that
and some more that are cheap but good players
If they're good, they won't be cheap.
Vancouver Whitecaps just renegotiated the salary of Camillo Sanvezzo, they're top scorer last season. It will be interested what it moves to . . . but you have to pay more for better players. Cheers.
europe gets a lot of players from this 2 regions
Sadly, I think that the U.S. will never appreciate the beautiful game. I hope Canada does, but I doubt it for the U.S. Especially for women's soccer, sadly. I want nothing more than my favorite sport to be popular, but with Football, Basketball and Baseball? Nope.
Success is a relative thing. Soccer doesn't need to displace football or baseball in the US, or hockey in Canada, in order to be considered a success. MLS games before 20,000 fans in new soccer-specific stadiums definitely constitutes success. Seattle is getting 36,000 out to every game, and Portland, Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles all have very healthy attendances.
If you are interested in following the MLS, their web site is pretty good. The well supported US teams like Seattle and Portland are definitely well-established in their community. The support in Canada's three MLS teams - Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, and Montreal Impact - is above the league average.
I would say that Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, and Portland are the top 5 MLS teams in terms of the profile they have within their communities, given their respective attendances, commercial sponsorships, availability on television, etc. Beckham (and Roy Keane) give the Galaxy the kind of profile they need to get noticed in a city as big as LA. Cheers.
You've restored my faith in humanity, good sir!