Or maybe not.
“I’m hoping that everything will be OK to at least get him on the field,” said Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop.
No kidding. A debacle looms.
Check in at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Meanwhile, Professor Phil Collin checks in with an analysis of the Beckham swerve.
And here’s Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho on today’s game from the Chelsea Web site.
Sports media critic Tom Hoffarth breaks down the planned ESPN coverage of Becks Saturday for what may or may not be his Galaxy debut in Carson.
And if that’s news to you, read the previous post.
My bet: he’ll put in at least a cameo appearance if only to prevent a class action lawsuit from fans seeking ticket refunds.
Meanwhile, Beckham has quietly put up his own American-oriented Web site.
Supposedly he’ll blog at some point (welcome to the party, Becks), but for now that hasn’t happened and the updates are coming a little slow. Still, you can win a signed Galaxy Beckham shirt there.
By the way, as the pace of marketing soccer quickens in the U.S., it’s becoming a mini-trend for familiar names in Europe to try to establish themselves as brands here by unveiling Americanized Web sites.
English Premier League team Chelsea, the Galaxy’s opponents Saturday, has one called Chelsea in America.
And Real Madrid, Becks’ former team, unveiled one this week dubbed Real Madrid America.
I’ll be talking to Warren Olney, host of “Which Way, L.A.?” at 7 p.m. on KCRW (89.9 FM) about David Beckham’s prospects of making his debut Saturday against Chelsea.
Updated: Listen to the podcast here.
The Reporter’s Notebook segment on Beckham is about 20 minutes into the program, after a lengthy discussion on Homeland Security.
Updated 9:50 p.m. Anyone else smell a major PR debacle brewing?
At the half of the MLS All-Star game tonight, Beckham said live on ESPN2 that he’s more likely than not to miss Saturday’s game against Chelsea.
But even after those comments, ESPN continued to promote his appearance during the game, simply saying he’s unlikely to start. The network plans blanket coverage of his debut, including an isolated camera on Beckham — even if he is on the bench.
In the Associated Press story that followed on Beckham’s comments, Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas is quoted as saying Beckham will get on the field in some fashion.
The apparent conflict leaves plenty of questions:
Is a player-club clash over Beckham’s fitness to play unfolding? Will commercial interests be placed over a player’s long-term health? If the injury was this serious why didn’t Beckham get here sooner for treatment rather than the day before he was introduced at the HDC? What kind of treatment did he receive in England? And how exciting will it be for television viewers to see Beckham wave to Tom Cruise from the bench?
Oh, and the MLS All-Stars beat Celtic 2-0 in the game.
Photos by Sean Hiller / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
David Beckham stepped on the HDC turf promptly at 3 p.m. today for the first time as a Galaxy player with about 1,500 fans in the stands looking on, a press box full of English accents and a rock music soundtrack over the loudspeakers.
He didn’t train with the majority of the squad, however, instead working out with the similarly injured Chris Albright and trainer Ivan Pierra on the side of the field in front of the press box.
Beckham’s exercises appeared designed to strengthen his suspect left ankle, although his lateral movement looked strong.
Updated 3:50 p.m.: Beckham went through a light workout for 45 minutes, mainly stretching and jogging with our Galaxy players nursing knocks, including Quavas Kirk, Edson Buddle and Kyle Veris.
Next update: Beckham’s dinner plans (I’m kidding).
Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz deconstructs how much of David Beckham local fans will really see.
The answer is: not much.
Of course that assumes Beckham wins an England recall so he can add to his 96 caps and misses those home Galaxy games. That’s likely given the way England have played without him and the criticism Coach Steve McClaren came in for as a result, but not a certainty.
On the other hand, Beckham might well miss even MORE MLS games if gets injured, a distinct possibility for any 32-year-old player.
For those wanting to mark their calendars, here’s a Galaxy schedule.
And while we’re at it, here’s one for England.
In fact, of course, Beckham is already a doubt since he’s still bothered by the ankle injury that forced his substitution in Real Madrid’s final game of the season.
Will he train today at the HDC open house intended to promote the four-team World Series of Football tournament that begins tomorrow?
The Galaxy train at 3 p.m. in the main stadium followed by a press conference between the coaches of the four teams; Chelsea train at 5 p.m. Gates open at 2 p.m.
Admission and parking are free.
The HDC is at the corner of Avalon Boulevard and Victoria Street in Carson.
More than 20 players who represented their countries at last year’s World Cup are on the rosters for the tournament, which also includes Korea’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Mexico’s Tigres UANL.
Tuesday’s opening game pits the Galaxy (not including Beckham) against a Tigres team that boasts Mexican National Team star Francisco Fonseca, as well as former MLS All-Star Juan Pablo Garcia, and forward Walter Gaitan. Kick off is at 5:30 p.m. live on Telefutura.
In the nightcap, Chelsea, the English Premier League winners in two of the last three seasons take on Suwon Samsung Bluewings, who feature Korean National Team stalwarts Lee Woon-Jae, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Kim Nam-Il and Song Chung-Gug. The game is live at 8 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.
A limited number of tickets are still available starting at $60. Call 877-3GALAXY for more information
The tournament wraps up Saturday with a sold out doubleheader featuring Tigres playing Suwon (3 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Espanol) and the Galaxy taking on Chelsea (5:30 p.m. live on ESPN). Beckham is expected to play, although it’s unknown whether he’s likely to go the full 90 minutes. (I doubt it)
The sound quality at Beckham’s presentation was so bad speakers sounded like adults on a “Peanuts” animated special.
Embattled Carson Mayor Jim Dear received a better reception than embattled Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was roundly booed.
And David Beckham, smartly attired in (what looked like) a charcoal gray suit, said all the right, if totally bland, things in his Artful Dodger-like London accent.
“This is one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever taken on in my career,” said the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star. “I feel very proud to be part of this for the next five years.”
Oh goodie.
Now win.
A giant replica Galaxy jersey adorns the grass berm at one end of Home Depot Center, the latest hit by Scottish band The Fratellis lends a party atmosphere as it blasts from speakers and fans are chanting as if this is an English league game.
About 500 media and what appears to be more than 8,000 fans are assembled in a newly-rebranded HDC that now sports the Galaxy’s blue and gold color scheme awaiting the rebranded Galaxy’s new brand.
It’s hot and the smart press have retreated to the comparitive cool of the press box.
Hope Beckham doesn’t trip as he comes out on the stage.