Beckham Just Can't Stay Out of the Headlines

Any book about David Beckham’s tumultuous time in the United States was always going to generate some headlines. But when the first excerpt of a book that featured direct criticism from one of his most visible teammates came out this month, it practically generated an entire news cycle. All this just a week before Beckham makes his return to the Galaxy, in New Jersey on July 16 against the New York Red Bulls.

In their July 6 issue, Sports Illustrated reprinted a juicy excerpt from soccer writer Grant Wahl’s book, The Beckham Experiment, in which Landon Donovan openly vented his frustration with Beckham’s impact on him and the L.A. Galaxy. Specifically, he targeted Beckham’s aloofness with respect to his teammates and his lack of commitment.

Admittedly, Donovan is not wrong. Since he arrived in Los Angeles two seasons ago, Beckham has frequently looked downright disinterested — which is only made worse when you consider his salary. And last winter when he orchestrated his loan deal with A.C. Milan, he made no secret of his desire to play elsewhere, somewhere where the level is slightly higher. Yes, Beckham’s frustration is understandable and, yes, perhaps he thought his work here was done. The jerseys had been sold, M.L.S. was briefly chic, and attendance spiked.

Everything really changed when he was surprised to find he might still have some gas in the tank. Suddenly, dreams of playing for England in 2010 were re-ignited. He cracked the national squad again. Staying fit and staying sharp became his priorities and, to be honest, M.L.S. is not the best place for that. Serie A would have been far better for him.

But this is by no means to absolve Beckham from blame.

When Beckham signed his massive deal to play in M.L.S., he knew exactly what he was getting into. As the elder statesman of English soccer writers, Brian Glanville, put it to me at the time: “Welcome to the elephants’ graveyard, David.” Beckham knew his powers were waning and he tried to make himself an ambassador for the game. He spoke of soccer academies, and Hollywood, and building up the sport in this country. Not to mention the fact that he was happy to cash in.

All that talk seems to have evaporated. The soccer ambassador has been spun into a prima donna. And the players who were once so excited to just exist around him have nearly seen enough. Here is what Donovan had to say:

All that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to us. As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways — on the field, off the field. Does the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah. If someone’s paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you’re suspended or not. Show up and train hard. Show up and play hard. Maybe he’s not a leader, maybe he’s not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn’t happened. And I don’t think that’s too much for us to expect. Especially when he’s brought all this on us.

Later last week, Beckham tried to take the high road, calling Donovan’s comments “unprofessional” and saying that the matter would be talked out between the two men behind closed doors. Donovan soon apologized for the way in which he made his criticism, but stood behind it nonetheless.

“I don’t apologize for what I said,” Donovan told the Galaxy’s Web site Thursday. “I just apologize for the way I did. I should have told him to his face.”

So is Donovan wrong? Is Beckham really the bad guy here? And, perhaps most importantly, is Beckham still a good enough player anyway?