As Landon Donovan gets set for his final Bayern Munich match, reports from England (take that as you like) claim AC Milan has finally struck this odd David Beckham "timeshare" agreement with the Los Angeles Galaxy (read: MLS).
Side note: With Tim Borowski, Franck Ribéry, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luca Toni all in doubt, and Mark van Bommel suspended, I would actually not be at all stunned to see Landon get the start against Hannover 96 tomorrow. Even if he only gets 15 minutes, I hope he scores twice. I really do.
Oh, I'm sure happy money will change hands and the players will try their best on March 10th, but don't we all feel rather bummed after watching serial #1 and downright dirty after watching serial #2? Are we entirely sure that all free MLS pub is good MLS pub?
The players are unsettled. The Galaxy are unsettled. The fans are annoyed. Ticket agendas/prices/sales have been delayed, and now must in some cases be redone. The league is surely already scrambling to come up with a save face plan.
I can't help but wonder if Bayern would have signed off on a loan through the end of the season, so Donovan wasn't squeezed into making an immediate splash to earn an offer. And I wonder why, if Carlo Ancelotti didn't intend to play Beckham pre-arrival, did MLS allow him to appear in matches, unlike last year's offseason training stint with Arsenal?
For a league with such a strict transfer system and history of fee hard lines at the negotiating table, you'd think they wouldn't be so flimsy with this duel-ordeal. You'd think they'd have thought of all the awful contingencies ahead of time. Instead, it seemed they had no plan, it seemed they just made it up as they went.
So yes, I am now fully against the two-month loans out of MLS. They really aren't fair to anyone, truth be told. With the exception of Donovan, who I think was treated most shabbily, every party should have had more class.
Beckham/MLS shouldn't make promises they can't or don't intend to keep, Milan is... well... an oddly-run Serie A team and I don't even know now what Bayern were doing. I've also wondered if the Galaxy haven't been taken for a ride as well, but in the end, they supposedly have the power to put their foot down. Maybe they were cajoled, but that just makes them cajole-able.
For crying out loud, the infamous Cuauhtémoc Blanco successfully pulled off one of these without hitch or hiccup. Yes, you've all been made to look comparatively silly by Mr. White. Now, Donovan comes back disappointed, while Beckham will be of no use to L.A. until July, when he returns briefly as public enemy #23.
Of course, I say this and let's just watch as the Galaxy win MLS Cup this fall, giving the bumblers "I told you so" privileges.
So I got one wrong (LD not coming back) and one partially wrong (DB coming back). I got a 25, not super. Then again... my first mistake was trying to be rational about it all.
Seriously, what the hell were they all thinking?
- Greg Seltzer
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2 comments:
Why are you yanks so sour about Beckham making a move that, frankly, no professional footballer would be able to resist.
It's clear that, to remain selectable for his country, he needs to be playing in Europe and what better place to go than Milan.
To top it all off he is paying out of his own pocket. I think there's every chance he will go to MLS later in his career to finish the job he has started - unless of course he becomes a public enemy, in which case the US only has itself to blame.
Hmmm... why would anyone be sour when L.A. & MLS grant him this bizarre favor of a two-month loan right before the new season starts, he swears up and down that he isn't leaving the Galaxy, then one game into his Milan time suddenly he wants to force his way out?
And no, it is not clear, as he has been repeatedly selected while playing in MLS.
As for the paying his way bit: So? He should be after how he's handled this episode.
As for him coming back later: LOL good one.
As for how you consider it America's fault for being perturbed somehow: don't be daft. He has jerked his club and teammates around on the dawn of a new season, and anyone fan anywhere would get mad at that.
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