Galaxy of would-be stars

CARSON, Calif. – With their soccer cleats, shin guards and a mix of determination and delusion, they came here from as far as Italy, Norway and Japan in pursuit of the same dream: to play alongside David Beckham as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Their odds were even longer than the registration lines on Saturday, when 800 players showed up at the team's headquarters. And to think the hopefuls could have numbered in the thousands.

After the Galaxy signed Beckham a month ago, they announced they would hold open tryouts for a spot on the Major League Soccer team. It was as if the Beatles had taken out a classified ad looking for a drummer before they settled on Ringo Starr.

Beckhamania ensued, and online applications quickly climbed over 1,500 before Galaxy officials capped the number at 800. Team officials accepted only men 18 and older with some formal soccer experience who were willing to pay $130 for a tryout that for most would last one hour.

Coaches scouted the players during 60-minute games, and at the end of the day they huddled to select about 100 players that would be brought back Sunday. From that group, the coaches planned to pick up to three players that would join the Galaxy for a week of training camp starting Monday and, if luck and talent held up, could join the team full time.

Beckham will have no say in the matter. For one, he’s not even around. His wife, Posh, made a recent trip here to find a suitable mansion, but her husband is still playing for Real Madrid in Spain and won’t arrive in Los Angeles until July. Yet Galaxy officials said they have sold 5,000 season tickets since they announced the signing of Beckham, and the tryouts once again put the Galaxy back in the headlines.

Heading off accusations before anyone could make them, Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas repeatedly declared, “This is not a publicity stunt.’’ Yet there was BBC Television, preparing for a live report outside the Home Depot Center at 7 a.m., more than an hour before the first games would begin. They were part of a mini-British invasion, with other British networks and newspapers on hand to document the tryouts that included about 50 players from England.

In addition to representatives from at least half a dozen countries, the 800 players on hand included a 33-year-old bartender from Miami, a 27-year-old truck driver from Orange County and a 23-year-old marine mammal observer from Florida. Actually, make that former marine mammal observer.

Artie Ahr, who said it got lonely watching for whales on the decks of vessels off of the Florida coast, recently quit his job to focus on preparing for the Galaxy tryouts.

“This was a shot at my new job,’’ he said after his one-hour game. “This was my job interview.’’

In shifts, the players began filing onto the fields at 8 a.m., and the Galaxy began searching for a diamond in the rough – very, very rough. Watching the tryouts was as amusing, heartwarming and painful as watching "American Idol."

Simon Cowell should have been on hand. But Lalas, a standout on the 1994 U.S. World Cup team, proved to be a capable fill-in. Four hours into the session, he took a phone call from someone who informed him that Beckham had just scored a goal for Real Madrid. It brightened his spirits, if only momentarily.

Lalas lamented the number of beer bellies he’d already seen.

“It’s disrespectful to soccer and disrespectful to the Galaxy,’’ huffed Lalas. “Look, I can accept if you suck. But you can control whether or not you’re in good shape.’’

Paula Abdul was nowhere to defend the beer-bellied.

Fortunately, some of the players were fit and fast and somewhat skilled. Many of their stories were better than their skills.

Take Kevin Payne, the 28-year-old school teacher from England. Galaxy team officials heard about Payne long before Saturday, and not because of his soccer skills. After registering for the tryouts, he started his own website: www.getme2thegalaxy.co.uk in hopes of raising money for his trip and getting a few laughs. He got more yuks than bucks.

The homepage includes a copy of the Galaxy’s ad trumpeting Beckham’s arrival with one small adjustment. Payne superimposed a picture of his head over Beckham’s. Visitors learned more about Payne’s plans which included, “the task of getting fit, getting good and getting enough money to get to LA, all in 3 weeks. Am I dumb? You bet!’’

And there he was Saturday, wearing a bright red jersey with the No. 2 – that number squeezed into his slogan “Get Me 2 The Galaxy.’’

A gray-haired man walked past, grinned at Payne and said, “So you made it here?’’

“Yep.’’

“Good for you,’’ the man said.

On a day that begged for a reality TV crew, here was the catch: The man knew exactly who Payne was, but Payne hadn’t the foggiest idea who the man was. Suddenly Payne began to sound nervous.

“I’m worried when I get on the field they’re going to think I’m supposed to be brilliant,’’ Payne said.

He put those expectations to rest quickly.

There was the BBC announcer, an amiable but short and stocky woman who remarked, “Let’s say some of them, I can play better than.’’ Later in the day, the Galaxy’s head coach almost confirmed as much, saying he’d spotted two or three "pretty good players," but the BBC producer did not seem to be among them.

There was the father who watched his 20-year-old son, Joe, controlling the ball at midfield and confessed, “We’re not real Beckham fans because Joe will be after his position.’’ After Joe made the Galaxy, that is.

And then there was Brian Campbell, a 38-year-old goalkeeper who said he did an eight-year tour with the Army that included a frontline stint during the Gulf War. It prepared him well.

Three minutes into his game Saturday, an opposing player blasted a 30-yard shot past Campbell and into the upper right-hand corner of the goal. He looked like a soldier who’d lost his unit. By the time the game finished, he’d lost track of the score, but figured he’d given up at least eight goals.

“I haven’t seen that much shelling since the first day of Basra,’’ he said, referring to his tour during the Gulf War.

But player after player willingly walked onto the battlefield, and understandably. Can you imagine the Los Angeles Lakers holding an open tryout to play alongside Kobe Bryant? Or the Indianapolis Colts holding an open tryout to play alongside Peyton Manning?

The international players seemed stunned but pleased to hear the Galaxy’s plans considering open tryouts in Europe are virtually unheard of. They were even more encouraged when they heard that the Galaxy held a similar tryout in 1999, where they discovered Marvin Quijano, an El Salvadoran who made the team and played in 32 games over four seasons.

Somewhere between dawn and dusk, the 800 players got their shot to catch the coaches’ eyes – or, just as likely, turn their stomachs – during a 60-minute match.

As promised, by 9 p.m., the team posted a list of players selected to return Sunday. For some, the dream of playing alongside Beckham would last at least one more day.