Soccer soap opera
CARSON, Calif. – While Victoria Beckham's reality show aired Monday night, richer material percolated on and around the pitch where her husband will play soccer and attempt to elevate American soccer to unprecedented heights.
That is, assuming David Beckham's swollen ankle – which could scuttle his targeted debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday against English Premier League power Chelsea – finally heals.
And assuming the Galaxy's head coach and general manager don't ambush each other, as a published report would lead one to believe possible.
And assuming Landon Donovan doesn't attempt to incite a mutiny if (make that "when") the team names Beckham the new captain.
And assuming the Galaxy players don't go on strike until the team brings their salaries in line with Beckham's. He will make $6.5 million in base salary this year, while Donovan will make $900,000 and one team member will make less than $18,000.
Before the famous bloke from England arrived, few people seemed to know this L.A. Galaxy existed, much less that it could provide enough fodder for a full-fledged soccer soap opera – and certainly better material than was featured in "Coming to America,'' the one-hour special about Victoria (aka Posh Spice) getting settled in Beverly Hills before her husband and their three young sons arrived.
"I think we all understand the opportunity we've been presented with,'' said Donovan, apparently unaware that killjoys will relish the opportunity for catastrophe.
Start with the swollen left ankle. Interestingly, no one bothered to mention it Friday when 600 reporters from 10 countries and more than 3,000 fans gathered for Beckham's formal L.A. introduction. Alexi Lalas, the Galaxy's general manager, did make sure to remind everyone that merchandise was available in the team store and that season tickets were for sale, and he also took time to list dates for the upcoming games. Apparently what slipped his mind was an injury that could make the upcoming games meaningless for anyone who bought tickets expecting to see Beckham play.
On Monday, spectators got a preview of what Saturday's friendly against Chelsea could look like – that being fans watching Beckham observe his new teammates from the sideline.
During Beckham's first official practice with the team, he took part in the initial slow jog around the field. Then the healthy players went one way and Beckham went another. He looked nimble enough during passing and juggling drills, not to mention some light running and extensive stretching. But when the team scrimmaged, Beckham watched from the sideline. Turns out, the left ankle he sprained last month while playing for Real Madrid had remained sore and swelled up during the flight to Los Angeles.
After practice, a British reporter asked Galaxy coach Frank Yallop if fans would expect refunds if Beckham doesn't play Saturday at the Home Depot Center.
"You can't worry about that,'' Yallop said, though he did look worried about that.
As if The Swollen Ankle weren't enough bad news for Yallop, a Galaxy beat reporter inquired about a recent story in the Newark Star-Ledger in which Santino Quaranta, who was traded from L.A. to the New York Red Bulls before You Know Who arrived, suggested dissension was creeping into the Galaxy's locker room. Quaranta also said that the coach and general manager were no longer in lockstep.
"It's mostly chaos in L.A.," Quaranta was quoted as saying by the Star-Ledger. "… From coaches on down, there was no stability at all. To me, it doesn't seem like Alexi and Frank are on the same page.''
To Yallop, this seemed even more disturbing than the idea of ticket refunds.
"It's all rubbish,'' he said of Quaranta's comments. Or perhaps he was talking about the Galaxy's play. After all, the team is 3-5-4 and considered one of the league's weakest.
"He was just trying to make a few waves there,'' Yallop said of Quaranta.
But suddenly, for those seeking drama, there was a potential swell of waves. During Monday's practice, Donovan was taking corner kicks when a fan yelled out, "Donovan, you're still the real star of this team.''
Later, Donovan proved less delusional than the fan.
"That's probably my last few corner kicks for awhile,'' Donovan said. "Free kicks, I don't even bother taking them anymore.''
When he has two healthy ankles, Beckham will be in charge of free kicks, corner kicks and set pieces to take advantage of his magical right foot. One need see the movie "Bend It Like Beckham'' just once, or hear the title a few dozen times, to understand that Beckham can curve a ball around hapless players and into the net with unmatched skill.
But while Donovan sounded comfortable in relinquishing those duties, he did cling to the hope he might be able to keep that arm band that signifies he is the team captain.
"Do I want to be the captain? Sure,'' Donovan said. "But if I'm not, I'm not going to cry about it.''
But at times on Monday, things got as stale as Victoria's "Coming to America'' special. Which is to say things were sanguine and controversy-free, with talk about everybody getting along with the new guy.
"He was, I think, a little shy the first day coming in," Donovan said.