sejarah david beckham

Los Angeles Galaxy

Beckham's involvement with Major League Soccer began while he was still a Real Madrid player when it was confirmed on 11 January 2007 that the world's most famous footballer would be leaving Madrid in six months in order to join MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy. The speculation about his new contract in Madrid was thus put to an end and the following day Beckham's official press conference was held in conjunction with the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.^[76]
Predictably, the announcement made top news all across the globe. Though many worldwide media outlets reported the deal to be worth US$250 million,^[77] the astronomical figure was soon revealed to be something of a PR stunt engineered by Beckham's media handlers (British representative agency 19 Entertainment).^[78] In order to maximise the media effect, in the press release they decided to list the potential sum that Beckham could make over the 5-year period from all his revenue sources, which in addition to his Galaxy pay also include his personal endorsements. Beckham's actual deal with the Galaxy was a 5-year contract worth US$32.5 million in total or $6.5 million per year.^[79]
The high-profile acquisition paid immediate financial dividends for Galaxy long before Beckham joined the team. On the strength of the signing and the media frenzy it created, the club was able to pull off a new 5-year shirt sponsorship deal with Herbalife nutrition company worth US$20 million. The gate revenue peaked as well with 11,000 new season tickets holders and sold-out luxury suites (each one of the 42 inside the team's home ground, the Home Depot Center).^[80] Even the LA Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) saw an immediate spike in business. Involved on many business fronts worldwide, AEG was already leveraging its Beckham association in places such as China, where the company had been working aggressively in Shanghai and Beijing for years to receive clearance to build arenas and stadiums. The company's CEO Tim Leiweke put it as follows: "Suddenly, we're known as the company that owns the team that David Beckham is going to play for, so our world changed".^[81]
In the months following the announcement, the additional terms of Beckham's contract became public knowledge. One unique contract provision was giving him the option of buying an MLS expansion franchise at a fixed price whenever he stopped playing in the league – an allowance that the league's owners had never given to a player before. Another provision was the opt-out clause after the 2009 season, meaning that should he decide so, Beckham was free to leave the club after completing year three of his 5-year contract.^[80]
In April 2007, he and wife Victoria bought an $18.2 million home on San Ysidro Drive in Beverly Hills.^[82]
Beckham's contract with LA Galaxy took effect on 11 July, and on 13 July, the famous Englishman was officially unveiled as a Galaxy player at the Home Depot Center to much fanfare and world media interest in front of more than 5,000 gathered fans and some 700 accredited media members.^[83] Beckham chose to wear number 23. It was announced that Galaxy jersey sales had already reached a record figure of over 250,000 prior to this formal introduction.^[84]
In parallel, Beckham's handlers at 19 Entertainment succeeded in putting together an unprecedented US media rollout designed to expand his carefully crafted personal brand in America. He made the cover of Sports Illustrated, a few weeks earlier Adidas launched the extensive 13-part ad campaign "Fútbol meets Football" starring Beckham and NFL running back Reggie Bush, and W magazine published a racy photo spread featuring David and wife Victoria photographed by Steven Klein. Meanwhile, ESPN sports network was running "Hello, Goodbye" promotional campaign and it also agreed to air David Beckham: New Beginnings documentary produced by 19 Entertainment and directed by Gary Brooks before the friendly match versus Chelsea, which was expected to be Beckham's American debut. In addition to popularising soccer, Beckham's arrival was used as platform for entertainment industry endeavours. Since both Beckham's and his wife's often overlapping careers were handled by 19 Entertainment that's owned by Simon Fuller, who in turn has a business relationship with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of Hollywood's most powerful talent agencies, it was important also for CAA that the Beckhams made as big a splash as possible upon their arrival in the United States. On 16 July, CAA had hosted a welcoming bash for David at its new eight-storey, $400 million headquarters in Century City with CAA employees reportedly instructed beforehand to line the staircase and clap for Beckham upon his arrival.^[85] That night Victoria's reality show prime-time special Victoria Beckham: Coming to America aired on NBC, drawing negative reviews in the American press and poor US viewership ratings.^[86]
On Saturday afternoon, 21 July, despite still nursing the injured left ankle that he picked up a month earlier during the final match of La Liga's season, Beckham made his Galaxy debut, coming on for Alan Gordon in the 78th minute of a 0–1 friendly loss to Chelsea as part of the World Series of Soccer.^[87] With a capacity crowd, along with a long Hollywood celebrity list featuring Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria, Mary-Kate Olsen, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alicia Silverstone and Drew Carey among others, present at the Home Depot Center, the match was broadcast live on ESPN's main network. However, the proceedings on the field of play completely took a back seat to the Beckham spectacle, and despite the presence of worldwide football stars Andriy Shevchenko, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, and John Terry, the US television cameras were firmly focused on Beckham who spent most of the match on the bench. The match's added time featured a scare for already injured Beckham when he got tackled by Steve Sidwell whose cleats struck Beckham's right foot, sending him airborne before he crumpled hard to the ground. Though the existing injury was not aggravated too much, Beckham's recovery process was set back by about a week. ESPN's presentation of Beckham's debut earned a 1.0 TV rating, meaning it was seen in an average of 947,000 television homes in the US – a disappointing figure given the national media buzz and two weeks of constant promotion by ESPN. For comparison ESPN2's weekly MLS broadcasts on Thursdays drew a consistent 0.2 rating on virtually no promotion while Freddy Adu's MLS debut televised on ABC back in 2004 earned a 1.3 rating.^[82] As far as sporting events that were televised that weekend in the United States, Beckham's much publicised debut drew less TV viewers than British Open golf tournament, a regular-season national baseball game, and even the Indy Racing League's Honda 200 motor race.^[82]
The day after the made-for-TV debut was reserved for the welcoming party for the Beckhams at LA's Museum of Contemporary Art, formally billed as being hosted by Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith though in actuality a CAA-organized event. Attended by many Hollywood A-listers, the lavish bash was big news in the US celebrity tabloid media, including daily entertainment TV magazines such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood.^[88]
Back on the soccer front, Beckham missed the next four Galaxy matches – three in the North American SuperLiga and an MLS game away at Toronto FC though he still made the trip with his teammates, sitting on the bench in street clothes. It was in Toronto on 5 August that the team got its first taste of what life would be like on the road with Beckham on the roster. Due to security concerns, it was the first time the team flew on a charter for a road match, rather than flying commercial (MLS normally forbids charter flights for away matches, claiming they provide competitive advantage, but in this case they made an exception due to the frenzy created around Beckham and resulting security issues). Also, instead of the usual MLS-mandated modest hotels, LA Galaxy stayed at the five-star Le Méridien King Edward in downtown Toronto (an expense paid for by the local Toronto promoter), while the glitz and glamour continued with the velvet rope, red carpet party at the Ultra Supper Club with Beckham as the centerpiece guest.^[89]
Two weeks after his 12-minute appearance vs. Chelsea, still not fully healed Beckham finally made his league debut as a substitute on 9 August away versus DC United in front of the sellout crowd of 46,686 (nearly three times the average DC United home crowd) at the RFK Stadium, coming on for Quavas Kirk in the 71st minute.^[90] Coming into the nationally televised match on ESPN, played under a heavy downpour with his team down a man and down a goal, even if only 70 percent fit, Beckham left a mark during the remaining twenty plus minutes. He hit a long free kick that Carlos Pavón failed to finish on for the equalizer, and then in the final minutes Beckham served a weighted through ball into Donovan's path that United's keeper Troy Perkins managed to break up in the last moment – the Galaxy lost 1–0. The next match on the road trip was at New England Revolution and Beckham decided to sit it out, fearing further aggrivating his ankle on the Gillette Stadium's artificial surface.
Beckham returned to the pitch the following week, again facing DC United, in the SuperLiga semi-final on 15 August. During this game he had many firsts with the Galaxy; his first start, first yellow card and first game as team captain.^[91] He also scored his first goal for the team, from a free kick, and also made his first assist, for Landon Donovan in the second half. These goals gave the team a 2–0 victory, and a place in the North American SuperLiga final versus Pachuca on 29 August.
During the SuperLiga final against Pachuca, Beckham injured his right knee, with an MRI scan revealing that he had sprained his medial collateral ligament and would be out for six weeks. He returned to play in the final home match of the season. The Galaxy were eliminated from playoff contention on 21 October, in the final MLS match of the season, a 1–0 loss to the Chicago Fire. Beckham played as a substitute in the match, bringing his season totals to eight matches played (5 league); one goal scored (0 league); and three assists (2 league).
Beckham trained with Arsenal from 4 January 2008 for three weeks, until he returned to the Galaxy for pre-season training.^[92] Beckham scored his first league goal with the Galaxy on 3 April against the San Jose Earthquakes in the ninth minute.^[93] On 24 May 2008, the Galaxy defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3–1, giving the Galaxy their first winning record in two years and moving the club into first place in the Western Conference. In the match, Beckham scored an empty-net goal from 70 yards out. The goal marked the second time in Beckham's career that he had scored from his own half, the other being a 1996 goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.^[94] Overall, however, the Galaxy had a disappointing year, failing to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs.

Loan to Milan

In 2008, Beckham's success in the England national team under Fabio Capello led to speculation that he might return to Europe in order to retain match fitness for the World Cup qualifying matches in 2009. On 30 October 2008, Milan announced that Beckham was to join them on loan from 7 January 2009.^[95] Despite this and other speculation, Beckham made it clear that the move in no way signalled his intent to leave MLS and announced his intent to return to the Galaxy in time for the start of the 2009 season in March.^[96] Many at Milan both within and outside of the club expressed serious reservations about the transfer, with it considered by some players no more than a marketing move.^[97]
Beckham was unveiled at Milan's training facility by the club's chief executive Adriano Galliani on 20 December 2008.^[98] The player chose number 32 shirt previously worn by Christian Vieri, as both the number 7 and 23 shirts were already used by Alexandre Pato and club captain Massimo Ambrosini, respectively. After his physical, Beckham was reportedly told by a club doctor that he believed he could continue playing football for another five years, up to the age of 38.^[99] The day after his unveiling, Beckham was brought to San Siro where he got introduced to home fans by walking out on the pitch before the league match versus Udinese and proclaiming 'Forza Milan' over the public address system.^[100] Afterwards, he and wife Victoria watched from a luxury box as Milan destroyed their opposition 5-1.^[101]
As the three-week Christmas break began in Serie A, entire Milan team flew to Dubai for winter training.^[102][103] Overcoming several minor fitness issues, Beckham made his debut in a Rossoneri shirt on 6 January 2009 in a friendly against Hamburg at Dubai's Sevens Stadium.^[104]
Playing on the squad led by the 26-year-old superstar Kaká in addition to several other world-class players at or near the peak of their careers – 28-year-old Ronaldinho, and 29-year-old Andrea Pirlo – as well as club veterans Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Ambrosini, Giuseppe Favalli, Gianluca Zambrotta, Filippo Inzaghi, and Andriy Shevchenko, Beckham made his competitive debut for the rossoneri in Serie A as a starter away at Roma on 11 January 2009, playing 89 minutes of the 2–2 draw in front of 53,444 at the Stadio Olimpico.^[105] Playing his first competitive match in almost three months, Beckham gave a decent performance in right midfield alongside Pirlo. Though clearly lacking match fitness, occasionally struggling to keep up in a high-tempo match, Beckham put in enough useful crosses and corners to justify the coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to play him from the start.^[106] Going into Beckham's home debut versus Fiorentina a week later, all the talk was around Milan's best player Kaká being the target of a reported £100 million transfer bid by Manchester City.^[107] Beckham turned in another understated performance on the right side of midfield before advancing into a more active central role in the second half thus effectively taking over Seedorf's role after the Dutch international got subbed off. Milan won 1-0 courtesy of Pato, but the 65,000+ San Siro crowd mostly focused on Kaká, imploring him to stay on.^[108]
A noticeably older team, Ancelotti-coached Milan was proving a good fit for the 33-year-old Englishman. He scored his first goal in Serie A for Milan in a 4–1 victory over Bologna on 25 January, his third appearance for the club.^[109] Though Beckham was expected to return to L.A. in March, after impressing at the Italian club, scoring two goals in his first four matches and assisting on several more, rumours began to swirl that Beckham would stay in Milan, with the Italian club reportedly offering to pay a multi-million dollar fee for him. The rumours were confirmed on 4 February, when Beckham stated that he was seeking a permanent transfer to Milan, in a bid to sustain his England career through the 2010 World Cup. However, Milan failed to match Galaxy's valuation of Beckham, in the US$10–15 million range.^[110]
Still, negotiations continued during a month of speculation.^[111] On 2 March, the Los Angeles Times reported that Beckham's loan had been extended through mid-July.^[112] This was later confirmed by Beckham, revealing what was described as a unique "timeshare" deal, in which Beckham would play with L.A. from mid-July till the end of the 2009 MLS season.^[113]