Welcome to the World of Beckham blog, we aim to keep you up to date with developments in the career of David Beckham a footballer from the UK who has played for some of the top teams in the world.

Sunday 29 May 2011

New England Revolution 0 LA Galaxy 1


Beckham starts in his now customary central midfield role, occasionally popping up on the left-wing, often making a 'guest appearance' in the back four. The Galaxy started well and established a bit of a foothold in the match, but The Revolution were proving dangerous on the break on a couple of occasions. Neither keeper was troubled much in the first half although Ricketts had to run out to make amends for a short back-pass from a defender. LA hit the bar from a Beckham corner, although it bounced straight down the replay clearly showed that it didn't cross the line. The teams went in at half-time with no goals scored.

The Galaxy continue to have the edge over The Revolution in the second half, and after 24 mins a Beckham delivery from deep finds Lopez who glances the ball home with his head. Satisfying for Beckham who has just been booked for what looked to me like his first foul of the match which seems harsh.
The pressure continues and Beckham is substituted with 10 minutes to go. The Revs try hard to get back into the game, but LA look in control and manage to shut them out - the game ends 1-0 to The Galaxy, another good result on the road..


Thursday 26 May 2011

Galaxy 1 Houston Dynamo 0

With Beckham out of the picture, it fell to Donovan to star in this home game against Houston. It was right on half-time when Houston gave away a penalty for handball in the area and Donovan coolly slotted the ball away sending the keeper the wrong way.
Before that, chances had been few and far between, with The Galaxy maybe slightly in the ascendency.
In the second half, galaxy pressed Houston and established superiority in the game without ever getting that second goal. Birchall came close near the end having carried the ball through the defence, his finishing left a great deal to be desired.
It wasn't until the final 10 minutes that anything like a threat on the Galaxy goal actually materialised, but nothing that the Galaxy defence could not match.
The game finishes 1-0, a good result if not a great performance, Donovan departs for international duty for a few weeks, but Beckham returns for the next game against New England Revolution on Saturday.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Manchester United 1 Juventus 2 (Gary Neville testimonial)


Beckham has been given a few days off to take part in Gary Nevilles testimonial at Old Trafford. Beckham joined both of the Neville brothers, Nicky Butt, Rooney, Giggs, Scholes and Michael Owen amongst others - bizarrely both Owen and Beckham wore a no. 7 shirt...

United got off to a good start when Rooney put them one-up after just 18 minutes, Juve got one back before the end of the first half, and a Beckham foul led to a superb 'Beckham-esque' freekick to take Juve a goal ahead with less than 15 minutes left on the clock.

Overall the game was taken reasonably seriously although without the tempo of a truly competitive event. No-one was dragged out of retirement to make a token appearance - all the players who took part are fully functioning full-time professionals, a surprising amount of Man United youngsters were honoured with an appearance too.

Beckham flies back to join his team on Thursday to prepare for the weekends MLS action, he will miss tomorrows game as he did last time LA had a mid-week game.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Chivas 0 Galaxy 1


More good work this weekend sees The Galaxy beating in-form Chivas 1-0. The first half was a seemingly fairly even affair with chances at either end until 25 minutes in. A Beckham free kick unlocked the Chivas defence and found Barretts head for the first and only goal of the game. Taken from a similar position to last weeks Beckham goal, this time he opted for an assist...

Just minutes into the second half, Chad Barrett wasted the chance to score a second, hitting the side netting after taking the ball around the keeper. The game remained tight with just a few chances for either side - a typical local derby in which neither team could establish a real tangible hold. The score remained intact until the final whistle, and Chivas are still chasing a win against The Galaxy, a treat they last enjoyed in 2007.
The two teams meet again in October when Galaxy host Chivas.

Monday 16 May 2011

Galaxy 4 Kansas 1 - Beckham scores


Despite gifting Kansas the opening goal before Kansas had even had a shot of their own, Galaxy fought back to comfortably win a largely one-sided match. The come-back started when Beckham was bought down for a penalty near to half-time, Donovan converted and the teams went in at half-time tied 1-1.
It took Donovan less than a minute of the second half to take The Galaxy into the lead. Angel took the score to 3-1, and no-one looked more pleased to see Angel score than Beckham. Smiles all round as Beckham is fouled once more, giving away a free-kick with just a few minutes left on the clock.
The resulting Beckham set play brought even bigger smiles as he slotted the ball into the near corner from an impressive distance - proving once more that even though you may know what he is going to try - you still can't stop him from doing it. Beckhams first Galaxy goal of the season delighted the home crowd and his team-mates. A fantastic result for the Galaxy, a classic Beckham goal - good preparation for the game against Chivas next Saturday.

Friday 13 May 2011

Philadelphia Union 1 LA Galaxy 1

Beckham was rested for this outing to Philly as Bruce Arena wants him fit for the weekend, a tactic that almost paid off after Landon Donovan put The Galaxy in the driving seat after 23 minutes. Angel got into the box, but was losing his balance, Donovan stepped in to pick up the loose ball and his scuffed shot somehow managed to evade everyone and ended up in the back of the net. Few real chances were created and the game remained at 1-0 to The Galaxy right up to the last few minutes. With just 7 minutes remaining on the clock, it was a defensive howler that let Philadelphia back into the game. Franklin sold his keeper short with a terrible back-pass that played almost to the feet of the Philly striker Mwanga who gratefully took the chance to level the game. Neither team could find the winning move, so the game finished at 1 - 1, a very disappointing result for The Galaxy who should have taken all the points from this game even though their own goal was a bit of a mix-up.
We can't know that leaving Beckham out was a telling factor, but we can see that The Galaxy were missing something in this match - hopefully they will restore the missing link before Kansas City come calling on Saturday.


Sunday 8 May 2011

LA Galaxy 1 New York Bulls 1


A goal each for Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan at the Home Depot Centre sees these two big hitters settle for a draw. Both goals came in the first half, Henry scoring only a little after three minutes had elapsed. Donovan replied on 40 minutes after a corner from Beckham who adds to his assists yet again. Before the half time whistle went, Donovan squandered an exceptional chance after taking the ball past the keeper after a far-sighted Beckham pass found him in no-mans land. Donovan's final shot was too weak and a Bulls defender was able to slide in and hack the ball off the line in the nick of time.
The second half bought plenty of chances, Donovan Ricketts had to stay strong in the LA goal-mouth to keep the Bulls out and Galaxy peppered the New York goal, but the final result was an honorable draw.
La play again on Wednesday this coming week - the return match against the Union in Philadelphia.

Monday 2 May 2011

FC Dallas 2 LA Galaxy 1

Beckham makes it back from the Royal Wedding to take part in the starting lineup for the game against FC Dallas. Again, in his more central role, Beckham lines up with both Angel and Donovan the first time this season that all three have started a game.
The first half is not a very pretty affair with plenty of clumsy challenges and missed passes from both sides. Beckham had two free-kicks but used both as chances to set up colleagues rather than take a chance for himself. The weather is not helping on this cold and windy evening - the ground is proving slippery, plenty of players losing their footing at vital moments.
Neither team rose above the other in the first half, hopefully the second half will bring some better football.

The second half brings goals right from the start, Dallas scoring after 3 minutes, LA replying through Donovan just 3 minutes later. The paces intensifies as the focus sharpens on getting the vital next goal. On 52 minutes, Beckham strikes from the half-way line narrowly missing the goal. As the hour comes up, it brings intense torrential rain. On 67 minutes Dallas narrowly miss taking the lead. The rain ceases, but the pitch remains wet and the ball is zipping around. Beckham has moved to his more traditional right wing to send in some deliveries as the clock ticks down. However, the weather intervenes on 83 mins as the first flash of lightning causes the ref to halt the game with just seven minutes left on the clock.
The game resumed an hour later with Beckham replaced by Chris Birchall - two minutes from the end Dallas snatched a winner to end this unsatisfying game with a 2-1 lead. The Galaxy will need to show some improvement if they plan to hang around the top of the league this season.