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Beckham has started a new journey from football to soccer by signing to play for LA Galaxy from Real Madrid. Beckham as always, attracted the attention of the world with his new signing - a whopping US$250 million for a period of five years by a US Soccer club - the move did surprise many. Before the deal Beckham was struggling with Real Madrid and was also out of England squad after the World Cup 2006. But within few weeks after the deal announcement he was back in the Real Madrid squad, and also got a call from Steve McClaren for England team. He did not disappoint the fans with his performances for Real and England after the recall. Thus the deal and the performances on the field helped him to consolidate his brand. That is Beckham, a brand in football which hardly anyone can ignore; Capello tried to ignore him but had to eat his own word.
David Beckham is a brand and a club should utilize the Beckham brand to maximum for the benefit of club and football. When he moved to Real from MU, the pundits concluded that Real signed him only due to marketing strategy. Now again the move to LA Galaxy is viewed in the same angle by most of the experts. But it is fundamental to understand that Beckham as a player is a package, which adds value to so many other dimensions of the game other than on field actions. The Beckham brand is well established and the brand has a value which sells. In US there are already bigger established brands like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, etc. For Beckham brand it is a new territory and but his Hollywood friends Tom Cruise and Co. will make his brand establish in US much faster. Few Hollywood stars like J.Lo, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, etc., have already brought season tickets of LA Galaxy as soon as the Beckham deal was finalized. When Hollywood is backing Beckham move, then who knows American public may follow their stars to Soccer and the Beckham brand with much eagerness and swiftness.
Beckham move to US is widely discussed at every level. For some Beckham’s move to US is ‘retirement programme’, which only benefits Beckham and his family, and least to US Soccer or LA Galaxy. For some the move is seen as his Hollywood connection and future business deals. However, inspite of all speculations, the move got much publicity which fulfills the strategy of LA Galaxy and Beckham. Finally Beckham made his debut for LA Galaxy against Chelsea FC on 21st July, however, it’s another story that he could not start the game due to his ankle injury and came in only as a substitute for last 12 minutes of the game without any impact on the game. He could not show his trademark free kicks to strong 27000 fans and few Hollywood stars present in the match, which ended in Chelsea’s favour 1-0. But atmosphere at Home Depot Center was electric and this gives an indication that Beckham brand has hit the right button with his debut without even an on-the-field eventful action by him.
People are skeptical that Beckham’s move may not be successful in turning America into Soccer crazy nation. This may be due to the fact that in 70s US brought king of football - Pele to play in North American Soccer League for NY Cosmos, but as soon as Pele left, US Soccer was back to square one. For two years Pele could attract nearly 70,000 fans regularly for the league matches. However, the fact of the matter was that when Pele entertained the US fans during that period, US soccer probably had no foundation and mostly players were imports, and thus game could not flourish beyond a certain level. It was not only Pele but also greats like Franz Beckenbeur and George Best who displayed their skills in front of US fans in NASL with a mission to popularize soccer in US. The mechanism of brining stars to US Soccer failed and funds got exhausted fast from NASL, then the league had to be discontinued and in the bargain, US Soccer suffered a major set back. The experience of Pele and other stars to make an impact in US Soccer did fail at that time but it does not mean things will fail again. The present reality is different and situation has changed drastically in US Soccer. During the last two decades there is significant development in many aspects of the game in US, which is encouraging for the good of the game.
US Soccer started building their foundation since late 80s and when US hosted the World Cup 1994, it did made a huge impact in soccer popularity in US. The profit from World Cup 1994 was invested carefully and the MSL is also the result of the same investment. Major Soccer League is in 12th season and so far it is moving forward with clear direction and vision. The club regulation is well thought one and implemented with purpose for the development of professional football. The other fact is that the Soccer playing population in US is growing every year and as per FIFA big count in 2006 it is around 24 million. That is a huge number, only second to China. Moreover, much of soccer playing population is young, therefore, future of US Soccer is bright. It should not be forgotten that US Women team is one of the top ranked teams of the world and they have already won the Women World Cup two times - in 1991 and 1999. The performance of the US men team in World Cup 2002 was very encouraging but World Cup 2006 was a little set back for US considering the progress they made in previous years with national team.
Beckham’s arrival may boost the soccer investment further and who knows professional sports in US may turn towards soccer with full energy once the soccer market is clear in its assessment as to what Beckham brand can do to soccer popularity together with other local soccer stars. It is already in the news that even before the arrival of Beckham (just after signing) LA Galaxy sold 250,000 of the club’s new replica jerseys at $45 each. That is a first for US Soccer club. The General Manager of LA Galaxy, Alexi Lalas, a former international has taken a calculated risk by signing Beckham and if it hits the success track, then US Soccer may start competing on even terms with the other established professional sports in US. Let’s not forget that Beckham is also a style icon and it is generally believed that there is a void in US Sports scene (as far as sports style icon is considered) since 2003 when Michael Jordan retired from basketball. His iconic status and fashion shots may be hit with US public, and he together with his wife Victoria may divert bigger market from other sports to soccer.
LA Galaxy is languishing in the bottom half of the league standings and it will be difficult for Beckham to meet the expectation of the Galaxy fans to help his team to move up the league standings and come out as champion club. Beckham has admitted that he should not be equated to Pele, and he is not a player who can dribble pass 4 or 5 players and hit the net as Pele in every match. Beckham’s strength lies in his trademark free-kicks, perfection in passing, passion for the game and above average work rate in the match. He is 32 years old at present and not getting any younger, therefore, he will much depend upon his Galaxy team mates for a team performance. He will have the company of local star Landon Donovan in Galaxy to make the team click.
It is too early to judge the real implication of the move of Beckham to US. The fact of the matter is that at present US Soccer is struggling to compete against much established team sports, like Baseball, NFL, NHL and NBA in their soil. It is probably languishing at 5th spot in team sports category. However, whatever is being said and written on Beckham, all is having an impact towards US Soccer. This is visible on daily basis with the amount of time and space given by the international media in highlighting the daily development with Beckham and his new club. He has a wider acceptance across the continent except may be South America. Apart from England, he has a huge fan following in Asia and definitely Asia will be targeted by marketing team of LA Galaxy to expand their business. This should certainly bring good investments to football and such a scenario is only good for the game.
The move by Beckham and its impact should be visualized in a broader context. The best scenario would be that Los Angeles and other cities of US become fresh hubs of football with popular league for international players - if not immediately then in near future. The situation is ideal in US for a change and that includes good professional set-up under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Sunil Gulati. With mass participation in soccer, and many quality youth players are emerging through long term player development process in US to take the game to a new level, and that youth brigade is lead by Freddie Adu of DC United. The right indication will come when new broadcasting rights are signed in US and it is expected that in the present scenario with Beckham around, the rights will definitely move several notches up.
Finally, it is not the question as to how best Beckham can contribute to LA Galaxy team but what he can do to the overall health of US Soccer. It will not be an overstatement if it is said that Beckham’s move to US will definitely bring a qualitative change in US soccer scenario and bring about a total change in the way international audience perceive US soccer.
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