Beckham to miss SuperLiga match against FC Dallas

David Beckham is set to miss his second straight Superliga match with an injured left ankle. Beckham will not travel to Texas for the LA Galaxy's match against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park.

The only good news about Beckham's status is that he is expected to travel with the Galaxy for its upcoming MLS match against Toronto FC in Toronto on Aug. 5th. MLS and Galaxy officials will keep their fingers crossed that Beckham won't be forced to miss a very crucial four-match road trip that includes stops in Toronto, Washington D.C. and Boston. If he starts missing MLS matches then you could start to see some fan backlash after so many fans bought pricey tickets for a chance to watch Beckham play.

Comments

[Joamiq]

All I'm saying is he better play when LA comes to Giants Stadium.

[Frank Olide]

I always thought Blanco was going to end up helping his team on the field more than Beckham. We will see how the Galaxy perform when he does play. Pavon is a good striker and he will have two good passers in Donovan and Beckham. BTW, in an article on soccernet Pele says Beckham is more a 'pop star' than soccer player.

[Derek]

What about the people who DID buy tickets in Dallas. People paid over two hundred dollars and now Dallas will be the only place in the MLS that Beckham won't see. Just another long line of bad luck for FC Dallas. First is was Landon then Freddy and now David.

[Istvan from Budapest]

Let's hope he can play against Toronto. Those fans deserve a victory against a Beckham-captained Galaxy :)

[Derek]

By the way, I often post on this blog but I didn't post the message above about Dallas and Beckham. I guess Derek is a more common name than I thought...

[chris]

why would galaxy officials care about people who bought tickets to see beckham in other cities? they even don't care that the fans in LA won't see him.

[Ives]

Chris, Galaxy officials care about Beckham missing matches because missing the playoffs would be a disaster and every game Beckham misses cuts into the buzz surrounding his arrival. You're right, they don't care about people who bought tickets, but they do care about the bottom line and Beckham missing games hurts the bottom line.

[John]

He bests be here on the 18th!

[Craig]

Remember how people were saying that Beckham to R. Madrid was all about jersey sales?

Turns out they were wrong... it's the Galaxy deal that's all about jersey sales.

BTW - Including the England call-ups there's a real chance that Beckham will only have 2 more appearances in the Los Angeles area for the rest of the season. All the hype and all they get is 196 minutes of Beckham.

[JJ]

This is the danger in hyping individuals in a very team-oriented sport. For MLS, the risk is going to be worth reward on a player like Beckham but it was inevitable someone would end up missing him. In soccer, injuries, cards, international dates, etc. all work against guaranteeing certain players appearing.

It's not been a good week for the FC Dallas front office; first, they didn't put the first two Superliga games in the season ticket package and then inflated the prices such that they ended up with lower attendance mostly supporting the Mexican squads. Now, they are going to have irate customers paying premium prices to watch Kelly Gray and Alan Gordon control the midfield.

[Kris]

He didn't even make the trip with the team, so now he can't even be in the same stadium! Dallas got a royal screw-job.

[JonG]

So Ives, what do you make of Nery Castillo making a move to FC Shakhtar Donetsk? I'm in awe!

[MikeMike]

Ives,

If Beckham doesn't play soon, or isn't effective due to the injury, how long do you think the Beckham hype will actually last?

ESPN the magazine had him on the most recent issue. I didn't read the Beckham article because it looked silly, but they also had something on the U-20s and alittle blurb about Angel.

Do you think that media coverage of soccer, and in particular MLS, is dependant on Beckham playing and dominating in this season?

(By the way, I actually have a subscription to ESPN the magazine. You should tell them to devote, at very least, 3-4 pages to soccer news. Tell them I might cancel my subscription until they do. I know you have alot of pull over there.)

Keep up the good work,

-Mike

[adam]

This guy has a bad ankle. Athletes in all the major US sports (football, basketball, baseball) spend time on the sidelines for ankle problems.

Footballers in Europe, South America, and even MLS get injured.

Once again it seems like MLS over cooked the hype. I mean they knew he had a niggling ankle problem, right? So why not tone it down and save all the hoopla for when he actually is match fit and ready to contribute??

[Vavoom]

The problem here in Dallas is that despite knowing for weeks that Becks was likely not to play, the FCD FO have done nothing but play up the Becks hype... "Don't Miss Beckham" is on billboards and newspaper ads and they did little to promote the two Mex games.

The make it worse, the GM Hitchcock was crappy in his attitude about it, quoted as telling fans that "...was the risk you took..." To top it off, last night his attempt to make good was to offer "first dibs" to ticket buyers for the next time LA comes to town.

Hitchcock (the GM) is in a lot of trouble here in Dallas. He has lost several key staffers in the last few months. Ticket sales have been dissapointing all season. One wonders if Hitchcock is long for his postion?

[Korvin]

ESPN should be taken out back and shot for over hyping him in the first place. People are already complaining about him not playing, and these are the casual fans who are still learning about the MLS.

[Sandro]

I was wondering what would happen if Beckham was not able to play in one the games where ticket prices were jacked up because he was supposed to play, I guess now I will find out. Regardless why did MLS teams jack up the price just for LA Galaxy games is beyond me. First they should worry about promoting the sport and hopefully building a fan base before cashing in. I think it is very narrow minded to think of making a quick buck for LA Galaxy games. Instead they should get as many people to watch MLS games and have them come over again and again. Ticket prices from what I heard were almost double the tickets for other games, similar to Red Bull tickets for LA Galaxy. I know people compare it to Barry Bonds playing or not playing, etc. But those are well established sports in the US, unlike soccer.

[nico]

Let him rest and recover. MLS could not have predicted this...but he should have never stepped on the field against Chelsea. I would love to find out if that appearance did indeed exacerbate his injury.

[Felix]

A funny thing happen to Mr. Beckham ankle during the last couple big games fro Real Madrid so they could win the title, he was playing on a bad ankle and getting injected or taking some serious painkillers that the Galaxy and MLS are paying for it now. All I can get better, because his only trip to NY is in couple weeks and we want to see hime play.

[Donovann]

it was a hoorible game, rigged, u really believe they scored 11 goals between themselves just when becks is a no show, they at least could have made it look more real

[Dutchman]

First time posting here, but a long-time reader.

I realize I am a little late posting here, but I wanted to share what I have seen and heard.

On Wednesday I was at the FC Dallas - LA Galaxy match in Dallas. Besides the amazing come back by Dallas, after being down 4-0, I was a bit surprised by the fan backlash against Beckham. Many people had signs slamming him ("Bench it like Beckham" was my favorite) and his no-show. It was disappointing really, since so many young fans - despite being in Dallas - were walking around in their Beckham/LA Galaxy jerseys. People really wanted to see him, and well...

I am involved, on the periphery, with Superliga, given my job (let's not get into it). I had a chance to speak with someone who works for Soccer United Marketing (the marketing arm of MLS and USSF) about Beckham. Bottom line: MLS is worried. Very worried. They have spent millions on the PR machine around Beckham, and they are seeing it go down the drain. Rather than engaging would-be-fans, they are seeing backlash and a disinflated interest in US professional soccer. They understand that he is injured, but this particular individual believes that Beckham is not really all that interested in playing in the MLS. His move to the US coincided with his wife's desire to jump-start her carreer in Hollywood. It is rumored that he too wants a Hollywood career after his eventual retirement.

The same person also said that the organization was miffed that Beckham cannot practice or play, but has lots of time to go to Tom Cruise's bash in his honor, as well as do the hollywood celebrity rounds.

Sounds like the MLS has been "busted by Beckham."