WE ARE GOING TO GET POSH!!!!!!

[SILVERLAKE]

Beckham adds immense star quality to Galaxy
By Grahame L. Jones, Times Staff Writer
10:45 AM PST, January 11, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2007-01/27323857.jpg

David Beckham, perhaps the world's most widely recognized soccer player after Pele and Diego Maradona, today signed a five-year, $250-million contract to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

Beckham, 31, rejected a two-year contract extension with Spanish power Real Madrid to come to the MLS. By doing so, he becomes the highest-profile and the highest-paid player ever to join the 11-year-old league.

The former Manchester United star and former England national team captain will complete his contract with Real Madrid on June 30 and will join the Galaxy in August, about halfway through the MLS season, which begins April 6.

"I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own," Beckham said in Madrid.

Leading figures in the MLS were almost giddy at their coup. Beckham had been sought by top clubs throughout Europe, but few could have matched the size of the contract he has agreed to with MLS.

"David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally," said Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, which operates the Galaxy and two other MLS teams.

Don Garber, the league's commissioner, called Beckham "a global icon who will transcend the sport of soccer in America."

After spending all of his early career with Manchester United, Beckham was acquired by Real Madrid in 2003 for $41 million. He was one of a handful of star players known as the "Galacticos" that Real signed. Others included Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos of Brazil, Zinedine Zidane of France and Luis Figo of Portugal.

In his four seasons in Spain, however, Beckham failed to win any trophies with the club, and since the arrival of Italian coach Fabio Capello last fall, he has played only a handful of games for the nine-time European champion.

Beckham's unhappiness at being consigned to the bench, plus the sheer size of the MLS offer, led to his decision to move to the United States.

Also contributing was the fact that he was dropped from England's national team after the World Cup in Germany last summer, when England was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In all, Beckham played 94 games for England and captained the national team on 58 occasions.

On the Galaxy, he will join a team that made a few waves by signing U.S. standout Landon Donovan to a million-dollar-a-year contract two years ago, but that deal has been dwarfed by Beckham's signing today.

It also dwarfs a much earlier attempt to spur soccer growth in the U.S. — the signing of Pele by the New York Cosmos of the long-defunct North American Soccer League in 1975. Pele's contract was for "only" $5 million a year.

Beckham's fame worldwide may have eclipsed that of even Pele, however. He and his wife Victoria — formerly the singer Posh Spice of the Spice Girls — draw paparazzi like movie stars and are constantly the subject of tabloid gossip and entertainment columns worldwide.

The soccer star's celebrity status even led to his name being used in the movie "Bend It Like Beckham" — a reference to his pinpoint passing ability.

The league is counting on Beckham to not only boost its standing in the U.S. and worldwide but also to act as a magnet for other name players to join the MLS.

"He is a cultural icon," former U.S. World Cup player Alexi Lalas, now the Galaxy's president and general manager, told the Associated Press last year. "I think the people who don't know a tremendous amount about soccer know who Beckham is, whether it's the way he looks, who he's married to or what he's done in international soccer.

"The fact is, he transcends the sport."

The league is gambling that he can turn soccer into a mainstream sport in the U.S.

"I'm going out there to hopefully build a club and team that's got lots of potential," Beckham said. "I think that's what excites me."

[latennisguy]

WOW! Beckham in the MLS?! Whodathunkit?!

regarding his celebrity status: "yawn"....he won't really be big in LA. He'll blend in with the rest of the celebrities. :lol:

[Fern~Fern*]

So his dream came true to actually play and live for Los Angeles. I wonder where his going to live?

[Elsongs]

I laughed when I first heard this, but I thought about it for a bit, and I think this is what the MLS needs. I think Beckham is a bit overrated but the biggest thing that plagues the MLS is that it's like a "Minor League" full of virtual nobodys.

I don't consider myself a huge soccer fan (the only soccer game I wever watched was a Brazil-Morocco match during the '84 Olympics at the Rose Bowl) but I want to see the MLS succeed.

[The Baz]

That's big news. MLS is pretty much ignored by most Americans but Beckham's got star appeal around these parts. Should definitely bring some extra people to Dominguez.

[future_trance011]

Great news!!! The MLS definitely needs someone with star quality to create a buzz around soccer...I'm more surprised the Galaxy can afford the astronomical figure of $250 million offer.

[future_trance011]

While living in LA..let's hope he doesn't pull a Hugh Grant!:lol:

[Overground]

This great for MLS and LA without a doubt. It begs me to think that this is probably for the LA celebrity lifestyle and the huge pay cheque. Otherwise he would have finished his career in London with Tottenham or West Ham, possibly. Don't think Chelsea or Arsenal would have taken him even if he was playing for a very low price.

Probably a good decision on his part and I definitely look forward to him coming up here when Vancouver gets its franchise in 2010(most likely). And now I have another reason to come down to LA.

And I still think he should be on the England squad. He was an inspiration for us and lead by example. Pessimistic fans would say otherwise. Steve McClaren can get stuffed.

[Elsongs]

That's big news. MLS is pretty much ignored by most Americans but Beckham's got star appeal around these parts. Should definitely bring some extra people to Dominguez.

The Galaxy themselves are pretty successful as an MLS franchise, they have one of the largest-capacity soccer only stadiums in the USA and of course one of the largest fanbases in the MLS. They have no problems bringing people to Hardware Store Stadium. The real thing is to attract people in *other cities* to see Beckham play.

[Fern~Fern*]

^^ Agree....

I just wish the HomeDepot Center was not in Carson. Maybe it can be moved to cornfields some day. Imagine HomeDepot Center and Dodger Stadium on the North end of Downtown....

[The Baz]

I'm sure LA's large latino community supports the Galaxy but are you saying that HDC is at capacity when Galaxy plays? Should surely bring in others who might not have been too interested in soccer before to check out the sport even in this area.

[sharpie20]

It's likely to spark american interest for a little while, though it's probably not going to sustain it for long. Let's be honest, more american's look down on soccer, it's just not something we've been historically good at.

[Elsongs]

It's likely to spark american interest for a little while, though it's probably not going to sustain it for long. Let's be honest, more american's look down on soccer, it's just not something we've been historically good at.

I think the timing is right. If last year wasn't a World Cup year, no one would really care.

[solongfullerton]

I watched a program on primetime ESPN about the rise of a soccer league in the US during the hay day of Pele. Apparently the NY team was selling out the old Meadowlands after a few years. I guess there was some bad communications between the league and the tv networks and the league lost interest real quick.

My guess is that bringing Beckham to the Galaxy will be like when Gretzky came to the Kings. It will boost ticket sales in LA, and because LA is such a huge market, it will have a residual effect on the rest of the country in ratings and ticket sales. If is soccer is cool in LA, it will end up being cool everywhere else.

[Calvin W]

Is pele still alive? maybe someone can snap him up. This reeks of a desperate attempt by the MLS.

[future_trance011]

Is pele still alive? maybe someone can snap him up. This reeks of a desperate attempt by the MLS.

^^

Call it a desperate attempt or call it an amazing opportunity.,,

David Beckham may not be as good as he once was (especially when he was with Manchester United) but what he is still very good at is being globally recognizable (he is arguably, the most globally recognizable athlete today) and more than anything this is a marketing ploy meant to bring catchet to a sport that many Americans still deem "slow" and "boring". In the age of the internet/global media and short attention spans..star power talks! What he will do is create a buzz in America for soccer (or football as they call it in the old country)...He'll use this as an opportunity for promoting a sport he loves (while reaping the benefits of a $250 million dollar contract) to a whole new generation of soccer fanatics. I see nothing wrong with that. The amount of money they will be paying him is based more on the marketing potential attached to his recognizable face and name rather than his playing ability. Although, I still think he still has at least 3-4 good years left. If everything goes according to plan, maybe one day soccer can truly be viewd as the world's favorite sport (with America finally embracing it along with the rest of the world)...who knows? *shrugs*

[alex3000]

He's actually going to be making about a million dollar per week.

I heard on TV that the average soccer player makes 36,000 anually. :uh: I'd like to think I heard wrong and it's actually 36,000 per month, because 36,000 anually for any job is nothing here in LA.

[Elsongs]

I heard on TV that the average soccer player makes 36,000 anually. :uh: I'd like to think I heard wrong and it's actually 36,000 per month, because 36,000 anually for any job is nothing here in LA.

The average MLS player or the average soccer player among the entire world?
I mean you have those Euro mega-stars on one end, and some goalie from Burkina Faso who makes 16 cents a month on the other end...I guess that averages out to $36,000...

[Fern~Fern*]

Let's all run down to local sport shop and buy a new Beckham jersey and wear them at the meet....... sorry I had a minor sarcasm moment.

[Elsongs]

Let's all run down to local sport shop and buy a new Beckham jersey and wear them at the meet....... sorry I had a minor sarcasm moment.

Los Angeles...land of Kobe, Nomar and now...Beckham!

[SILVERLAKE]

:banana:

The Beckhams are coming and the paparazzi are ready
Victoria and David Beckham may be just the new faces the short-attention-span celebrity world needs.
By Scott Martelle and Robin Abcarian, Times Staff Writers
January 12, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-01/27324274.jpg

The Beckhams are coming! The Beckhams are coming! And the local paparazzi, at least, are very happy to hear it.

Just hours after the announcement in Europe that international Real Madrid soccer star and pin-up boy David Beckham was Los Angeles-bound to join the Galaxy, Brandy Navarre, co-owner of X17 Inc., one of L.A.'s biggest celebrity photo agencies, was already meeting with a team of five photographers she's assigning to shadow the couple.

That's more defenders than Beckham ever faced at one time on the field.

"It will be great for us," Navarre said. "There will be a mob of photographers surrounding them constantly."

Beckham and his wife, Victoria, who first gained fame as "Posh" in the top-selling 1990s singing group the Spice Girls, for years have been the cream of European celebrity, exuding youthfulness, music, jet-setting sports and the kind of looks that seemed destined for ad space.

So how will the Beckhams fare in L.A., where there's already a celebrity lurking behind every palm tree along a trail blazed by the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, or the Beckhams' friends, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes?

"They're no Britney," said Harvey Levin, managing editor of the celebrity-tracking TMZ.com. "He can't just come in here and expect that he's going to be the same huge celebrity he was in England."

But the potential is there if the Beckhams work at it.

"They're great-looking people," Levin said. "If they're at all interesting, make the social rounds, they get photographed everywhere with A-list celebrities, they can become A-listers on this soil."

Working in their favor: The celebrity world's short attention span.

"Celebrities are always looking for the next new thing," Levin said. "It's like Paris Hilton — how many times can you go to Hyde before you get bored? It's famous because she's there all the time.... At some point it gets boring, and they're looking for the next big thing."

And the Beckhams could be just the ticket.

[SILVERLAKE]

A pair of stars, an L.A. sky, a happy Galaxy
The Beckhams -- a soccer icon and a former Spice Girl -- are leaving London for the lights of Hollywood.
By Robin Abcarian, Scott Martelle and Kim Murphy, Times Staff Writers
January 12, 2007


Somehow, it was just meant to be.

http://www.rtl.nl/components/actueel/rtlboulevard/2006/06_juni/entertainment/images/victoria-beckham-wk-210-258.jpg

International soccer star David Beckham — perhaps equally famous hereabouts as the husband of former pop singer "Posh" Spice — announced Thursday in Madrid that he has agreed to a five-year, potential $250-million deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, injecting a fresh shot of celebrity into a city where it is practiced as an art.

While Galaxy and Major League Soccer officials hope the deal will vault the American professional league into the global ranks, Londoners are feeling a sense of loss and local paparazzi are relishing the arrival of the photogenic jet-setters — he of the constantly changing locks and quintessential metrosexual wardrobe, and she of the impossibly thin frame and penchant for shopping.

"It's like manifest destiny," said producer Peter Guber, the host of the TV entertainment talk show "Sunday Morning Shootout." "At a certain point in somebody's career, Hollywood is an inevitable stop on the journey. Whatever the luminosity of these celebrities in New York or England or Paris, they want to test it against the ultimate pop culture of Los Angeles."

It's not the first time a couple have come to Los Angeles to revive flagging careers, but few bring the star wattage of David and Victoria Beckham, the splashy English duo who have been making noise since 2003 about conquering America.

Their plan is gaining traction. The Galaxy said it had sold 2,000 season tickets in just a few hours after announcing the deal with Beckham. About 80% of Beckham's deal, according to a source familiar with the contract, will come from endorsements and image rights.

"Clearly, this will raise our profile overseas," Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said Thursday. "The amount of global media attention in the last week leading up to this, and certainly in the last 24 hours, has been more than this league has ever received in our 11-year history."

Beckham, who has played professionally for 15 years, first with Manchester United in England and for the past 3 1/2 years with Real Madrid in Spain, is in decline as a player but at 31 is still young enough to be a significant force for the Galaxy. Part of the reason he made this deal, sources said, was to prove to skeptics that he is not past his prime.

The move is reminiscent of the 1988 blockbuster trade that brought hockey great Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings from the Edmonton Oilers. His first season in L.A. sparked a large increase in attendance in a city not known for its love of hockey. At the time, some critics claimed Gretzky, whose new wife, Janet, was an actress, joined the Kings to further her career. Unlike Beckham, however, the Great One was still at the top of his game.

Public interest in both Beckhams, particularly 32-year-old Victoria, is intense.

"I would say that since Princess Diana, in terms of selling newspapers, the only person who comes close is Victoria Beckham," said Victoria Newton, show business editor of the Sun, a London tabloid. "There's this kind of fascination about her. People either love her or they love to hate her, but they all love to read about her…. The chemistry between the two of them made them the power couple of London."

"It will be great for us," said Brandy Navarre, co-owner of X17 Inc., one of L.A.'s biggest celebrity photo agencies. By late Thursday morning, she had already met with the team of five photographers that she plans to assign to the Beckhams. Not that the couple will mind, added Navarre: "You don't come to Hollywood being as famous as they are looking to hide out and have a private life."

Meanwhile, the British tabloids are gearing up to spend a fortune with agencies such as X17, and some are even considering sending correspondents to Los Angeles. David Beckham is expected to start work in August for the Galaxy, whose season begins in April.

Recently, the Beckhams have been shopping for a home in the $20-million range in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills and Bel-Air, according to Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency in Beverly Hills. Before her husband signed his contract, said Bruce Nelson, another real estate agent who works those areas, Victoria had been looking in Malibu.

"I don't see them in Malibu," said Navarre of X17. "She is going to want to be near Beverly Hills."

Dubbed the "alternative royal family" by the English press, which covers them obsessively, the Beckhams married in a castle in Ireland and sat on thrones during the dinner. The media refer to their mansion as Beckingham Palace "because they're like kings and queens," Newton said.

Even though the couple have often been mocked by the British press for their overly flashy parties, their fake tans — and, in her case, fake body parts — London already feels a bit bereft, a feeling shared both by those dazzled by their status as style icons in a culture traditionally short on flash and glitz and those who relished making fun of them.

Partly this is because the Beckhams have always been interesting to look at. His fashion taste, which sometimes veered into the weird — sarongs, plucked eyebrows, the occasional skirt — was off-putting to some.

She, meanwhile, is known (and sometimes chastised) for her sticklike frame and outsized cleavage and is an ostentatious clotheshorse who has designed a line of high-end jeans for the Culver City denim manufacturer Rock and Republic.

Last October, during New York's fashion week, Victoria Beckham was spotted in outfits by Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney and Balenciaga. She skis in head-to-toe Chanel, according to OK magazine. She has talked about having her own TV show about fashion.

David Beckham has had endorsement contracts with such companies as Gillette, Vodafone, Pepsi and Brylcreem and may be plotting his own Hollywood moment.

In a story last November, the Sunday Times of London reported that American entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman has developed a plan to help turn Beckham into an action star. He would start, according to the report, where all aspiring actors do: by taking voice and acting classes.

Even their romance has a Hollywood tinge. Tom Cruise introduced the pair, and they are said to have named their third son, Cruz, in his honor. (Their two other sons are Romeo and Brooklyn, who was named for the place of his conception.) Victoria was among the guests at Cruise and Katie Holmes' November wedding (her husband missed the nuptials because of his work schedule). According to reports, Holmes recently told Victoria that she should try acting.

When they married in 1999, "Posh" was at the height of her fame as a Spice Girl, with numerous pop hits, and he was the great hope of British soccer who would not become a household name in America until 2002, when an indie film about two soccer-playing girls in England — "Bend It Like Beckham" — hit it big.

The next year, Victoria Beckham descended on New York, meeting with fashion editors and journalists in hopes of raising the couple's U.S. profile. Since then, the Beckhams have spent enough time in Los Angeles to know their way around the city's hot spots. When Victoria Beckham was in L.A. in November 2004 to promote her jeans line, she said she liked to dine at Koi and Spago.

Koi manager Mark Basile was happy to hear the couple are coming to town. "As far as the buzz around town, everyone knows who she is, but I don't think a lot of people know who he is," Basile said. "He's a B-plus celebrity. But he can be A-plus-plus if he does well for the Galaxy."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is rooting for him: "David Beckham will generate tremendous exposure for the L.A. Galaxy and increase an already heightened level of interest in the sport of soccer among Angelenos and all Americans," he said.

Like many celebrity couples, the Beckhams have had brushes with scandal. In 2004, Rebecca Loos, a personal assistant to David Beckham in Madrid, claimed she had an affair with him. The couple's nanny wrote a tell-all about screaming fights and Beckham's intention to leave his wife.

"The allegations of infidelity were on the front pages almost continuously and that was kind of a negative time for them," said Juliet Herd, features editor of Hello magazine. "But it just fueled the fascination for them as a couple. And the way they got through that was important too. Victoria just held her head up, and the accusations and the people behind them just flitted away."

Losing the Beckhams to Los Angeles is a mixed bag for London, said the Sun's Newton. "People here are shocked at the amount of money he's being paid," she said. "It's quite staggering. It'll make him the richest footballer ever, in the world. I guess lots of people won't be too sorry to see them go, and in any case, we'll still be reading about them every day."

[solongfullerton]

NICE FAKE RACK!

[future_trance011]

NICE FAKE RACK!



^^
I concur! Fake racks need some loving too..:lol:

[The Baz]

For those of you who do not know who David Beckham is or are not interested you'll be delighted to know that LMU soccer star Bobby Burling has also been drafted by the Galaxy! Go lions. :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :cheers:

[Fern~Fern*]

^^ Who is he?

[The Baz]

Just a college senior at Loyola Marymount, he was drafted to the Galaxy today during "SuperDraft." Good for him but I'm sure his pay will be closer to the $36K average :cheer:.

[Fern~Fern*]

LOYOLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh OK, I mean not that's coming straight out of UCLA or something*

[chicagogeorge]

You guys want to laugh, look at what our Euro friends are saying about Beckham's move to the MLS

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=74

[Fern~Fern*]

Honestly can they have him back and all his glory's. I still feel there's more to the story, like Hollywood. Remember he was at TomCat's wedding and he does love the spot light. As far as the Retired Spice Chick, well porn is huge since she not that great of a singer anyways.....

[savvysearch]

You guys want to laugh, look at what our Euro friends are saying about Beckham's move to the MLS

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=74

Some of them are stupid. MLS is not paying him a million dollars a week. No one believes that the whole american soccer industry even has 250 million to spend. The number was to make headlines. The salary is something like 9 million (?) a year. The rest is through endorsement deals and I'm pretty sure LA Galaxy does not own Adidas or produce those Got Milk? ads that David will inevitably get most of his income.

[MP]

How big is LA Galaxy's stadium?


This is where he currently plays:

http://www.real-madrid.de/Bilder/Real-Numancia,%20Estadio%20Santiago%20Bernabeu-06%2031.03.01.jpg
:)

[savvysearch]

How big is LA Galaxy's stadium?


This is where he currently plays:

http://www.real-madrid.de/Bilder/Real-Numancia,%20Estadio%20Santiago%20Bernabeu-06%2031.03.01.jpg
:)

Cut off the top a little more than half way down and you have the american stadium in LA.

[The Baz]

He'll have to get used to much smaller er' a more quaint setting.

Home Depot Center: Carson, CA

http://www.vanguard.edu/uploadedImages/PR/vtour/homedepotcenter.jpg

http://encyclopedia.quickseek.com/images/thumb/300px-Homedepotcenter1.jpg

[trojans14]

More fake boobs for LA! :banana:
That brings the count to 2,038,924.5 fake boobs. (the .5 represents bad boob jobs :lol: )