Almost 6 years after arriving stateside, amid a hord of frenzy and furore, he has decided that now is the time to call time on his career with the MLS outfit. He will hope to do so with one last hurrah as he will seek to help the club to another MLS Cup victory in a repeat of last year’s final showdown with Houston Dynamo.
The 37 yr old former England captain made his announcement in a news release late Monday afternoon. Given his revelation that he was leaving the club to ‘experience one last challenge before the end of my playing career’, it is obvious that retirement is not yet on his mind.
The sweet Hollywood romance between David Beckham and the MLS began in 2006 when he joined from Real Madrid. At the time he had just been part of the Real Madrid outfit that won the title & whilst entering the twilight of his peak years he was still seen as a player who could cut it at the top. Yet whilst interest was high across Europe he decided that the project of playing in America and trying to build the ‘soccer’ profile was too good to turn down.
A player with honours from the biggest leagues in the World was quite the coup for the MLS as a whole and Beckham fever well & truly landed in the US. Whilst injuries limited his playing time initially he made a huge impact during his first season. Over 300,000 Beckham Galaxy jerseys were sold in that year alone & when he did begin to appear regularly for the club the league saw both TV ratings & attendances rise.
David's presence in the MLS transformed a league which was usually being mocked by Europeans into a League many dream of playing in at least before hanging up their boot.
The Hollywood romance between David and the MLS brought with it a lot of positives which have helped place the MLS in the position it finds itself today.
By the end of the debut year of the David Beckham circus the league had seen its largest attendance figures since 1996, the first year of the MLS existence. Overall average attendance was up 8.4 % and the league gained unprecedented media attention. Clubs across the MLS were required to open up additional seating & even play games in close by NFL stadiums in order to accompany the fans who were flocking to see him.
As his 6th season draws to a close figures reveal that the growth in attendance has continued. The league now see’s an average attendance of 18,807 in comparison to 15,504 prior to Beckham’s arrival. Of course some of that is down to the introduction of the larger stadiums but would those have ever have been required had Beckham not arrived?
In the years since Beckham joined the MLS six teams have gone on to create soccer specific stadiums with another two (DC United & San Jose Earthquakes) expecting to make the same move in the coming years. No longer do teams have to use NFL stadiums as ground shares, often at a cost, which is allowing the club to generate profits from gate receipts for themselves. The other advantage this has brought is enhanced playing conditions and atmospheres at ground due to them being primarily built for soccer.
The league has seen 6 additional clubs join during Beckham’s stay, all of whom have been success stories, none more so than Seattle Sounders who regularly play in front of 38,000 plus.
Such is the growth of the sport it has now overtaken both the NBA & NHL in average attendance becoming the 3rd most watched sport in the US. A position it could only have dreamed about 10 years ago. Another figure which makes positive reading is the leagues standing on a global scale in football. In 2006 they were the 13th most watched league Worldwide…and now 7th.
Yet perhaps the most important change which occurred due to his arrival was the introduction of the ‘designated player rule’ created specifically to ensure Beckham could join LA Galaxy. The rule which is commonly known as the ‘Beckham Rule’ allowed clubs to purchase one player whose salary would not affect the club’s salary cap. It has since gone on to be expanded by the league & it now allows for up to three players that fall under this category to join a club.
This resulted in a major change of stance to previous seasons where salary caps were extremely stringent. Due to the change the league has been able to attract higher profile players because clubs can afford to bring them in. Whilst some argue that most of the time they are past their peaks, there is no doubting that having a high profile player can only be good for the game.
Since 2007 the MLS has seen a number of major names sign on to play in the league. Players such as Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, Robbie Keane & recently Tim Cahill are all plying their trade stateside and of those 3 still remain active with their national teams…a sign then that the MLS is not merely a retirement league for some of Europe’s best players.
Another question one will be tempted to ask is, Will Beckham look back at his days in the MLS and call it a success? We shall give the answer to that question at a later stage, but first let's review what the MLS has acheieved since the arrival of David Beckham.
During his time in the league the MLS has expanded in the number of franchises involved, new stadiums have been built, better players have chosen to ply their trade there & more money is flowing through the league. Of course Beckham isn’t directly responsible for all of this but he was the catalyst to much of it.
The changes may have come about regardless of whether he joined or not but the likelihood is that they would have taken far longer. The growth would have been slower…perhaps to slow. In Beckham they got a crossover sportsman who intrigued the general public and popularized soccer in a manner which hadn’t been seen on Atlantic shores.
Increases in the vital aspects that measure growth have all come about during his time in Southern California and that can’t all be merely coincidence.
So there is no doubt in my mind that Beckham will not only be proud to say that his stay in the MLS was a success but will also beat his chest for playing a vital role in the revitalisation of his club LA Galaxy by helping the club to reach the MLS Cup final in ’11 and ’12, winning it last year. Beckham made the MLS Best XI in a 2011 season that deserved plenty of commendation and when he goes out on a championship note a week from Saturday it will be a fitting end to his on-field career here.
It will be interesting to see how the league copes in the immediate aftermath of his departure given they are losing not just a footballer but a brand…one thing is for sure; he will be missed by a club whose success in the past 2 seasons has in part been down to the performances of one of the games most highly decorated players.
He will not only be missed by the fans but this team mates will have to get used to life without Becks in the dressing room while on the other side the battle intensifies as top teams battle to sign the former England captain and Manchester United Legend.
Could Beckham be heading back to United? I guess that is a story for another day.
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