Thursday, December 04, 2008

Should he stay or should he go

MLS brass is collectively holding its breath as it waits for David Beckham to decide what to do about that pesky little opt-out clause in his contract, which kicks (he he) in in one year's time.

Every move from the former England captain is analyzed to death. In a league that struggles for mainstream attention in the U.S., losing Becks would be a P.R. disaster 10X worse than whatever positive came from his signing two years ago. Reality wouldn't matter. All you would hear is the sound of soccer bashers and half-baked one liners from dinosaur sports columnists.

So, vague as it might have been, Becks statement yesterday that "I feel I've done everything to be successful in each club that I've been at. I just want to be successful with the Galaxy now" must warm the hearts at MLS HQ just a little bit.

Still, if the Galaxy don't do something to get better soon, those European offers are going to be hard to pass up. How he performs for AC Milan in the coming months will go a long way to telling us just how much top football he has left. But, even if he struggles for time on a club like AC Milan, you would imagine that he would still have opportunities at mid-table British clubs.

Getting Becks to LA was a big coup for the league. Now, it has to find a way to keep him. That might be the hardest thing yet.
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