Landon Donovan isn’t too Pleased with Beckham
Last Saturday, David Beckham broke the silence on his likely loan move to AC Milan in predictable fashion by explaining how his desire to temporarily switch clubs was motivated simply by a desire to stay sharp during the long MLS offseason. Beckham’s announcement was criticized by many, who felt that the British soccer star should have waited until the end of the MLS season before making such an announcement.
One of those critics is Beckham’s very own Galaxy teammate, Landon Donovan.
Before Beckham was surrounded by journalists and camera crews at Saturday’s press conference, Donovan expressed his level of frustration with Beckham to a small band of reporters.
When asked whether the timing of Beckham’s announcement was premature and could have been handled better, Donovan replied:
“Candidly, yes.”
“It doesn’t make it much better or much worse,” Donovan added, “but it would have been nice to have waited.”
I have to side with Donovan on this one. While Beckham’s excitement at spending two months in Serie A is understandable, the way he handled the situation is a PR blunder. By announcing the move in the midst of the MLS, he showed little regard for his employers and teammates, who put forth the same time and effort that he does.
In general, I don’t have a problem with Beckham playing overseas, but the way he handled the situation raises questions regarding his commitment to the Galaxy.
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Comment by Bella on 30 October 2008:
Donovan has played in Europe and followed football around the world long enough to know that even if the player doesn’t say a word to his own mother, loan deals are played out in the press for months by clubs, agents, press — even those that are simply rumors or manufactured for publicity. Simply having Beckham’s name mentioned has brought Milan a tremendous amount of publicity and, frankly, the Galaxy didn’t do to badly having the story of its disastrous season overshadowed as it wound down. I thought for a moment it might have been the Galaxy press office doing the spreading.
Besides, do you think Donovan’s agents have not been in contact with clubs or their “representatives” for months if he’s had a thought of going abroad? Rumors of his possible arrival wouldn’t be as profitable for potential clubs or sell as many papers, but I’m sure he didn’t “wait” either.