Beckham kick starts it
David Beckham, starting for the first time since he limped across the Atlantic Ocean on a sore left ankle last month, scored a goal, orchestrated another and saved soccer in America on a sweltering summer evening in Carson.
OK, he didn’t save soccer Wednesday. Not yet, anyway.
But he might have saved the Galaxy’s season.
He certainly showed what the fuss over his arrival was all about, a $250-million man turning a ragged, 39-cent field into his personal playground with the kind of savvy performance the Galaxy and MLS are praying is the first of many.
“It was a good feeling in the locker room to be buoyant and happy,” Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop said, “because we haven’t had a lot of happiness this season.
“David in the team makes a big difference.”
You think?
Insistent on playing despite lingering pain from the injury he suffered while playing for England and Real Madrid, Beckham was on the field for more than 62 minutes of the Galaxy’s SuperLiga semifinal game against D.C. United.
He made the 2-0 victory a night to remember, displaying his storied ability to bend a ball to his will and energizing a team that had sputtered and stumbled and was in danger of falling apart before he could get his new career going.
“It was very important for me to actually get on the pitch and play some minutes,” he said after receiving treatment on his ankle for more than an hour and taking the time to dress in a natty suit, crisp white shirt and red tie.
“Once I’m on the pitch I know I can play well and help the team, and that’s all that was on my mind, helping the team get to the final and getting our season going.”
He got the Galaxy going Wednesday when he curved a free kick around a wall of defenders and past a frozen goalkeeper in the 27th minute. His first goal in a Galaxy uniform touched off a celebration on the field and a rain of confetti from the surprisingly small crowd of 17,223. It even drew a few hand claps from his wife, Victoria, though she still wore her huge, dark sunglasses and a blasé expression in her luxury-suite perch.
The confetti hardly helped the condition of the field, which had new sod installed only a few days ago after playing host to the X Games and resembled a do-it-yourselfer’s bad installation of cheap plank flooring. But Beckham adapted well, setting up teammate Landon Donovan for a pass that took a fortunate deflection and allowed for a nice run that ended with the team’s second goal, in the 47th minute.
“If this was him at who knows what percent of himself, I can’t wait until he’s fully healthy,” Donovan said.
“I thought our attitude was great and I think David in there brought a lot out of a lot of guys.”
Donovan deserves an uncredited assist by offering the captaincy to Beckham during an earnest parking-lot conversation after the team’s practice Tuesday.
“I’m not stupid and I’m not naive,” Donovan said. “I know he’s been captain of England, one of the best teams in the world. I’m going to play the same whether I’m wearing the captain’s arm band or not.
“It made him an immediate part of the team. . . . I think guys looked at him different and he could say things differently. He was a great leader, and I think he’s going to help us.”
That free kick was an immeasurable boost -- and thoroughly remarkable, because Beckham said he hadn’t taken one in eight weeks.
“It was something special,” Donovan said, shaking his head as if still in wonder.
Yallop was more pithy.
“We’ve all been waiting for that free kick, basically,” he said. “It was good to see him on the field, wearing a jersey. It was a dream start for him.”
Beckham had said Tuesday, after his first practice with the team, that he probably would not play more than 45 minutes. He went a little longer and left to a standing ovation. He returned the sentiment by lifting his arms above his shoulders and clapping toward the stands.
“It was a great team performance and it showed a lot of character to play like we did,” he said.
“I was happy to get an hour on the pitch. I didn’t expect to get an hour.”
But as he warmed up, his ankle felt better and he didn’t want to leave.
“Overall, I’m very happy,” he said.
Not as happy as the folks at AEG, the Galaxy’s parent company, and MLS will be if Beckham can do this again and again.
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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.
