Regardless of injury, David Beckham will have role in World Cup
When David Beckham, along with his cast and his crutches, made an appearance at the Home Depot Center on Wednesday, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said the injured midfielder was in remarkably good spirits.
“He was great; you couldn’t ask for more,” Arena said.
Perhaps the reason is that Beckham now knows — despite earlier visions of doom and gloom — that he will be playing some role on the World Cup stage in June.
Already, England Coach Fabio Capello has invited the man with the torn left Achilles’ tendon to travel with and stay with the England team in South Africa as a nonplaying member of the squad.
Then came word from Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the World Cup’s local organizing committee, that Beckham could play a part in the opening ceremony at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium on June 11 before the South Africa-Mexico match.
Beckham also will be as an ambassador for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
Most satisfying of all from Beckham’s point of view — and perhaps most annoying from Galaxy fans’ viewpoint — was the news that Capello still thinks Beckham has an on-field role to play with the national team.
Beckham, who will be 35 in May, has played 115 games for England but could add to that total if he recovers from his injury in time to play in England’s qualifying games for the 2012 European Championship tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
“I hope he will be fit for the Euros next autumn because he’s always one of our best players,” Capello said.
England has been grouped with Bulgaria, Montenegro, Switzerland and Wales, and the qualifying schedule released Thursday has it playing at home against Bulgaria on Sept. 3, at Switzerland on Sept. 7, and at home against Montenegro on Oct. 12.
That clashes with the Galaxy’s schedule, but if Beckham is healthy and match fit by then, which seems a stretch, England’s games would take precedence.
Arena is simply hoping for the best.
“We’re not going to rule anything out with David,” he said. “You know the kind of guy he is; anytime people rule him out, he seems to come back stronger. We’re hopeful maybe at the end of the season he can step on the field for the Galaxy.”
Indian flavor
Searching for a sports trivia question to test even the most die-hard fan? This one should do the trick:
When the Kansas City Wizards on Thursday announced that they had agreed to sign forward Sunil Chhetri, the 25-year-old became only the third Indian-born player in U.S. professional team sports. Who are the other two?
Answer: Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, pitchers in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
That still leaves another question: Why did the Wizards have to go all the way to India to find a player?
Achilles healer
There was more news from the subcontinent during the week, or at least from its most famous island neighbor, Sri Lanka.
There, the country’s president, Mahinda Rajapakse, offered Beckham the services of his personal doctor, Eliyantha Lindsay White, who claims that he can heal Beckham’s Achilles’ tendon in time for Becks to play in the World Cup.
“I am ready to treat him,” White told Agence France-Presse. “His condition can be easily treated, and within three days he will be able to go back to playing.
“His case is simple. I can treat him. He can play again.”
Word is that Beckham has not rushed out to buy an airline ticket to Colombo.
Short passes
Watching Chivas USA’s meek performance in a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids on Friday night had one yearning for the days of Francisco “Paco” Palencia and Francisco “Panchito” Mendoza, when there was a spark and an energy to the team that has been lacking for some time. … Defender Carey Talley, 33, spent less than 48 hours in the unemployment line. After he was waived by Chivas USA on Tuesday, Talley was picked up by his original MLS club, D.C. United, and hopped on a red-eye flight to Washington. On Saturday, Talley was set to appear in his 300th MLS game.
