David Beckham - Did he succeed in his quest to change Soccer!!?

Hiya folks. Just finished my latest article for my blog..I answer the question whether Beckham had the impact expected during his 6 year stint stateside. Please feel free to either read on here or on the blog - Link as follows -

http://aviewfrommyarmchair.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/david-beckham-american-challenge-conquered-or-crumbled/

On the 1ST of December 2012 David Beckham will play his final game for the LA Galaxy. Almost 6 years after arriving stateside, amid a hoard 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.

Many fans have been left a little shocked at the news, with the general feeling being that he would see out a supposed 2 year contract which he had signed in January. The news has been welcomed elsewhere however as a number of clubs were quickly linked with his signature. The worldwide status of the midfielder ensures that he will be in high demand with moves to China, UAE, and Australia already being mooted. In fact even PSG have spoken of their desire to bring Beckham to the club as part of the Qatari’s owner’s project to build the outfit into a global club.

Whilst no move to another MLS team has been rejected, the general consensus is that Beckham will now look to uproot abroad once again. Yet his association with the league is far from over as he was keen to point out.
"I don't see this as the end of my relationship with the league as my ambition is to be part of the ownership structure in the future," he said.

He will leave the club with the best wishes of those at LA. The president of Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group spoke fondly of the player and his impact not just at the club but the league.

Seldom does an athlete redefine a sport," said Tim Leiweke, the president of Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group. "David not only took our franchise to another level, but he took our sport to another level. It has been an honour and privilege to be a part of his world, and more importantly, to have him be a part of ours."

So with the Hollywood pairing of club & player coming to an end just what kind of impact has David Beckham had on the MLS during his 6 year stint? Did he revitalise a league which has often been seen as a laughing stock amongst European fans or was the actual Beckham effect merely a flash in the pan which died out as his stay continued?

It’s safe to say that the most important moment came when initially joining LA Galaxy. 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.

In fact 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.

Another league first upon Beckham’s arrival was the sale of television rights to networks for a profit.
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.

On a personal level the ride has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Injuries derailed much of his first season in the league in the end making just 5 appearances. The following season wasn’t much better as a poor season led to friction between himself and Landon Donovan.

He was also criticised by many fans for a perceived lack of commitment to the club with his continued loan spells back to Europe during the season breaks. This led to chants of ‘Beckham the Fraud’ & ‘Beckham Go Home’ during home games. In total he played in just over 50% of the clubs 176 regular season games from 07-10 and many believed that he had put both his club & the MLS way down on his list of priorities.

However the last 2 seasons has seen him redeem himself with some of his best performances since joining the league. The former England captain showed that L.A. Galaxy was his commitment and the team enjoyed rejuvenation. Beckham and Donovan reconciled, and the Galaxy reached 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 if he goes out on a championship note a week from Saturday it will be a fitting end to his on-field career here.

So can Beckham look back on his time in the USA and be proud? Of course...he came to the league with the aim of helping it grown and that is something he has done. When he joined the league back in 2007 expectations were perhaps a little far stretched...in Beckham the MLS had got their hands on a legitimate Superstar and people expected him to suddenly make the game a phenomenon in a country which has never quite taken to it like the rest of the world.

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. Was he the saviour of the game in America...no, but his tenure in L.A. is one of the most important and fascinating chapters in its history.

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.

How does everyone else view his time in the states? Do you see the MLS suffering from his depature? Where does the man himself go from here? [i]

He succeeded in his quest to get paid and make connections in LA.

Soccer won't beat the big 3 in America and probably wont touch Hockey ever.

GSC - No I don't think it will...those who thought Beckham going over would make that happen are either deluded or don't know anything about sport.

Yet lets be honest, whilst he of course got paid very handsomely for his part, the fact of the matter is if you look at the facts they would suggest that he has brought the game on leaps and bounds.

When you see that is now the 7th watched league in the world ahead of the likes of France & Holland that is quite an achievement. I certainly wouldnt have thought that was possible 8 years ago.

Thats more American sports networks being more global I imagine.

I'm not a Beckham fan, and doubt the extent of his influence, but the League has not only increased its average gate, it's expanded to more cities.
I was in Montreal for their first MSL game this spring and the place was packed, over 55,000. And the quality of the play was just awful.
I wouldn't attribute the growth just to Beckham; other contributary factors include the greater coverage of footie. ESPN's productions are superb, and go out of their way to advertise the MSL during Prem games, and FOX Soccer Channel is pretty good.
Proper commentaries do a much better job of conveying the sport than Joe Blow sitting in a studio in Los Angeles with a Rothman's Football Annual on his lap trying to make head or tail of the action, which is pretty much what the US offered in the eighties.

The next step is for some Americans to really step up to the next level internationally - it certainly doesn't help that Dempsey is a part-timer now, for instance.

Quality article Owen, I really enjoyed reading it. Whether your a Beckham fan or not, you cannot doubt his global appeal, and his presence in any league will increase its profile on a superficial level at least.

The real test will be what state the MLS is in ten years from now. I was in the States last year, and I was speaking to a parent who's son was a massive fan. He said football was giving smaller kids a chance to play a sport, as in the long term the big three sports aren't an option for them.

I wouldnt say he single-handedly changed Soccer over there, but i do think he has paved the way for many other big name stars to make the move without being laughed at for stepping down ie. Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and i remember there being plenty of talk about Drogba heading that way until he went to Shanghai.

If more players feel they can go over to the USA and make a living playing football, it cant harm the game at all.

I think there is obviously a huge contribution from Beckham moving over and I think the MLS wouldn't have moved from the position it was at in 2007 if Beckham hadn't gone over there. He's a global superstar, he apparently brought in £357 million in merchandise for Real Madrid over his time there, which was just 4 years. Manchester United were the biggest club for revenue in 2003, by 2007 Real Madrid were.

Attendances, viewing figures and the number of big players in the league have all gone up since he moved there. It's clear he made a massive change.

The challenge for the MLS now is to succeed without Beckham's influence.

Did he change the game in the States? Yes revenue was up in the attendances, viewing figures and also TV deals. He certainly brought soccer to the masses.

Now did he change the quality of the game? Well no. I recall a piece written a couple of years back stating that why do budding young American players flock to Europe in the early tracks of their careers? It is clear that the American players know where the better and more competitive football is played. Yes the league has attracted the likes of Cahill, Henry, Marquez, Mista, Angel, but for me the quality has not improved at all. These are players flocking to the league in the latter part of their careers. Beckham went there in my mind because he wasn't in England's plans and even in the Real Madrid team late 2006. If he hadn't been so eager to move, given how well his form improved beyond January 2007, he might not of considered such a move. Look at when he was trying to break into the England World Cup side for 2010, he didn't stay stateside now did he. I don't think the product itself on the pitch has improved with his influence. Could the MLS even compete with the leagues in Europe? Not a chance.

For me it hasn't been a complete success.

All very valid points Legendkillar...

However I think the process of the quality in the league increasing was always something which was going to take a fair bit of time. Anyone who believed Beckham could be the sole person to change that was living in dream world.

As you said what he has done is brought football to the masses over there. In order for the quality to change I think lots more areas needed to improve and you would argue that with Beckhams influence they have.

Teams need the money & facilities & stadiums to convince top players to come over.

As I said there is more money flowing through the league now then there has been before and with that I think teams are better placed to offer better financial incentives for top players.

Now obviously so far many of them are players at the last stage of their careers...but given Henry's successful loan stint at Arsenal & the fact Tim Cahill was still cutting it at Premiership level last season you would have to say they are not merely players on their last legs looking for a pay day.

With the increase in participation at lower level, where kids are choosing footbal(soccer) as the alternative to the norm the hope will be that young players begin to come through the ranks. The key of course will be to hold onto these players and convince them that the league is going places. If they can do that then the MLS has every chance of becoming a better league.

It's all well the teams generating profit and revenue and I understand that it is the key to football teams operating efficiently and remaining sustainable is key.

For me instead of attracting the top players, why not they focus just some of that energy on retaining the top youth players they can produce? For me I think all the time the teams drive to commercialisation will stagnate talent. I also think that the lack of club competition hinders the league too. I think if they could play in the Copa Libertadores or something it might stir just a little more interest and offer the players a chance to prove themselves against better opposition.