A sold out crowd of 85,000 people are expected to pack the Rose Bowl tonight to watch global stars Thierry Henry, Xavi, Lionel Messi and their club FC Barcelona kick off their U.S. tour against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
There are still a limited amount of tickets available – if your heading to the game check out this page for tips, but if you can’t make it out to the Rose Bowl you can watch the game on Fox Soccer Network and Fox Sports en Espanol.
Will the Riot Squard heckle David Beckham? Can Landon Donavan perform against the Barça stars? Will smokin’ hot Charlize Theron be in attendance? All questions will be answered tonight.
David Beckham’s well publicized feud with Landon Donovan has made him one of the most hated athletes in America.
In last night’s friendly against AC Milan Beckham got into a scrap with Galaxy fans who were heckling the superstar. The Offside Rules has attained video of Beckham nearly jumping into the crowd to confront members of the Galaxy’s Riot Squad – watch the video here.
Many would argue that the Galaxy’s Beckham experiment has failed miserably but over the last month the eyes of America have been geared toward the sport to see what will happen next. Even if the subject of discussion involves bashing one of the world’s most notable athletes MLS fans seem more emotionally attached to the sport than ever.
I’ve asked a few professional soccer players whether or not they believe the exposure and emotion created by the David Beckham saga might actually be good for the MLS and the response is unanimous, 100% yes!
As the old adage says, “any publicity is good publicity” and at this point any exposure is good exposure for the MLS. Let’s just hope Beckham has what it takes to keep up his polarizing ways and continue being the villainous anti-hero the league needs.
Photos below: Galaxy’s friendly vs A.C. Milan (click thumbnail to view full sized)
David Beckham confronted a fan sitting in a section where negative banners about the Los Angeles Galaxy player were displayed during Beckham’s first home game of the season Sunday night.
As Beckham left the field at halftime, he went over to the section where one of the team’s support groups holds court and appeared to shout something. The fan jumped down from the seating section and was subdued by security before being escorted off the field.
Fans in the L.A. Riot Squad section were holding up Beckham’s jersey and beating it. One of their homemade signs read, “Go home fraud” while another said, “23: Repent.”
When David Beckham came to L.A. he was supposed to push MLS to new heights. Instead he failed as a leader and alienated his most important teammate. Read this article from the upcoming July 6th issue of Sports Illustrated that goes inside the failed Beckham experiment.
Abbey Clancy Was Added To Our WAG Power Rank Database
(click thumbnails to enter database)
Watch Rwanda vs Egypt World Cup Qualifier Online
On July 5th Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars will play a do-or-die match against the the Egypt Pharaohs in the Group C qualifier for the 2010 World Cup. Even though this is going to be an important match don’t plan on being about to watch it on US television. 1,500 channels on DirectTV and they won’t be covering the game – burn! Fear not though because Sports View Today tells us how you can still easily watch Rwanda vs Egypt 2010 FIFA World Cup Online!
Gago Gives It Up For Kaka
Kaka was introduced to at least 50,000 Real Madrid fans at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday wearing Fernando Gago’s No. 8 shirt. The Argentina midfielder wore the number for the past two seasons but was more than happy to cede his number to the recent €65 million ($92 million) acquisition. Gago sounds like he is a good sport…and also knows his role on the team.
The Great Debate: Is Team USA Important In America?
After reading a satirical article by The Onion regarding the US National team, JustFootball.com begs the question, “Does mainstream America still hate soccer? If so, why?”
While The Bleacher Report tells us that the heart and ruggedness displayed by the national team in the Confederation Cup makes this the most important team in US soccer history.
