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The verdict is an Achilles tendon injury.  Depending on the report, the severity goes between torn and ruptured.  The difference in the verbiage is significant.  Best case scenario, Beckham is out for three months, meaning he would have no time to get fit for the 2010 World Cup.  Worst case scenario, his playing career is over. 

At 34, Beckham is on his last legs as it is.  South Africa was his last hope for a World Cup.  Now Beckham has to decide whether or not continuing his playing career is worth it.  He still has two seasons (including the upcoming one) left on his MLS contract.  Throughout the AC Milan experiment, Beckham has said he will return to the Galaxy after the World Cup.  With that no longer a reality, will he hang up the boots or will he push his body to its limit and finish what he started?

I firmly believe Beckham will return to the Galaxy this season.  Whether or not he completes his contract is a different discussion entirely.  His failed first season was decimated because of a lingering injury.  Given how much Beckham cares about his image, it is unlikely he wants to soil his reputation by ending his Galaxy days the same way they started.  Like Michael Jordan and John Elway, it is likely Beckham wants to go out on top.  More importantly, he probably wants to go out on his own terms.  There’s no way a freak injury ends David Beckham’s career.  His ego is too big for that.

Tuesday’s 2-2 draw between Columbus and Toluca looked bad at first.  Columbus needed a strong result against the recent Mexican champions to have any hope of advancing in the CONCACAF Champions League.  They didn’t get it, but the spirited comeback to earn the draw proved that MLS teams can hang with the big boys of FMF.  It’s also important to note that Columbus happened to be missing three of its best players: Chad Marshall, Frankie Hejduk, and their most important cog, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.  Columbus is also playing without key striker Alejandro Moreno, drafted by Philadelphia in the expansion process.

Next week’s result in Mexico will be the true litmus test, but all signs are pointing to that even if the Crew fail to advance, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with this season.  Their CCL experience in the 2009-2010 edition of the tournament bodes well for their chances in the 2010-2011 edition.  Regardless of the draw, I fully expect them to advance out of the group stage.

While Columbus awaits their Mexican test, DC United that MLS teams can go into Mexico and win.  While it will be dismissed as just a preseason game, DC United’s victory over Santos Laguna can’t be ignored.  DC United ran out their starters for the first half and dismantled the Santos defense for a 2-0 halftime lead.  DC then sent in the backups and trialists while Santos woke up and threw out their starters to save face.  Although Santos leveled, the spirited United regained their lead and finished with the 3-2 victory.  Clearly some MLS teams can play with the FMF squads (Santos currently sits at the top of their group in league play).

What these results show is that MLS teams can hang with the big boys of CONCACAF.  The results that have come out of CONCACAF competition are misleading due to the many restraints faced by MLS teams during their season.  The labor issues facing the league have freed up teams operating under loose rules, and the results have come.  MLS management needs to see the writing on the wall.  Relax things a bit and you can compete.  In a few years, after the changes really take hold, maybe an MLS side could even win the CCL.  At the very least, they’d have a better shot at preventing an all Mexico final four.

The past two years (the only years of the tournament), the PPC was held in late February.  Here it is March 9th and the tournament has not been held.  There is no mention of a 2010 edition of the tournament anywhere save for a thread on Big Soccer posing this same question.  With the AFC’s Champions League getting into gear and the Australian A-League heading into the final two games of its playoffs, perhaps the schedule just couldn’t be worked out.

Was attendance the issue?  In 2008, the tournament was held in Honolulu, Hawaii and averaged just over 19,000 for the each day of the two-day tournament.  I couldn’t find attendance figures for the 2009 edition, but I’d imagine they were similar given the host (Los Angeles) and the marquee team (LA Galaxy).  If a tournament is making money, why abandon it?

Perhaps the recent Disney Pro Soccer Classic is the culprit.  The DPSC was held during the same time frame the PPC usually fills and followed a similar structure (2 days of 2 games each).  It is entirely possibly that MLS/SUM decided it was easier to just use its own teams instead of organizing a third year of what is essentially a championship in name only.

Whatever the reason, I’ll be disappointed if the PPC never returns.  The more international experience MLS teams get, the better.  Beating up college teams and the occasional PDL side is great for player egos, but it doesn’t serve to grow the MLS brand (the real point of the tournament) around the world.  Here’s hoping SUM comes to its senses and brings back the PPC.

Then again, will anyone care?

“When he means it, he’s a very good player.” – Landon Donovan

What exactly does Donovan mean by “when he means it?”  To this writer, the answer is clear.  What we’ve heard for years about young Josmer is true.  He doesn’t always give his all.  The big question is, is that an Allen Iverson situation or a Randy Moss situation?  From what I’ve seen personally, we’re talking about practice.  Not a game.  Practice.

Back in 2008, Ives Galarcep wondered the same thing after the rumors first surfaced.

When Altidore rejoined the Red Bulls this year after extensive national team duty and looked lethargic in practice, most observers believed it was the effects of a heavy schedule of activity over the past year. As the weeks and months have gone by, Altidore has looked more and more like a distracted player. – Ives Galarcep, ESPN Soccernet

The rumors followed Jozy to Villareal.  Optimistic fans believed he wasn’t getting playing time with Villareal because he was still adjusting to life in Spain and the pressures playing for a strong team in La Liga.  It couldn’t possibly be because he just wasn’t putting in the effort.  Jozy wasn’t a prima donna.  Jozy wasn’t the new Freddy.  Right or not, the rumors persisted.  During Jozy’s failed loan to Xerez, the rumors grew.  Perhaps it wasn’t his age.  Jozy might just have let his talent go to his head.  Then the Confederations Cup happened.

In the world stage, with limited competition for stardom (eight teams versus the World Cup’s 32), Jozy exploded.  Along with teammate Charlie Davies, the world suddenly knew who America’s shining light was.  Boy was that light bright.  Hull City AFC was watching.  It seems that may have been the best possible thing for Jozy.  As was the case at Villareal and Xerez, after a bright debut Altidore struggled to see the field.  Then came his Twitter incident.

His gaffe at Hull City seems to have finally woken Altidore to reality.  He isn’t able to skate by on his talent alone.  The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard can’t do it anymore, and neither can he.  Since then, Jozy has found the field more often.  The Haiti earthquake threatened to derail his progress, but he pushed through and became an even better player.  Still the question remains.

“Jozy is a very talented footballer and when he really fancies it, he can be a top player.”  Does he finally fancy it all the time?  For his sake, I hope so.

Reports came out today that Holden, the former Houston Dynamo midfielder who signed with Bolton Wanderers this January, will miss six weeks of action while his broken fibula heals.  Holden got lucky as the injury could have been far worse.  His recovery should be complete before the end of the Premier League season, meaning Holden should be at full strength in time for South Africa.  US fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

If you missed the challenge, consider yourself lucky.  It was nasty.  It was dirty.  It didn’t even earn a yellow card.  Nigel de Jong’s clumsy and reckless, studs up challenge in a meaningless friendly match was the worse tackle I’ve seen in months.  That includes the Shawcross challenge that broke multiple bones in Aaron Ramsey’s leg.  Shawcross got a straight red and didn’t deserve it.  Ramsey breaking his leg was a freak accident.  de Jong got off with a stern warning from the ref.  That’s it.

As it stands now, all of the aforementioned players should be healthy by the World Cup.  The big question is whether or not they’ll be in playing shape.  For both Holden and Dempsey, the answer is almost certainly yes.  Onyewu will certainly be healed (he is already training with the US team), but might not be match fit because of his shaky stance at AC Milan.  Charlie Davies says he’ll be ready, but he hasn’t started training with Sochaux yet.  It will be an absolute miracle if Davies plays in South Africa.  Then again, it was a miracle he survived the car accident to begin with.  I remain optimistic.

* Johnny Trainwreck is a Ginge/Zach Woosley term and all deserved credit goes to him.  If you don’t already know, Johnny Trainwreck = Jonathan Bornstein

Before I get into the usual Good, Bad, and Ugly, I need to talk about Landon Donovan.  A lot of people have been throwing Donovan under the bus.  Stop it.  Donovan looks great in MLS because he’s the best player in the league.  He doesn’t have to try and he simply kicks ass.  In the EPL, Donovan is a great fit because he’s a great player, but he’s not the only great player on the team.  He gets space to work and he flourishes.

Every time Donovan steps on to the pitch wearing the Red, White, and Blue, he has a giant target on his back.  Teams plan around him.  The Dutch did a great job of containing Donovan by making sure the ball rarely got to him.  Great players make great plays, but only when they have the ball.

The Good

How about that defense?  Johnny Trainwreck aside, I felt the defense played great.  Some (I’m looking at you, Davis) think Bocanegra and DeMerit played punt-and-run too much, but that was the strategy they went into the game with and it was executed.  On the broadcast, it was mentioned that the US wasn’t expecting to have much possession.  The US expected to absorb pressure and they did a great job of it.

Much of the credit goes to Jay DeMerit.  Congratulations, Jay.  You just earned yourself a starting spot on the back line.  Whether it was through giving up his body time after time, or doing his best to cover for Johnny Trainwreck’s screwups, I am officially impressed.

The Bad

Robbie Findley, South Africa is a big boy party.  You’ve got some growing to do before you can get on the plane.  We’ll see you in Brazil in four years.  You have promise, I’ll give you that.  Your play at Real Salt Lake makes me a fan of the RSL machine.  You just need more time, and that’s something we don’t have.

Bob Bradley’s tactics would go here, but let’s face it.  Bob wasn’t trying to win the game.  Bob wanted to see if Robbie Findley could pull his head out his ass.  He wanted to see how Edu and Bradley worked together against a great team like the Dutch.  I’m not excusing Bradley for his decisions, but let’s be real here.  He’s not a complete moron.  If he was trying to win, we would have seen a much different set of decisions.

The Ugly

Johnny Trainwreck.  Both goals were directly his fault.  Enough said.

A while back, on the old blog, I openly questioned why Heath Pearce was a national team player.  He had fallen apart.  He was the originally Johnny Trainwreck.  Now Pearce is back to a being a confident, skilled player.  This is in part thanks to his time with FC Dallas.  He did a great job setting up a goal against El Salvador.  Remind me again why he didn’t play over Bornstein?

Tournament Recap

For those unaware, the tournament was held at the newly-reimagined ESPN Wide World of Sports as part of Disney’s annual ESPN the Weekend celebration.  On Thursday, Houston Dynamo and Red Bull New York faced each other in one of two preliminary games.  FC Dallas and Toronto FC squared off in the other.  Both matches on Thursday were marred by a combination of unseasonably cold Orlando weather and several competing events at the WWoS complex, including a sold-out Harlem Globetrotters basketball game and the “green” carpet celebration for the complex’s grand opening.  The few that did brave the cold were “treated” to two mostly boring games featuring just a single regulation goal.  Toronto FC and Red Bull New York (on penalty kicks) moved on to Saturday’s championship game.

The unfortunate weather continued Saturday, but that didn’t stop the crowds.  I couldn’t find official numbers, but the stands were packed, with many fans (myself included) standing up against the short fencing that surround the field.  The intrepid fans were treated to two excellent matches.  Houston and Dallas began the Texas Derby early this year.  Trialists shined for Houston, but it was an opportunitstic Cam Weaver put the Dynamo ahead for good, 2-1.

Unequipped for the cold weather, I had to call it quits before the title game.  After reading recaps, I’m not surprised at the outcome.  Toronto FC looked absolutely woeful in their victory against an FC Dallas squad who was playing without their main offensive weapon, Jeff Cunningham (mildly injured in the USA/El Salvador game on Wednesday).  The accounts I’ve read called it a great game for Red Bull New York.  Their 4-0 victory gave the Red Bulls their first MLS hardware (I don’t count conference championships).  Congrats to them.

Tournament Review

There some very good things about the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, but there were also some absolutely atrocious aspects of the tournament.  On the plus side, the fan response was excellent.  Despite the weather and the nearly complete lack of advertising (apart from a few radio ads the week of), the crowds were good.  Those that attended were responsive to big moments and were clearly following along.  A few Red Patch Boys made the trek from Toronto, but the largely tourist crowd had no idea what to make of the 24th Minute tradition.

Where the tournament ran into trouble was the seating.  Each sideline grandstand was split in two with the middle being filed by a press tower and player entrance tunnel.  This wouldn’t have been a problem had the towers not completely blocked the sight lines of the grandstands.  Those sitting in an actual seat were stuck seeing only half of the field.  The only full views were behind one of the goals and along the short fences that lined the field.  If Disney and MLS plan on holding this tournament again (and they should), that needs to be fixed.  My only other criticism concerns the teams involved.  Red Bull New York, Toronto FC, and FC Dallas are all historically bad teams.  It would have been nice to see some higher caliber teams.  Hopefully that changes for next year.

Despite the challenges, Disney and MLS have a lot to build on for next year.  The chance to see some of the league’s best like Brian Ching, Pat Onstad, and Juan Pablo Angel along with some of the league’s stars in the making like Brek Shea and Dax McCarty was wonderful for fans that rarely get to see live American soccer.  I look forward to MLS returning next year with another edition of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.  Just leave the cold weather in New York next time.

Right or wrong, mainstream American sports fans haven’t been the biggest supporters of women’s leagues.  The reaction to a college soccer player’s violent behavior in the NCAA tournament was clear.  We don’t want to see our girls doing “that.”  Poor officiating aside, we need to see our girls doing “that.”  If we, as a country, are going to continue the push towards equality, leagues like the WNBA and WPS need to succeed.  It is our job as fans, as mothers and fathers, to make sure that happens.

I plan on having kids.  If my wife gets her way, we’ll have four.  Odds are that at least on of them will be a girl.  Being a sports fanatic, I have every intention of exposing my daughter-to-be to sports, especially soccer.  Some parents see soccer as a way to get their daughters college scholarships.  For them, four years of free education is a dream come true.  For soccer fan in me, that’s just the beginning.

It would be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to see my daughter suit up for the Chicago Red Stars.  Or the Philadelphia Independence.  Or St. Louis Athetica.  Ultimately, the specific team doesn’t matter.  For that to happen, the WPS needs to survive for (at least) the next 25 years.  It can happen.  The WNBA has been around since 1997.  Teams have come and go in the league, but it pushes forward.  The WPS can do the same.

For the next generation’s sake, the WPS needs to do the same.  If you like soccer and live near a WPS team, go to game.  More than likely, you’ll enjoy it.  You might even go back.  If you do go back, bring a friend and spread the word of soccer.  Help the sport grow into the true professional league the next generation of young American women need for their aspirations.  From the future, my daughter thanks you.

I’ve decided to take this opportunity to explain my choice of words in Part I.  I took a little bit of heat for using the term “human trafficking.”  It was denounced as sensational and done just to grab attention, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Using the term actually came from discussing the situation with a few fellow bloggers, some that I immensely respect, who completely agreed with me.

The reality is that the entire transfer process is a form of human trafficking.  It is a market where the price of an individual is set and buyers line up and bid on that individual.  Some leagues allow the player more freedom than others, but in the general sense, the transfer of players is the buying, selling, and loaning of human beings.  The players do have a choice in the matter, but only to a small extent.  They could refuse to transfer, but then they risk not playing anymore and possibly face lawsuits for breach of contract.

Still, I acknowledge my choice of words carries a decidedly negative connotation.  Still, it is important to realize that connotations aren’t the end-all-be-all.  With the rest of this piece, I ask that you keep an open mind.  Give me time to get to my conclusion before attacking the article.  If you must attack, keep it on BigSoccer.  I’m used to getting bashed there.