Lazarus Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 From the Mercury News Wire Services Pele Says U.S. Fans Were Misled About Beckham's Skills Pele believes American fans were misled about what David Beckham could bring to Major League Soccer. "They announced him as a scorer of goals," said Pele, who played for the New York Cosmos in 1975. "He isn't a goal scorer. That was a mistake." Beckham signed a big contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, but he hardly played because of injuries. Was there anybody that fell for this Beckham signing? Probably just kids and soccer moms. It's sad to see soccer in the US take another slap in the face... But, hey! They went asking for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Ok,i know that so far he has not lived up to the hight of all the expectations but still we have here a guy that was a couple of months ago the English National team captain,has played at the higher level and teams in Europe,definetely will need some time to be adjusted to the MLS.He was never a scorer like Pele was or some other players that came here but just the attention that he brings to this country and the league is enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikosVazelas Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 i agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 the americans that care about football/mls knew exactly what kind of player beckham was/is. i think pele is lost here. you'd be surprised at american soccer fans - they can name the 11 for aston villa. no shortage of epl matches on tv here. Yes but they are the proper fans, the average person that has a quick look at the sports results will be begin to question his signing. Bear in mind that one of Beckham's missions is to attract more youngsters in to "soccer". If he isn't doing his perceived job of getting goals then he might not be able to inspire them. They should have promoted him as a quarter-back sort of player who pulls the strings and creates killer passes. That would have promoted him on a level that Americans could understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loup Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 the americans that care about football/mls knew exactly what kind of player beckham was/is. i think pele is lost here. you'd be surprised at american soccer fans - they can name the 11 for aston villa. no shortage of epl matches on tv here. exactlyplus Pele talks too much nobody cares about Becka's skills in the US they like his hair and wife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 the americans that care about football/mls knew exactly what kind of player beckham was/is. i think pele is lost here. you'd be surprised at american soccer fans - they can name the 11 for aston villa. no shortage of epl matches on tv here. exactlyplus Pele talks too much nobody cares about Becka's skills in the US they like his hair and wife Nobody likes his wife! :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 the americans that care about football/mls knew exactly what kind of player beckham was/is. i think pele is lost here. you'd be surprised at american soccer fans - they can name the 11 for aston villa. no shortage of epl matches on tv here. Yes but they are the proper fans, the average person that has a quick look at the sports results will be begin to question his signing. Bear in mind that one of Beckham's missions is to attract more youngsters in to "soccer". If he isn't doing his perceived job of getting goals then he might not be able to inspire them. They should have promoted him as a quarter-back sort of player who pulls the strings and creates killer passes. That would have promoted him on a level that Americans could understand. i look at it this way - if pele thinks that beckham or anyone else can come to the usa and make new football fans..petaei sta suvefa. when football is brought up on radio or tv shows, it's usually ridiculed.i think beckham is here more for career and money reasons than being altruistic about football. anyways- mls is nothing to write home about. i watched a semi-final tonight with the chicago side losing to new england (coached by ex liverpool steve nicholl and assisant coach of paul mariner). a few players on the pitch tonight don't even belong in the current english 2nd division (3rd division going by the old categories). i couldn't count how many times a chicago centerback allowed a high ball to bounce unchallenged or 3 players standing right next to each other...ugly. i will say that i give credit and applaud the fans that attend matches. they try and usually bring a nice atmosphere, despite the low quality of football. the football played here in the 70s & early 80's was much higher quality and that league failed. in fact, the current zenit manager, dick advocaat, used to play in chicago. that side had a midfield of wim van hanegem, dick advocaat, jurgen kristiansen and arno steffenhagen. dutch, danish and german internationals. class. I don't think the football is that bad in the US. There are quite a few players that could play in Europe and have successful careers imo. The Premiership has already seen quite a few: Keller, Friedal, Howard, Hannaman, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Beasley, Convey, McBride, etc. They are some good players. I obviously don't watch MLS as much as you do but I was very impressed with Chivas and Dynamo Houston when I saw them.As for Beckham, I have no doubt that he is there for money and "glamour", but IF he revamps the game he'll become a legend in American sport, and we know that people love to get caught up in celebrity advertising, etc. I don't think he'll manage it either, but I think Pele is just saying that he believes it could have happened IF he was marketted in a different way. P.S. I agree about Pele flying in the clouds, he doesn't have a clue about football! I'd rather the Greece NT was managed by Alefantos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loup Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 The US are a respectable NT - have faired well and played tough but the leage willnever be big time there are a half dozen bigge sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCity1924 Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 The point is that American fans want to see high scoring games. That goes for every sport in the US. They changed the rules in hockey to increase the score. They changed the rules in the NBA where it is almost impossible to defend. The slightest touch and you have 35 refs blowing whistles, instant replaying every play, flapping arms.....god forbid someone stops the other team from scoring. Beckham is a midfield who has a nice cross....he isn't going to be scoring hat-tricks. People who watch and understand soccer can appreciate a beautiful pass....and that it is often more difficult than a slight touch that puts the ball in the back of the net. For soccer to become popular MLS would have to basically eliminate the GK position or triple the goals size. Beckham made a smart career choice.....he;s not that young and he's looking out for his pocket. As fans of the sport we could careless how much he makes and would prefer good players to stay in good leagues but the reality is that the sport is a business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loup Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 true and american's like their sports meaning they like sports that they are good at and others are not NFL MLB NBA - things are changing and it is becoming less polpoular NASCAR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paoktsis Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Guys let's call the signing by Alexei Lalas for what it was, strickly a marketing move for his team. Everyone knows that Beckham is past his prime, and can only offer so much. LA Galaxy have been on the downslide big time since they won the title a few years back. Look at the chain of events. 1. Bechkam signs. 2. Jersey sales are up. 3. His wife gets a reality show. 4. Lots of excitement, for Soccer in the US. 5. Beckham gets injured. 6. LA fans get blue balled. 7. They go back to watching the NFL, which at the end of the day was bound to happen anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drakos13 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 US fans who followed the game already knew about Beckham... The people who still werent into "soccer" were misled by the media, just like most American people being totally misled and brainwashed by media without any ability to think for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympiakosthyra7 Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Ya you guys are right. The media is very powerful in the US Everyone believes the things they say on tv especially how soccer will become bigger in the US. Noone like soccer in the US except European born and Latin American families. I dont think the US will ever be able to increase viewers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek21 Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Beckham is a great player, and yes he isn't a goalscorer... he provides for them which is an equally amazing skill. That's what Pele was trying to get across, he still skilfull... just not in the way the MLS have suggested. The title of the article is almost as misleading. BTW the MLS will increase its viewership in time as soccer is becoming a bigger and more relevant sport in North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCity1924 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Beckham is a great player, and yes he isn't a goalscorer... he provides for them which is an equally amazing skill. That's what Pele was trying to get across, he still skilfull... just not in the way the MLS have suggested. The title of the article is almost as misleading. BTW the MLS will increase its viewership in time as soccer is becoming a bigger and more relevant sport in North America. As far as football becoming more relevant in the US i would like to add that a more and more children are getting into the sport at early ages. Additionally, with the increased television access of european games the sport is becoming more popular amongst the youth.If football expands in the US it wont be because of the MLS but because of external factors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athinaios Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 There are several long-established sports in the US and it's very, very hard for another one to elbow in. In the 1980s, almost all schools got soccer fields and we thought that soccer would be popular once the youngsters grew up.... Same hope today with increased participation of youth. Perhaps as adults will support this sport too, but it's not certain. At least, the more people know about the rules, the nature of the game [ie. what a good, difficult move, etc] it's easier to follow the sport. The domestic league is crappy! One Beckam won't change that. It's not the low-scoring that's the problem. Hockey is similar and much bigger than soccer here. For goodness sake, ice skating, and other sports don't have "high scoring".... It's how the game is understood and how it is perceived as entertainment value. Most teams provide IDENTITY to fans. The sense of belonging to a group, supporting a special team, etc. This identity has not been cultivated with soccer here. As a matter of fact, they're trying the celebrity path.... Support our team because we've got Beckman!! (and a Spice Girl on the side!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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