Football Dispatch

Summer Football
10 August 2007
David Beckham made his long-awaited Major League Soccer debut, Thursday. The former England captain replaced Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Quavas Kirk in the 72nd-minute and played the final 18-minutes of Galaxy's 1-0 loss at DC United. A sell-out crowd of more than 46,000 were on hand at RFK Stadium and gave Beckham a thunderous ovation as he emerged from the bench to take his warm-up. His introduction was not enough for Galaxy, unfortunately, as Luciano Emilio's 27th-minute goal proved the match-winner. Still, Beckham sounded optimistic in his post-match comments -- calling the brief cameo appearance "a big step forward." He continued, "The ankle felt a lot better tonight than it has in a while." Galaxy manager Frank Yallop used the 32-year-old in the centre of midfield -- a position with which Beckham is sure to become familiar over his time at Galaxy. He is expected to wait until next Saturday, 18 August, before making his full debut in the starting-lineup against New York Red Bulls.

Frank Lampard has opted to delay contract discussions until after the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season. The Chelsea midfielder has been involved in on-and-off negotiations with management regarding a long-term deal. Currently on 105,000-pounds per-week, he is looking for a wage package in the vicinity of John Terry's 135,000-pounds per-week. Complicating matters, however, is that Lampard will have only 12-months remaining on his contract when discussions resume with the club. If nothing is agreed by January, 2008, the 29-year-old would be permitted to negotiate a Bosnan-free transfer to another club. Still, Lampard fully expects to commit his future to the Blues. "I have said I want to stay at Chelsea and that has never changed," the player said, yesterday. "I want to be remembered as a player who spent the majority of his career with Chelsea and won everything."

Manchester United have finally unveiled Carlos Tevez. The club's newest in a quartet of summer signings arrives at Old Trafford via a 2-year loan arrangement with Kia Joorabchian, the owner of Media Sports International -- the company which controls Tevez' playing rights. West Ham received just 2M-pounds in compensation for the 23-year-old Argentina international. The transaction took the better part of a month to finalize; but United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is content to finally have Tevez in the fold. "It is completely understandable," stated the Scot, "that the Premier League wanted to scrutinize every detail." In all likelihood, Tevez will make his United debut a week Saturday in the Manchester derby at Eastlands.

Martin Jol has made an overture to Portsmouth for the signature of Matt Taylor. The Spurs boss is eager to acquire a left-sided midfielder and has tabled a 4M-pound bid for the 25-year-old. Taylor can play both on the left of midfield and at the left full-back position -- both areas at which Spurs are sorely lacking. Harry Redknapp, the Pompey manager, is holding-out for upwards of 8M-pounds, however. Taylor scored 9-goals last season and is something of a set-piece specialist.

After turning-down West Ham, Barcelona and Iceland striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is set to make a choice between Newcastle and Manchester City. The arrival of Thierry Henry has signalled the end of Gudjohnsen's brief stint at the Catalan giants; and the former Chelsea player would prefer a return to the Premier League. He rejected his first opportunity, however, by refusing to join West Ham after Barcelona had agreed a 6.5M-pound fee with the Upton Park outfit. Newcastle's interest is somewhat surprising given their depth at the forward positions. City, however, have signed several young forwards, unproven in English football, and could use a player with the experience and reputation of Gudjohnsen.

Mido is negotiating with his third club of the summer. After rejecting transfers to both Birmingham City and Fulham at the 11th-hour, the Egyptian striker now appears poised to join Middlesbrough. Gareth Southgate, worried over the long-term future of Yakubu at The Riverside, has offered 6M-pounds for the 24-year-old and seem willing to meet the player's wage demands. Portsmouth, however, are rumored to be packaging a deal which would include 10M-pounds in cash and midfielder Gary O'Neill.

The Spanish football season officially kicks-off on Saturday with the 1st-leg of the SuperCup. La Liga's version of the Community Shield pits league champions Real Madrid against Copa del Rey holders Sevilla. Both squads, however, are experiencing significant shortages due to injury. Real are expecting to be without defender Christoph Metzelder and forwards Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuain while Sevilla's Khalid Boulahrouz and Freddy Kanoute are likely to miss the 1st-leg as well.