an interesting tibit from the
Vancouversun
MONTREAL — The David Beckham era in Major League Soccer is officially over.
Yes, the over-hyped superstar will return to the Los Angeles Galaxy this summer, but what sort of reaction can you expect from fans in L.A. and around the league to a player who will play only half a season in a league he has already dissed as second-rate?
When the Galaxy signed Beckham two years ago, my fear was that MLS was headed down the same path that led to the demise of the North American Soccer League. The NASL was stocked with overpriced and over-the-hill superstars like Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer. Their salaries eventually bankrupted the league and their presence slowed the development of local talent.
The problem with Beckham turned out to be that he wasn’t over the hill. His stock in England had gone down because of injuries and a questionable attitude, but he has rehabilitated himself in both areas and expects to be part of the English side for the 2010 World Cup.
To prepare for that event, Beckham said he has to play at the highest level and made it very clear that MLS doesn’t fall in that category, and that’s why he’s finishing the season with AC Milan. Nobody who knows soccer would disagree with Beckham’s evaluation of MLS. In fact, you can make an argument that MLS isn’t significantly better than the United Soccer Leagues First Division, the supposedly inferior league that includes the Montreal Impact.
But Beckham is being paid an extraordinary amount of money to provide MLS with some credibility, and the Galaxy and its partners can’t be happy with Beckham telling it like it is.
Beckham’s comments aren’t the only hit MLS has taken recently. The league is in the process of expanding, and it missed the chance to add a strong partner in Montreal when it refused to compromise on its exorbitant $40 million US franchise fee.
But the Saputo family, who own the Impact, aren’t the only people who balked at the fee. The principals behind FC Barcelona know a little something about the value of soccer franchises, and they withdrew their support of Miami’s MLS expansion bid because they thought the price was too high. An Atlanta group came to the same conclusion.
There are still four cities willing to put up the cash, especially since MLS appears ready to make a concession to the current tough economic times. The price is still $40 million, but there’s the possibility of paying on the instalment plan. The cities include Vancouver, which has an excellent chance of getting one of the two available franchises, and Ottawa, which seems to offer a recipe for disaster.
Vancouver has a history of successful soccer franchises. Ottawa doesn’t. Vancouver has a stadium. Ottawa doesn’t, although Eugene Melnyk — everyone’s favourite Ukranian-Barbadian — is pushing hard for a new facility near Scotiabank Place. Melnyk has said there will be no taxpayers’ money involved, but he might have meant there will be none of his taxpayer’s money because he has set up a tax shelter for himself in Barbados.
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The only bids that were even CLOSE to Vancouver's have all bowed out for various reasons leaving them head and shoulders above the rest. All of the remaining hopeful cities have one or more issues with their bids. This turtle race is Vancouver's to lose, and if Portland can get their stadium issue solved, then they are a lock too.
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