Beckham in town
Soccer superstar arrives in Vancouver today with little fanfare to prepare for Wednesday game
Dan Stinson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, November 05, 2007
Los Angeles Galaxy superstar midfielder David Beckham arrived at Vancouver International Airport without much fanfare this afternoon to begin preparations for Wednesday's exhibition soccer game against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place Stadium.
Taking a sidewalk exit after clearing Customs, Beckham walked past several Vancouver news media members without comment, stopping only to sign an autograph for 12-year-old Ian MacKay of Surrey. Beckham wrote to MacKay: "To Ian, Love D. Beckham. 23X," signifying his jersey number.
"I was thrilled," said MacKay. "I had come to the airport to meet my sister, Laura, who is arriving from England, but I heard that Beckham and the Galaxy were also arriving today, so I stuck around in the hope that I might meet David Beckham. To get his autograph is a big thrill."
Beckham declined to answer questions from the media, including whether he is fit to play the full 90 minutes in Wednesday's game.
He has battled injuries since joining the Galaxy in July, and played in only five Major League Soccer games for the Galaxy, which failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The Galaxy has scheduled a morning news conference with Beckham on Tuesday, and will practise at BC Place Stadium Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday's game is scheduled to kick off at 7:08 p.m.
The Whitecaps said today that about 42,000 tickets have been sold.
Beckham is the just the latest in a long line of stars to play in Vancouver.
Looking back over more than 30 years, Brazilian legend Pele, Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands and Northern Ireland's George Best were among them.
Those were the days of the old and long-defunct North American Soccer League and the original Vancouver Whitecaps.
Bob Lenarduzzi, then in his prime as the Whitecaps' starting right fullback, played against them all.
Long retired as a player - he now serves as president of the Whitecaps - Lenarduzzi is equally excited about David Beckham's visit to the city.
"This is as big as any one of the players I played against in my career," Lenarduzzi said today. "David Beckham's appeal is world-wide and he transcends the sport of soccer. He's one of the top five recognizable athletes in the world."
The Galaxy will have a new head coach for Wednesday's game following Frank Yallop's resignation on Sunday after just over a year on the job.
Yallop, who was born in England and raised in Vancouver, is a former head coach of Canada's senior men's national team.
He has reportedly accepted an offer to coach the reborn San Jose Earthquakes, who will join MLS as an expansion team in 2008.
Lenarduzzi said Wednesday's game has broad-based appeal.
"We don't have the actual numbers, but we've sold a very significant number of tickets to youth-team players and youth-team groups," he said. "That's in addition to the older soccer fans who buy tickets to our games. I think that speaks to David Beckham's universal appeal. It reaches across all age groups and has certainly been a factor in the number of tickets we've sold."
Lenarduzzi's thoughts are shared by veteran Whitecaps left fullback Steve Kindel, who serves as technical director of Vancouver's Dunbar and Kerrisdale youth soccer associations.
"The interest in [Wednesday's] game has been really high among the kids in the associations," said Kindel.
"They've been asking all kinds of questions about the game and are pretty excited to be watching David Beckham live. He has a large following in both associations."
The game against the Galaxy coincides with the Whitecaps' continuing efforts to have their own 15,000-seat soccer stadium built on Vancouver's waterfront in the Gastown area.
The Whitecaps are currently involved in discussions with the Vancouver Port Authority as the stadium project crawls through a maze of red tape and environment-impact issues.
"The game against the Galaxy is certainly something that brings the need for a new stadium to light, but I don't think it will have a big impact," said Lenarduzzi.
GOAL DUST: Lenarduzzi said about 2,000 people will attend Tuesday's Galaxy practice, but by invitation only. "We've invited our season-ticket holders and other people who regularly attend our games, but the practice isn't open to the general public," he said ... The Galaxy roster includes two Canadian players - former Whitecaps defender Kevin Harmse and defender/midfielder Ante Jazic. Both have also played for Canada's senior national team.
danstinson@shaw.ca
...wish i could go to the game...
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