Conquest of USA beckons to Beckham

[ShaDoW]

When the world's most famous athlete walked into the hotel conference room in midtown Manhattan, a lightning storm of flashbulbs erupted in his face. England's David Beckham smiles for the cameras in New York a day before playing against Colombia. By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY
"David, over here," went the plaintive pleas from the photographers.
"David, David."
"A smile for New York, David."
David Beckham now hopes to capture America like he has the rest of the world. He will play his first game in the USA Tuesday when England meets Colombia in an exhibition at Giants Stadium with a crowd of 50,000-plus expected (4 p.m. ET, pay-per-view TV).
Wednesday morning he is scheduled to kick soccer balls with Matt Lauer on Today. That afternoon, he will unveil his new line of soccer shoes and apparel at the recently opened Adidas store in Soho. Thursday he will launch the David Beckham Academy, a boys and girls soccer camp that is set to begin next year, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Still, perhaps the Beckhamization of America won't truly be complete until later this decade when he moves to New York or Los Angeles and suits up for Major League Soccer's MetroStars or Galaxy. That prospect may not be as preposterous as it sounds, as both Beckham and MLS officials acknowledged Monday. Not any time soon, mind you. If Beckham, 30, joins a league such as the MLS, now in its 10th season, it would be at the twilight of his career, well after his contract expires with Real Madrid, his Spanish club, in two years.
America is the final frontier Beckham has left to conquer. This week was a start if media frenzy serves as any guide. Beckham's news conference was attended by more than 100 reporters and photographers, among the 400 credentialed for Tuesday's game, making the scene at the appropriately named Intercontinental Hotel — there were reporters from all over the world, in addition to the U.S. and British contingent — seem more like a White House press briefing than one advancing a soccer match.
"We've always wondered whether an English football player could crack America," one British wag said. "The interest in you today suggests you might be the one. Is that an aim for you? Do you think it's viable you can become a big hit in America?"
"I don't think it's about too much cracking America," Beckham said. "It's about giving the kids an opportunity to go to a soccer academy like mine opening in L.A. But if that happens, and it produces new stars, boys and girls, if it produces the new Mia Hamm, it's special and it's worked. That's what it's all about."
Asked a similar question by an American television reporter, Beckham responded more to the point: "It's a massive market for sports in America for football to be big here. It would be incredible."

Who is Beckham?

Club: Real Madrid.
Position: Midfielder.
Age: 30.
Personal: Married to the former Victoria Adams (also previously known as Posh Spice of the Spice Girls); sons Brooklyn, 6; Romeo, 2; and Cruz, 3 months.
Follow the money: Is world's highest-paid soccer player, at $31.25 million per year, according to France Football magazine's 2005 Rich List, which is based on annual earnings from salary and commercial endorsements (Beckham's salary is $8 million, according to the magazine).
But Beckham makes millions more from a variety of global endorsement contracts.
For country: Captain of English national team, for which he has played 80 times, including appearances in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and the 2000 and 2004 European championships.
For club: Played for England's Manchester United for 13 years, helping the club win six Premier League championships, two FA Cups and one European Champions League title.
Acquired by Real Madrid in July 2003 for a $41 million transfer fee, joining a squad that has included several of the world's top players — France's Zinedine Zidane, Brazil's Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Portugal's Luis Figo, Spain's Raul and Iker Casillas and England's Michael Owen — but has not won a Spanish League title in either of Beckham's two seasons.

Source: By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY

i hope he will success in U.S.A. and improve football (soccer in U.S.A)