"I'm going to choke you later." (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Well, that was fun while it lasted.
The MLS feud between world super-duper star David Beckham and Landon Donovan appears to have been defused. Beckham and Donovan held talks with Galaxy and former US manager Bruce Arena as Beckham returned to training with his Galaxy teammates today. Beckham, back in Los Angeles after a five-month loan with AC Milan, will play his first match of the season with the Galaxy on Thursday when they travel to the New York Red Bulls.
Beckham refused to go into detail on his conversation with Donovan, saying that the conversation will remain between him, Donovan, and Arena. He also re-iterated his commitment to the Galaxy, saying he plans on seeing out his five-year contract with the club, and that he might stay beyond the end of that mega-deal. He does, however, plan on continuing his "timeshare" agreement with AC Milan in January in preparation for next summer's World Cup in South Africa.
Donovan, meanwhile, stated he regrets how things went down with is teammate and some of what he said. He knew what he was getting into in his interview with SI's Grant Wahl and that what he said wasn't smart.
Even with the feud now concluded, Thursday's match will still be an interesting one. The Galaxy are on the rebound, winners of three-straight matches, so adding a fit, healthy Beckham to the fray with an in-form Donovan could propel the Galaxy further up the Western Conference standings. If they really have patched things up, the Galaxy could be on the up.
More importantly...does Landon lose his hard-earned "Mandon" tag? I don't think so. He's smart to back down here. Beckham certainly isn't immune to criticism, but Donovan should've kept this in-house. He has admitted as much. Lesson learned. Time to move on. If Mandon is smart, he'd do the exact same thing Beckham did last year (and appears ready to do again this year) and try to secure another two or three-month loan to a big European club to get some extra work during the MLS offseason. Take your break from October to December, play January to March in Europe like he did last winter with Bayern Munich, then take a short break similar to the German winter break. Come back, play a couple of months in the MLS, then jet off to South Africa for the biggest tournament in the world.
Comments
Just a thought or two. Next winter could be a great time to secure a short-term loan for Landon. The African Cup is going on and there are some teams that will need short-term cover. Could be a perfect fit for Landon and US Soccer to get in some extra playing time and work on fitness levels.
I agree, Fitz (and thanks for blowing up the comments. A loyal follower you are). Great time for a bevy of Americans - not just Mandon - to get some work in this winter.
It'd improve the product MLS puts out, and it would be a major boon to the national team to get people working with bigger clubs abroad. Becks took some heat, right or wrong (and I tend to lean wrong at the moment), but it's a smart plan, especially with a WC next summer. USMNT members would be wise to follow suit.
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