David Beckham Playing Soccer

As a life long fan of David Beckham I am hoping to see him win soccer fans over just as he won football fans all over Europe.

As soccer continues to grow in America the MLS have taken steps to give it a major boost with the introduction of Beckham but will the fans take to him?

You need to understand David Beckham the player to understand the phenomena that surrounds him. The reason he was loved by Manchester United fans, then England fans followed by Real Madrid fans had nothing to do with his skills, his hair, his wife etc.

David Beckham has won the hearts of the teams fans he has played for because of his determination, belief in himself and most of all, because he simply never ever quits. When others around him are hanging their heads and giving up a lost cause, Beckham is running like his life depends on it. He'll chase that ball right up until the referee ends the game and he'll believe the game can still be salvaged up to the very end. It is this playing "with his heart on his sleeve" mentality that will win over the American sports fans.

It helps of course that he is the worlds best crosser of the ball as well as one of the worlds best free kick takers. These skills again show you Beckham's mindset and determination. He was never a naturally skillful player in the mold of say a Pele or George Best and as a young lad in the youth team trying to break into Manchester United's first team, David beckham had a problem - he couldn't beat a defender! Every time he tried to go round or past one he would lose the ball.

With the coach Sir Alex Ferguson ever watchful it became clear to Beckham that he could either accept his fate and be passed on to a lesser club where he'd ply his trade as a decent player or he could solve this problem and play for the biggest club in the world. Thankfully for Manchester United, himself and soccer fans throughout the world he chose the hard route. He decided if he could not beat a defender then he would have to get rid of the ball before facing defense. He stayed behind after official training every night and practised crossing the ball. He practised until he could land the ball exactly at the spot he wanted. He also learnt the art of bending the ball until no one in the world could bend it like Beckham.

Learning to bend the ball so much meant he quickly established himself as Manchester Uniteds free kick specialist and later England's. Both his peers and fans around the world regard David Beckham one of the greatest free kick takers their is.

European soccers loss is the gain of MLS and soon L.A. Galaxy fans and arm chair fans throughout America will hopefully be able to see why European fans adored him so much.