CSILASVEGAS

June 19, 2007
LONDON (AFP) - Stung by suggestions David Beckham is heading into semi-retirement in Major League Soccer (MLS), the President of LA Galaxy has branded the English Premiership an over-hyped, "inferior product."

Alexi Lalas, the guitar-playing former US defender and captain, let rip in an interview with Tuesday's Guardian newspaper in which he slammed much of the commentary surrounding Beckham's move to California as ignorant and delusional.

"We may be Americans but we're not stupid," Lalas said. "We know when we're being patronised and I get so irritated when I hear the experts in England talk about David Beckham as if he's going into semi-retirement by leaving Real Madrid for Los Angeles.

"That's ignorance of the first degree because almost every one of those critics has not even seen a single MLS game. It's insulting to us and to our sport to say Beckham is on his way to Hollywood when he's coming to play in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

"There are a lot of stars in European football who would struggle over here. But Beckham has done his homework on this league, and his team-mates, and he recognises the merit of American soccer."

Fresh from winning La Liga with Real, Beckham is due in LA in the middle of next month and has signed a five-year-deal worth 250-million-dollars which will see him take centre stage in efforts to raise the profile of US soccer at home and abroad.

Beckham's recent return to the England side has fuelled a fresh round of dismissive assessments of the level of the MLS, with many pundits suggesting the midfielder will struggle to stay competitive while operating in a competition frequently compared to the Championship, English football's second tier.

But Lalas believes the perception of the Premiership as the world's top league is largely the product of superb marketing which manages to mask the huge gulf between the top, rich clubs and the rest.

"English football now has the haves and the have-nots, and even the top four in the Premiership may be narrowing down to two," he argued.

"But because of the structure of our league and the salary cap our competition runs deep. It's just that the Premiership have become so skilled in presentation. They took a page out of American football and now have Saturday Showdowns and Super Sundays. I love it. This is high-calibre marketing: taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging.

"You know, there's no accounting for bad taste. The fact that a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business.

"In England our league is considered second-class but I honestly believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn't miss a beat and the fans wouldn't notice any drop in quality."

Lalas went on to suggest it is only a matter of time before the best teams in the United States are rubbing shoulders with the likes of Real and Manchester United in a world club championship that will rival the Champions League in terms of quality and interest.

"Beckham is not going to change anything overnight but the hope is that this will be a big stepping stone towards the point where we see ourselves in 20 years. We want to emerge as America's first super-club, to compete with Madrid and Man United. Some might say that's a pipe-dream but I prefer to call it our vision."

croco

Of course Beckham is going struggle, he is just not that good.

gian

Let ****ing West Bromwich Albion rip in the MLS and they'll see what a 'superclub' is like.

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narrator

Lalas said a stupid thing. Then again, the British press is pretty stupid, too.

Beckham has gas left in the tank. Though I think he'll be very upset when his LA teammates can't convert his crosses into goals. Yes, I'm talking to you, Landon Donovan.

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shookem

That was a pretty stupid thing to say.

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HB

This guy is just talking out of his *** this past few days

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croco

What else did he say ?

shookem

Something to the effect that MLS is close to the Premiership in terms of player quality.

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HB

He also said Beckham will be bigger than Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in the USA

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croco

lol ... not really ?

shookem