Eric Altshule sits down with a legend of American soccer, Alexi Lalas to discuss a myriad of different subjects. As always Lalas is very compelling and perhaps a tad bit controversial. A must listen for any American soccer fan.

Excellent sports’ writing is not simply about analyzing players, teams or organizations. It’s largely about painting a picture that fits into society’s perceptions of the surrounding world. It’s about writing a narrative and properly explaining the parts. It’s about playing historian and social critic while discussing competitions and complex organizations.

Sports’ writing is an art form, and even though I enjoy Grant Wahl’s College Basketball and Soccer writing for SI.com, I was not sure how well he’d do writing one of the most important books in the history of American soccer.

The Beckham Experiment is a brilliantly crafted book. Wahl paints the picture of an organization at war with itself and the celebrity culture of European football and Hollywood colliding with the lunch pail scrappy attitude of the United States.

For the MLS and US Soccer fan, the book provides an objective and highly critical but fair narrative at how the Los Angeles Galaxy and parent company AEG operated from January 2007 until November 2008.

This book through groundbreaking reporting as well as objective analysis paints an accurate but somewhat disturbing picture of the LA Galaxy franchise.  The assumptions many on the outside including myself have made for the past few years can be cleanly refuted by some of the new information revealed by Wahl.

For starters, Alexi Lalas while largely responsible for the decline of the Galaxy organization after Doug Hamilton’s death was in fact the sanest and most responsible person in the front office by 2008. Also interesting was the relationship between AEG and Simon Fuller’s “19″ based around the promotion of entertainment events including the Galaxy. AEG had in fact been in contact with team Beckham since 2002. This partnership became so extensive that the two organizations in fact merged for a time, with 19 in fact running the Galaxy.

Former England National Team and Chelsea back office staffer Terry Byrne, the best friend of David Beckham became the pivotal figure in the Galaxy after the 2007 season. Byrne, a former London cabbie who had burned out as a professional footballer at a young age began working for Chelsea in the mid 1990s. When Glen Hoddle, Chelsea’s manager took the England National Team job, Byrne went with him (while continuing his staff role at Chelsea where he’d work for Ruud Gullit) and his relationship with Beckham was hatched.

Following the coup of signing David Beckham, Lalas and manager Frank Yallop would often be on different pages. The type of players Yallop wanted to surround Beckham with, like the very technical Kyle Beckerman or Jeff Cunningham, one of the leading goal scorers in MLS history was nixed in favor of Lalas’ ideal players.

Yallop had played in England at Ipswich Town against David Beckham and had also played against Lalas when he was with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. He had also managed Landon Donovan with the San Jose Earthquakes. In short, the professional experiences of Yallop made him uniquely qualified to objectively judge the situation. But Tim Leiweke, and Alexi Lalas weren’t terribly interested in Yallop’s point of view. After Beckham’s arrival and the circus that ensued, Yallop would often retreat to the confidence of Landon Donovan. As we knew before reading this book, Yallop’s “resignation” to take the San Jose job was liberation for the manager.

Leiweke, for his part was the brains behind the “Beckham Experiment.”  His goal which was largely influenced by Jurgen Klinsmann was to be the most European looking MLS club. This was a vision that was always bound to fail. But Leiweke’s public statements were so bold and made so confidently, few challenged his assertions within the Galaxy because they sounded so good.

It’s almost humorous to note Wahl’s comparison of Leiweke’s statement about MLS in ten years being a top tier league in US pro sports to Phil Woosnam’s similar statement in 1977 about the NASL. The NASL was in fact much closer to this vision in 1977 with large football stadiums being filled or close to being full and several teams signing well know foreign stars. But the NASL did not have the infrastructure or successful national team to fall back on that MLS does today. No question exists that unlike the NASL which was dead in 1987 that MLS will be thriving in 2017. But chances are MLS will still be struggling for mainstream sports media and fan recognition.

Leiweke was dissatisfied with the results in 2007, which saw the Galaxy struggle with Beckham on the pitch but make strides late in the year with Beckham injured thanks to the likes of Gavin Glinton, Carlos Pavon and Peter Vagenas. But Yallop wasn’t given the proper credit for this transformation and when the Galaxy faced off with Chicago in the final game with a playoff spot on the line, Beckham came on injured, late, and gave the ball away resulting in the winning Chicago goal by John Thorrginton. Wahl writes a great narrative and I know it is difficult to bring in every little detail, but this game needed more emphasis in my mind. Firstly, because it was a showdown with the other big MLS signing of the last five years, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, whose class performances for Chicago made Beckham look silly. Secondly, because the winning goal was scored by Thorrington, a US International who had come through Manchester United’s reserve system while Beckham was the public face of the club in the late 1990s. Wahl writes an excellent narrative, but this particular game being emphasized for the points above could have made a strong book even stronger.

After losing to Chicago, Leiweke, wanted to continue building a European oriented setup, and he forced the issue giving Terry Byrne license to essentially screen and hire coaches. That’s how the Galaxy ended up with Ruud Gullit who had been Byrne’s boss at Chelsea. Byrne as Wahl puts it had a “consistent and multifaceted presence with the Galaxy.” He had become a paid consultant to the team and in fact was higher on the pecking order than Lalas.

Once Gullit was hired, Lalas was completely marginalized. His one potential positive contribution to the Galaxy in 2008 was his insistence that star Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz be pursued. But once Ruiz returned to LA where he has starred for the Galaxy a few years back, he was quickly labeled “Lalas’ guy” by the European oriented duo of Byrne and Gullit and thus spent a frustrating half a season in Carson. The treatment of Ruiz, who after all took up a huge salary chunk under MLS arcane salary cap rules is very instructive in how Gullit dealt with players he associated with Lalas.

Lalas, to his great credit never broke ranks publicly. He was after all an AEG company man, but this book reveals his inner struggles, and should go a great length to rehabilitating Lalas’ tarnished image in American soccer circles.

Another common theme to come out of this book is the professional jealousy the greatest field player in US history; Landon Donovan exhibited towards David Beckham and his superstardom. Grant Wahl doesn’t portray it as such. This is my interpretation based on reading the book. But as someone who has typically been in Landon Donovan’s corner, the book reveals that Donovan for all his talk of being more mature than a few years ago, still has a fundamental streak of immaturity. I’ll explore the revelations about Donovan further in a future opinion piece.

That leads us to the central figure of the book himself, David Beckham. The irony is as Wahl points out repeatedly, Beckham himself is a protected figure behind an army of handlers and marketing people led by Terry Byrne and Simon Fuller. The only person in the story we never learn to understand from Wahl’s portrayal is Beckham. That’s because Beckham so closely guards his public image to journalists, fans, team mates, etc, it is impossible at times to read him.

Beckham’s social status evokes many reactions out of his team mates and fans. Wahl does a very good job of portraying the social tensions within the Galaxy family, and the image of society beyond the club. Some MLS players are among the lowest paid professional athletes in the United States. But Beckham seemed oblivious or worse uncaring about this fact through much of the narrative.

Wahl’s book on the whole is a masterpiece of sports journalism. Any fans of the game in the United States must read this book, and general sports fans would probably find it interesting as well. European football fans will be able to get an accurate gauge as to the state of club soccer in this country from reading Wahl’s book as well.

The Beckham Experiment is featured as one of the top 18 recommended soccer books to read this summer. The book is available from Amazon and all fine booksellers.

David Beckham has now finally declared publically what the football loving public in the United States has suspected for weeks. Beckham has announced rather openly that he would like to stay in Milan. From a pure business standpoint, any transfer fee Major League Soccer can secure for a soon to be 34 year old, one trick pony is of great benefit to the league, its teams and supporters.

Many of us will happily say good riddance to Beckham. But the introspection as to why Beckham failed in a league which is below the standard of  the top several leagues in Europe must be pressed. What was it about MLS and specifically the LA Galaxy that caused Beckham to flop so miserably as a footballer in the United States?

1- Alexi Lalas’ mismanagement of the LA Galaxy

Whether it was the trade of Nate Jaqua, a useful target player that could have been a favorite of Beckham’s for Kelly Gray or the dealing of Ugo Ihemelu and Herculez Gomes for Joe Cannon or the bizarre decision to sign over the hill Carlos Pavon after one good game in the Gold Cup, every player related move Lalas made in 2007 after signing Beckham was a bad one. Lalas insisted that he wanted to surround Beckham with the best possible talent, but what he essentially did was gut the team of the players like Jaqua and H. Gomez that could have actually complimented Beckham’s skill set.

Then given the opportunity entering 2008 to right these wrongs, Lalas used a grandfathered DP slot to re-acquire Carlos Ruiz. The club also signed former Chelsea and Newcastle man Celestine Babyaro whose football career was basically over and that was proven after one half in a Galaxy kit. He was soon thereafter waived.

2- Lack of adaptability to MLS tactics

Major League Soccer has gotten further and further away from the long ball tactics preferred in the British Isles and by many American coaches reared in the Euro dominated academies of the 1980s and 1990s. While Beckham first played for a manager in Frank Yallop who employed at times a very British style, and then Ruud Gullit who had previously managed in the Premier League, he often times played against team employing a Latin style and did not adapt well.

3-  Pressure to perform for the media

I know many of our readers and listeners don’t appreciate Landon Donovan the way I do. But since Donovan was Beckham’s Galaxy team mate and I don’t want to get into Michael Jordan, Maradona or Pele analogies which I don’t believe fit Beckham, let me make this comparison: Once Landon Donovan was anointed the golden boy of US Soccer, the great American hope, etc, etc, the pressure for him to perform miracles every time the national team stepped on the pitch was immense.

Every time Donovan fell short a bevy of football writers in the US and fans who post on Big Soccer and other places would talk about how Donovan was immature, or over rated, or unmotivated or all of the above.

Beckham faced a similar dilemma but more importantly from a hostile mainstream American sports media led by ignorant writers like Jay Marriotti of the south side based Chicago Sun Times and TJ Simers of the LA Times. These writers embodied the conservative/xenophobic sports journalist establishment who ultimately seem threatened by the possible success of football stateside.

Every time Beckham failed on the pitch, the sports writers piled on. Not that they’d ever want him to succeed in the first place or even recognize his greatness had it ever appeared in Los Angeles.

4- The success of Chivas USA

David Beckham never had to worry about Manchester City or Athletico Madrid upstaging him. But in Los Angeles, the Galaxy has not been the best MLS team in town in a while: a long while. The death of the great Doug Hamilton coupled with the hiring by Chivas USA of Bob Bradley turned the tables in southern California.

Ironically both stories have an Alexi Lalas twist: Hamilton was replaced by Lalas with the Galaxy and Bradley was available for Chivas to hire because he had been sacked by Lalas with the Metrostars.

During David Beckham’s time in Los Angeles, Chivas USA was consistently the superior team at the Home Depot Center. Even when the Galaxy won t he “superclassico” they’d be force to endure Chivas hosting playoff matches while the Galaxy prepared for their next tour of Oceania.

Given these factors perhaps Beckham was always doomed to failure. One will never know, but at this juncture it’s best for MLS, the Galaxy and Beckham to move on.

Well Alexi Lalas said he wanted a sexy name and if published reports are to be believed he got one. Ruud Gullit may not be the right manager for the Galaxy but he certainly has a name in the world of international football, which will create yet another publicity splash for a club so lacking in on field performance but with a Hollywood air to it.

Gullit’s previous managerial stints have not ended well. At Chelsea he was sorely out of his league as a player but did well as a manager winning the FA Cup and having Chelsea in line to chase the Premier League title before being sacked after a dispute with Ken Bates. At Newcastle he in inherited a gutted from Kenny Dalglish (who had taken over a great team from Kevin Keagan) and didn’t last very long. He clashed frequently with Alan Shearer and found himself sacked after less than a year in charge.

But Gullit is best remembered as a player. No offense to the current starlet in Los Angeles, but Gullit was a much more significant footballer on the world stage than David Beckham. Gullit was twice named world player of the year and was immensely versatile per the “Total Football” model Dutch teams employed at the time. By the time Gullit arrived at Chelsea after a long career in Italy and Holland his skills and quality had diminished but he was one of the first international footballers of note to play in England and if he comes to MLS he will be one of the first international managers of note since the early days of MLS (when several big name foreign managers graced our shores) to arrive stateside.

While MLS is clearly not at the level of the Premier League in sophistication of tactics and overall quality (but not technical ability which quite frankly was lacking in the Premiership throughout the 1990s, but has now caught up to the rest of Europe) managing in the United States will take some vetting. Firstly, managing travel in MLS is a monster for any manager coming from outside. Teams don’t have chartered coaches to take short 200km journeys like they do in England. In MLS, teams fly cross country in economy class and often have shortened weeks. The fact that the Galaxy will not be participating in any international competitions next year is good for Gullit if he takes the job because that makes managing the travel less daunting. Secondly, most rank in file American players lack the tactical know how to play disciplined 90 minute football. This isn’t meant as insult to our younger player but the reality is our emphasis in coaching youth soccer is very different from what is emphasized in Europe and Latin America. Thirdly, Gullit presumably faces a language barrier. I assume he does not know Spanish, but a good percentage of the players in MLS as well as the press who covers MLS speak Spanish as their native tongue. Knowing the language is essential for managing in most MLS markets.

Irrespective of these obstacles, if Gullit is hired the Galaxy would have made a very loud statement to the international football world about its place. Alexi Lalas would have also fulfilled his promise to make a “sexy” hire. Now the Galaxy need to begin playing like a football club and not a celebrity circus who acts as sacrificial lambs on every road trip to another MLS market.

Well Alexi Lalas said he wanted a sexy name and if published reports are to be believed he got one. Ruud Gullit may not be the right manager for the Galaxy but he certainly has a name in the world of international football, which will create yet another publicity splash for a club so lacking in on field performance but with a Hollywood air to it.

Gullit’s previous managerial stints have not ended well. At Chelsea he was sorely out of his league as a player but did well as a manager winning the FA Cup and having Chelsea in line to chase the Premier League title before being sacked after a dispute with Ken Bates. At Newcastle he in inherited a gutted from Kenny Dalglish (who had taken over a great team from Kevin Keagan) and didn’t last very long. He clashed frequently with Alan Shearer and found himself sacked after less than a year in charge.

But Gullit is best remembered as a player. No offense to the current starlet in Los Angeles, but Gullit was a much more significant footballer on the world stage than David Beckham. Gullit was twice named world player of the year and was immensely versatile per the “Total Football” model Dutch teams employed at the time. By the time Gullit arrived at Chelsea after a long career in Italy and Holland his skills and quality had diminished but he was one of the first international footballers of note to play in England and if he comes to MLS he will be one of the first international managers of note since the early days of MLS (when several big name foreign managers graced our shores) to arrive stateside.

While MLS is clearly not at the level of the Premier League in sophistication of tactics and overall quality (but not technical ability which quite frankly was lacking in the Premiership throughout the 1990s, but has now caught up to the rest of Europe) managing in the United States will take some vetting. Firstly, managing travel in MLS is a monster for any manager coming from outside. Teams don’t have chartered coaches to take short 200km journeys like they do in England. In MLS, teams fly cross country in economy class and often have shortened weeks. The fact that the Galaxy will not be participating in any international competitions next year is good for Gullit if he takes the job because that makes managing the travel less daunting. Secondly, most rank in file American players lack the tactical know how to play disciplined 90 minute football. This isn’t meant as insult to our younger player but the reality is our emphasis in coaching youth soccer is very different from what is emphasized in Europe and Latin America. Thirdly, Gullit presumably faces a language barrier. I assume he does not know Spanish, but a good percentage of the players in MLS as well as the press who covers MLS speak Spanish as their native tongue. Knowing the language is essential for managing in most MLS markets.

Irrespective of these obstacles, if Gullit is hired the Galaxy would have made a very loud statement to the international football world about its place. Alexi Lalas would have also fulfilled his promise to make a “sexy” hire. Now the Galaxy need to begin playing like a football club and not a celebrity circus who acts as sacrificial lambs on every road trip to another MLS market.

Steven Cohen of World Soccer Daily seems convinced that Steve McClaren is going to be next manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Why would McClaren who has the England job, albeit tenuously and managed Middlesbrough be interested in a second tier Major League Soccer job, a job that was ditched by Frank Yallop in order to take over an expansion team? I can point blank without any sources on the matter dismiss the talk of McClaren, Fabio Capello or any of the other sexy international names associated with the Galaxy job. At the same time I believe Red Bull New York who dismissed Bruce Arena on Monday, (the club was formerly know as the Metrostars) will not only end up with an accomplished international manager, but they could end up with someone whose name will blow your socks off.

These two jobs aren’t comparable: The Galaxy face a multi year rebuilding effort and have taken on the persona of a traveling circus since David Beckham’s arrival. The Galaxy have traded or in some cases given away the supporting talent that could have made Beckham successful in MLS. The Galaxy’s best bet is to hire an accomplished assistant in MLS, a discarded Mexican League manager or let Alexi Lalas (if he has his coaching license) try his hand at the job. Again, the Galaxy are being viewed a joke across the globe, and David Beckham’s continued curious behavior has many wondering if his legacy as a footballer and a man are being compromised by his strange and seemingly selfish behavior (thus very un-Beckham like) since moving to Los Angeles.

The Red Bulls on the other hand have a much more attractive situation. A new stadium and training facility opening next year with a marque striker in Juan Pablo Angel, and potentially an open DP slot with the option of dumping Claudio Reyna or engaging in a renegotiation with him into a non-DP type salary. With young starlets Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards as well as several other solid professionals, a new coach could make a run at an MLS Cup title next year with this squad. Besides, New York is the most cosmopolitan and international city in the US, and the second most cosmopolitan city in MLS behind Toronto.

New York has a history of attracting top international managers. Carlos Quieroz and Carlos Alberto Parriera both managed the Metrostars in the its early years and later Bora Milutinovic and Bob Bradley managed the club. Ironically the most successful New York manager has been the unheralded Octavio Zambrano.

But New York is an attractive job. Let me speculate about some possibilities:

Lothar Matthaeus:

The former Metrostars libero is now coaching the Red Bulls sister club in Austria. He loves New York and would fit the job like a glove.

Carlos Quieroz:

The former Metrostars manager is now Alex Ferguson’s right hand man at Manchester United. With Fergie’s implication that he’d like to manage a few more years, Queiroz may look to bail out and this would be a perfect opportunity

Roberto Donadoni:

The former Metrorstars player could be in trouble as Italy manager if the Azzuri lose to Scotland and do not qualify for Euro 2008.

Raymond Domenech:

France’s World Cup finalist coach is in serious jeopardy of losing his job and Red Bull management may have a n easy big name target if he losses his job which is likely to happen even if France qualify for Euro 2008 through the back door.

Fabio Capello:

He’s reported to have attracted previous interest from MLS and of course he was caught by the British press meeting with Sunil Gulati in London about consulting for the USSF.

Ricardo LaVolpe:

Former Mexico and Boca Juniors manager is tactically savvy and would probably relish the opportunity. Now managing Velez Sarsfield and is a bit of a long shot, but who knows?

Steven Cohen of World Soccer Daily seems convinced that Steve McClaren is going to be next manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Why would McClaren who has the England job, albeit tenuously and managed Middlesbrough be interested in a second tier Major League Soccer job, a job that was ditched by Frank Yallop in order to take over an expansion team? I can point blank without any sources on the matter dismiss the talk of McClaren, Fabio Capello or any of the other sexy international names associated with the Galaxy job. At the same time I believe Red Bull New York who dismissed Bruce Arena on Monday, (the club was formerly know as the Metrostars) will not only end up with an accomplished international manager, but they could end up with someone whose name will blow your socks off.

These two jobs aren’t comparable: The Galaxy face a multi year rebuilding effort and have taken on the persona of a traveling circus since David Beckham’s arrival. The Galaxy have traded or in some cases given away the supporting talent that could have made Beckham successful in MLS. The Galaxy’s best bet is to hire an accomplished assistant in MLS, a discarded Mexican League manager or let Alexi Lalas (if he has his coaching license) try his hand at the job. Again, the Galaxy are being viewed a joke across the globe, and David Beckham’s continued curious behavior has many wondering if his legacy as a footballer and a man are being compromised by his strange and seemingly selfish behavior (thus very un-Beckham like) since moving to Los Angeles.

The Red Bulls on the other hand have a much more attractive situation. A new stadium and training facility opening next year with a marque striker in Juan Pablo Angel, and potentially an open DP slot with the option of dumping Claudio Reyna or engaging in a renegotiation with him into a non-DP type salary. With young starlets Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards as well as several other solid professionals, a new coach could make a run at an MLS Cup title next year with this squad. Besides, New York is the most cosmopolitan and international city in the US, and the second most cosmopolitan city in MLS behind Toronto.

New York has a history of attracting top international managers. Carlos Quieroz and Carlos Alberto Parriera both managed the Metrostars in the its early years and later Bora Milutinovic and Bob Bradley managed the club. Ironically the most successful New York manager has been the unheralded Octavio Zambrano.

But New York is an attractive job. Let me speculate about some possibilities:

Lothar Matthaeus:

The former Metrostars libero is now coaching the Red Bulls sister club in Austria. He loves New York and would fit the job like a glove.

Carlos Quieroz:

The former Metrostars manager is now Alex Ferguson’s right hand man at Manchester United. With Fergie’s implication that he’d like to manage a few more years, Queiroz may look to bail out and this would be a perfect opportunity

Roberto Donadoni:

The former Metrorstars player could be in trouble as Italy manager if the Azzuri lose to Scotland and do not qualify for Euro 2008.

Raymond Domenech:

France’s World Cup finalist coach is in serious jeopardy of losing his job and Red Bull management may have a n easy big name target if he losses his job which is likely to happen even if France qualify for Euro 2008 through the back door.

Fabio Capello:

He’s reported to have attracted previous interest from MLS and of course he was caught by the British press meeting with Sunil Gulati in London about consulting for the USSF.

Ricardo LaVolpe:

Former Mexico and Boca Juniors manager is tactically savvy and would probably relish the opportunity. Now managing Velez Sarsfield and is a bit of a long shot, but who knows?

Three weeks ago many people including here on this site speculated aloud as to Frank Yallop’s coaching future and whether or not he’d be able to motivate his last place Los Angeles Galaxy team for the remained of the MLS season.

Well guess what? Yallop and the Galaxy are on a roll, having won four games in a row and they are doing it Yallop’s way. Let’s look at the contributions of certain players who have found form at the right time.

• Joe Cannon

Many including myself questioned the decision to bring in Cannon. The last month he has been unbeatable except by the best strikers and right now is best goalkeeper in MLS.

• Kevin Harmse

The Canadian international is giving gritty performances and serving an important function as a ball winner.

• Chris Klein

He’s found the Fountain of Youth and is making some spectacular runs down the flank.

• Cobi Jones

Simply put, Jones is still at 37 the Galaxy’s most important player. He should reconsider his retirement.

• Gavin Glinton

The former Galaxy player who spent a long period in the USL looked woeful much of the year and I wondered aloud why he was even in MLS. Now, Glinton is a specialist coming off the bench late in matches providing the Galaxy with great runs and even better finishing.

Yallop now is comfortable with the personnel assembled by Alexi Lalas and is getting results. It would be a mistake to re-introduce David Beckham to this team with it playing so well and would be an even bigger mistake to sit either Klein or Jones for Beckham. We’ll learn in the near future whether the football people or marketing people are in fact running the Galaxy.

Pachuca is the little club that could. Late last night in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Dept Center they one their fourth trophy in nine months as they defeated a disgracefully outclassed LA Galaxy side in a penalty shootout. Landon Donovan missed an opportunity to win the match for the Galaxy when his pk in the 5th round was saved by Miguel Calero. But the game shouldn’t have been in doubt as Pachuca missed several chances to finish fairly easy opportunities in regulation. Joe Cannon again proved last night that the standard of MLS and American goalkeeping is far above that of let’s say English goalkeeping with a performance for the ages. He alone kept the Galaxy in the match so that Chris Klein whose bicycle kick goal was a thing of beauty could even the match in second half stoppage time.

The Galaxy’s loss further emphasized the point that the club has been gutted by inept player personnel decisions and that the circus surrounding David Beckham’s arrival with the Galaxy has killed club. Beckham for his part played 28 minutes and was injured again. Now Beckham may have been a world class player for Manchester United and a slightly above average player for Real Madrid but in those places he had an enforcer who gave him cover in the midfield. Paul Scholes and Roy Keane played that role with United and with Real he had any number of talented and tough ball winners around him. What we have learned is with Beckham playing with a poor group of surrounding players, against much more accomplished teams like Pachuca.

Pachuca is one of the best clubs in the world that nobody in the European media seems to be aware of. A small city team, they have built a super club through an extensive network of scouting in Latin America and even through MLS rejects like Damian Alvarez. In all deference to Boca Juniors, I’d love to see Pachuca take on the best from Latin America and Europe. They are simply that good, and that special for as a small club they have broken the big club monopoly in Mexico and dominated the league recently.

Pachuca is the little club that could. Late last night in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Dept Center they one their fourth trophy in nine months as they defeated a disgracefully outclassed LA Galaxy side in a penalty shootout. Landon Donovan missed an opportunity to win the match for the Galaxy when his pk in the 5th round was saved by Miguel Calero. But the game shouldn’t have been in doubt as Pachuca missed several chances to finish fairly easy opportunities in regulation. Joe Cannon again proved last night that the standard of MLS and American goalkeeping is far above that of let’s say English goalkeeping with a performance for the ages. He alone kept the Galaxy in the match so that Chris Klein whose bicycle kick goal was a thing of beauty could even the match in second half stoppage time.

The Galaxy’s loss further emphasized the point that the club has been gutted by inept player personnel decisions and that the circus surrounding David Beckham’s arrival with the Galaxy has killed club. Beckham for his part played 28 minutes and was injured again. Now Beckham may have been a world class player for Manchester United and a slightly above average player for Real Madrid but in those places he had an enforcer who gave him cover in the midfield. Paul Scholes and Roy Keane played that role with United and with Real he had any number of talented and tough ball winners around him. What we have learned is with Beckham playing with a poor group of surrounding players, against much more accomplished teams like Pachuca.

Pachuca is one of the best clubs in the world that nobody in the European media seems to be aware of. A small city team, they have built a super club through an extensive network of scouting in Latin America and even through MLS rejects like Damian Alvarez. In all deference to Boca Juniors, I’d love to see Pachuca take on the best from Latin America and Europe. They are simply that good, and that special for as a small club they have broken the big club monopoly in Mexico and dominated the league recently.