He's finally started a game, he's wearing the captain's armband like he did at Manchester United and Real Madrid, he scored on one of his patented free kicks and helped guide his team into the SuperLiga final.
The next thing on David Beckham's checklist? To win an MLS game. He has that opportunity Saturday night when the Los Angeles Galaxy take on the New York Red Bulls in front of crowd expected to be in excess of 60,000 at Giants Stadium.
Before Wednesday's SuperLiga semifinal, all the attention was on Beckham's sore left ankle. It's an injury that forced him to miss road games in Toronto and New England and only play the final 18 minutes in a 1-0 loss at D.C. United.
But Beckham says his ankle is doing better, good enough that he's likely to start his first league game Saturday night, and good enough for him to fly to London on Sunday to be part of the England squad facing Germany in a friendly at Wembley Stadium next Wednesday.
"I'm feeling good, I feel a bit tired after the game the other night and I'm aching a bit because funnily enough my first training session was on Tuesday and my first game was on Wednesday," Beckham said in a press conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel Friday. "That's the first time I've run like I've run and kicked the ball like I did for eight weeks. I'm aching a bit, but I'm ready for the game tomorrow and hopefully my ankle will hold up like it did the other night. It felt good, it felt strong."
The attention on Beckham shifted Wednesday night in Carson, Calif., from his left ankle to his right foot, which he used to bend a 27-yard free kick into the side netting to lead the Galaxy to a 2-0 win over United at The Home Depot Center.
He started his first game for the Galaxy, wore the captain's armband -- courtesy of the prior captain Landon Donovan -- and also set up Donovan for the insurance goal in his 63 minutes on the field.
"I think it was a great gesture by Landon and it was obviously greatly accepted by David and I think it meant a lot to both people," Yallop said of the captaincy transfer. "I think that was good for our team and it showed a lot of character by both guys to come away from that and play really well, as well."
In addition to proving some naysayers wrong Wednesday night, Beckham's appearance seemed to transform a Galaxy squad that had disappointed throughout the first half of the season. They still have a steep hill to climb, but the Galaxy could be ready to make a playoff run. And a good way to start would be gaining three points in the Meadowlands on Saturday night.
"When you try to play catch-up in a league like this, with all the travel we've had and [all] that's coming up, it's obviously difficult," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "But for us, we've just got to focus and look forward to each game we have."
It has been a brutal schedule for the Galaxy, which played at D.C. United and New England last week before flying back across the country to face D.C. in the SuperLiga semifinal Wednesday night in Carson. The club then chartered a flight back to the East Coast Thursday and trained Friday.
Beckham's schedule is about to get even more hectic, with the flight to Sunday and a return to Los Angeles on Thursday, just in time for the Galaxy's SuperClasico showdown with Chivas USA.
"I haven't done that since I was about eight years old when we used to play games Saturday, Sunday," Beckham said of possibly playing on back-to-back days. "It's definitely going to be different. I'm honored to have been called into the England squad again and it's something I've always taken seriously."
The Beckham-Donovan partnership thrived Wednesday night and it looks like it is just getting stronger. They've already managed to forge an understanding despite Beckham's limited time on the field.
"He's a good soccer player," Donovan said in the understatement of the year. "I think with everything that comes with him people forget that he knows how to play the game. He sees things and he has a soccer brain. When he has a soccer brain and he can do the things he can do with the ball, it makes a big difference."
Despite his limited knowledge of his opponent Saturday night -- and all MLS competition at this point -- Beckham said he is excited to be in New York, a city he says that doesn't pull any punches.
"What's great about New York, and you don't get it in a lot of other places in the world, is there's a lot of positively, a lot of energy," Beckham said. "And if someone doesn't like you, they'll come right up to your face and tell you they don't like you."
Imagine the greeting a win over the home team might bring.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
