Beckham on loan to AC Milan

[uart]

GLASGOW, Scotland -- David Beckman may soon get a free trip back to Britain.

The England midfielder, who is to join AC Milan later this month on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, will likely travel to Glasgow with his new Italian team for a friendly against Rangers on Feb. 4.

"David Beckham has arguably been the most famous footballer in the world in recent years, and supporters of all ages will be eager to see him in the flesh," Rangers chief executive Martin Bain said Thursday.

Beckham is to join Milan on a three-month loan deal to maintain his fitness and prolong his career with England's national team during the Major League Soccer offseason.

Milan, which is tied for third in the Italian league, has plenty of other star-power as well.

"Milan are a club with a rich history and tradition like Rangers, and with players like David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Kaka set to feature, I am sure there will be phenomenal interest in the game," Bain said.

http://www.sportsline.com/soccer/story/11180020

Go 'Gers!

Now that I've got that off my chest, lets discuss this: The MLS season isn't apparently long enough or challenging enough to prepare Becks to play for England.

[Mavrik]

http://www.sportsline.com/soccer/story/11180020

Go 'Gers!

Now that I've got that off my chest, lets discuss this: The MLS season isn't apparently long enough or challenging enough to prepare Becks to play for England.

The MLS is quickly becoming nothing more than a training grounds for anyone who wants to play in Europe. Every time someone in the MLS has a great season or is improving steadily, you can expect them to be leaving for Europe shortly. Donovan is gone to Bayern. Maurice Edu is on his way to Europe as well as Michael Parkhurst and a bunch of other up and coming American players. Add this on top of the fact that Barcelona is attempting to put a team in Miami in 2011 and that should tell you how European clubs feel about the state of the game here. They look at MLS either as a chance to develop their players and then bring them over to Europe, or as a chance to sign away players from the States to their squads.

If MLS ever wants to get serious with other leagues about competing with teams for international talent, they need to scrap the stupid "designated player rule" and scrap the salary cap entirely. The likes of Kaka, Thierry Henry, or Del Piero are never going to want to play for MLS unless it is in the twilight of their careers.

[Bergen Jet]

The MLS is quickly becoming nothing more than a training grounds for anyone who wants to play in Europe. Every time someone in the MLS has a great season or is improving steadily, you can expect them to be leaving for Europe shortly. Donovan is gone to Bayern. Maurice Edu is on his way to Europe as well as Michael Parkhurst and a bunch of other up and coming American players. Add this on top of the fact that Barcelona is attempting to put a team in Miami in 2011 and that should tell you how European clubs feel about the state of the game here. They look at MLS either as a chance to develop their players and then bring them over to Europe, or as a chance to sign away players from the States to their squads.

If MLS ever wants to get serious with other leagues about competing with teams for international talent, they need to scrap the stupid "designated player rule" and scrap the salary cap entirely. The likes of Kaka, Thierry Henry, or Del Piero are never going to want to play for MLS unless it is in the twilight of their careers.

I see nothing wrong with sending Beckham over there during the MLS off-season. It isn't like they are taking him from the Galaxy in the middle of the season.

[PFSIKH]

The MLS is quickly becoming nothing more than a training grounds for anyone who wants to play in Europe. Every time someone in the MLS has a great season or is improving steadily, you can expect them to be leaving for Europe shortly. Donovan is gone to Bayern. Maurice Edu is on his way to Europe as well as Michael Parkhurst and a bunch of other up and coming American players. Add this on top of the fact that Barcelona is attempting to put a team in Miami in 2011 and that should tell you how European clubs feel about the state of the game here. They look at MLS either as a chance to develop their players and then bring them over to Europe, or as a chance to sign away players from the States to their squads.

If MLS ever wants to get serious with other leagues about competing with teams for international talent, they need to scrap the stupid "designated player rule" and scrap the salary cap entirely. The likes of Kaka, Thierry Henry, or Del Piero are never going to want to play for MLS unless it is in the twilight of their careers.

They never have been more then that. The salary cap and single entity ownership is what has kept them afloat. Can't begrudge Donovan, Parkhurst and Dempsey's to go overseas and get some cash.

The NASL was killed by over spending. MLS may get there someday, but they will have to deal with what 90% of all leagues deal with...keep young talent as long as you can and then see them go to Europe for money.

[uart]

Donovan is gone to Bayern.

He'll be back.REAL SOON.

[uart]

They never have been more then that. The salary cap and single entity ownership is what has kept them afloat. Can't begrudge Donovan, Parkhurst and Dempsey's to go overseas and get some cash.

The NASL was killed by over spending. MLS may get there someday, but they will have to deal with what 90% of all leagues deal with...keep young talent as long as you can and then see them go to Europe for money.

Nah, I think they survived in spite of single-entity. Most other single-entity leagues have either been much smaller operations, or have died fiery deaths already in bankruptcy.

NASL wasn't killed by spending either. It was killed because it stopped being a competitive league. At it's height, the Cosmos, who spent more than anyone else, were getting pretty impressive crowds to come out and see their all-star team.

The NASL overexpanded. They sold franchises like McDonalds. They also didn't pick their owners very well. What ultimately killed the league was when all of the owners who got in while the NASL was trendy bailed.

The teams outside of New York all spent lot of money on foreign players who were not necessarily well known in the US. Everyone had heard of Pele and Beckenbauer, but Dick Advocaat was going to be expensive, and not a big draw, either.

[Mavrik]

They never have been more then that. The salary cap and single entity ownership is what has kept them afloat. Can't begrudge Donovan, Parkhurst and Dempsey's to go overseas and get some cash.

The NASL was killed by over spending. MLS may get there someday, but they will have to deal with what 90% of all leagues deal with...keep young talent as long as you can and then see them go to Europe for money.

I'm not blaming them at all for going. You go where the money is. And right now it's in Europe. But just hate the fact that MLS does little to create any sort of opportunity for either big stars or up and coming talent to want to look at coming Stateside.

[uart]

Well, they tried with the "one superstar salary-cap exemption per team" rule. Problem is, the league needs to play at a higher level.

They probably also need to play a longer season. And it might be helpful if they didn't play primarily in the "offseason" for soccer.

Its not just money that's holding these players back. Some of them can get the money (Beckham), but if you want to play internationally for your country (and they all do, it's great for your career and such), you need to be a competitive choice for your national team. If you are Spanish you can't play in the SPL and get selected to the national team -- you DEFINITELY can't play in the MLS and be selected.