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LOS ANGELES GALAXY MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 15, 2009

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome to today's Los Angeles Galaxy/New York Red Bulls press conference. We're pleased to have with us today LA Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena and midfielder David Beckham.
Bruce, could we start with your thoughts on tomorrow's match against the Red Bulls.
COACH ARENA: As we look forward to the game, I know the players are excited to kick off the second half of the season. To come to New York is always a great occasion for the players in the league, and we know it's an important game against a team that needs the win. We know we have a battle on our hands for 90 minutes but we look forward to the challenge.
THE MODERATOR: David, if we could get your thoughts on returning to the galaxy and tomorrow's match.
DAVID BECKHAM: Good afternoon. Obviously great to be here in New York. I've never hidden the fact that I love coming to this city. I've enjoyed playing here for the last two years.
So that's not changed this time. It's great to be back with the guys. It's great to be on the road again. And looking forward to the game. We know it's going to be a tough game. It doesn't matter what position the Red Bull are in. Any game's tough. So we're looking forward to it. We'll be ready. So that's it.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. David, do you believe in your heart that you owe an apology to the Galaxy fans for leaving the team for the past six months?
DAVID BECKHAM: No. Not at all. I think what they've seen is I'm very dedicated to the Galaxy, dedicated to the fans.
I've always been very positive and very honest with my play here and also when I went to Milan, I explained to everyone the reasoning behind me going.
I always said -- and I said to the players and I said to the manager, that I would be coming back. Maybe one or two didn't believe me. But at the end of the day I'm here. I'm committed to the team. And we'll see what the first game back against Milan, what it will be like.
But I don't feel as if I owe an apology. But I don't know.

Q. David, looking back at your two years, could you evaluate your effect on major league soccer? Has it been as much as you had hoped for? Less than you had hoped for? What do you think you've done for the league and what do you think you can do for the league in the future?
DAVID BECKHAM: I think what I've done for the league so far has been very successful. It seems to have had a successful effect on the game here.
Eight new franchises coming into the league. New stadiums going up, attendance is wherever we've played as a team.
And if you look at the attendances we have had throughout the seasons, there's not many other premierships that gets the average attendances that we've had. Excluding Manchester, United Arsenal, teams like that.
So I think there's been a positive effect. We want to carry on growing this game. It's the reason that I wanted to be involved in this. It's the reason why I a lot of the players are interested in this development.
But like I said the first day I arrived, this is not going to happen over one or two years. A lot of people want a lot more quicker results. But it's never going to happen over one or two years.
It's going to happen five, ten years, and if I'm not playing by the time it takes off and really takes off like we hope it will, and like we know it will, then I'll still be part of it, because I'm committed to it and I'm committed to the cause.

Q. David, you've been talking about your commitment. What are your plans for next year?
DAVID BECKHAM: At the moment, you know, I'm not even thinking about that. At the end of the day I'm back with the Galaxy. I have to think about the rest of this season and reaching the goal that we want to reach, which is the playoffs, and then hopefully further than that.
And then I'll worry about what else happens once the season's ended. But it's important that people realize that I am here to play for this team. I am contracted to play for this team.
And at the moment that's the most important thing to me.

Q. David, in your ideal world, you would now be on preseason with Milan, though; is that correct?
DAVID BECKHAM: If I was contracted to a European club, yes, I would.

Q. David, you left AC Milan. Kaka left, Ancelotti left. What kind of AC Milan will it be this year as compared to the league?
DAVID BECKHAM: Without a doubt, all great teams lose great players and Kaka, a lot of fans will be -- every fan of AC Milan will be sad to see him go and also Ricardo was very passionate about playing for AC. He'll miss it, because his heart was there.
But, like I said, many great players leave the biggest clubs in the world. You look at Manchester United and Renata, and teams like that. But you look in the past and Eric Cantona left Manchester United and great teams and great players. You have to move on because you don't want to get stuck in a rut and then be in the same place in a year or in two years.
So there's no reason why AC Milan won't move on from that. They've still got some of the best players in the world on this squad and they've got hardworking player's. So there's no reason why they can't go on and win the title.

Q. Bruce, adding David in the middle of the year, what does that do to the chemistry of the team?
COACH ARENA: I think it's all a positive. I think David will offer us a lot on the field as well as off. The team has been very excited to have David return.
And obviously over the next couple of weeks as David starts to get back into form, I think he's going to make a fabulous contribution on the field. He comes in at the right time to help us get a little bit better in the mid field. And I believe he will do that. And he'll be nothing but a positive addition.

Q. You've got AC Milan and Inter Milan coming into Los Angeles next week. How do you compare the two, how do you grade AC to Inter?
DAVID BECKHAM: Regardless of Inter winning the league last year I believe AC are a better team and a better club. But they're two great teams. I was on the turf, played with AC for six months.
And I played for some of the best players in the world. And also playing against Inter. I know how strong they are as an organization and as a team. And I think it's great. It's great for big teams and big players to come over to this side of the world and show their skills and show how great they are.
So it can only be good for the game.

Q. David, could you describe, please, how things are with Landon Donovan, whether he had to come to you, you to him and if the relationship is fine and how it got that way?
DAVID BECKHAM: It was actually the manager that brought us both together. We knew we had to speak once we were both back in the same country. And I spoke to Landon after the game, after our win against Chivas which was obviously a good win for us.
We sat down, went through everything, went through everything that had been said. Landon apologized. And I told him my view on things. And it's forgot about. It's important. We're both men. We don't take it onto the field, because that's when it will disrupt us as a club and as a team.
And now we go and we play our soccer. So that's the most important thing now.

Q. Tomorrow is a special game for our local team, Ripples, and our news presenter will be doing the honors with first kick-off. Any tips you can give him? He doesn't know how to bend it like Beckham, but any tips you can give him?
DAVID BECKHAM: Enjoy it. Any occasion like this is a great occasion. So that's the biggest and the best thing that I can say, is just enjoy the occasion.

Q. David, people in America understand that you want to play for your national team. But how do you justify being fully committed to the Galaxy and to MLS and American soccer when you're a part-time player this year. You've already stated you want to be a part-time player next year as well?
DAVID BECKHAM: Let me just clear this up first. Is this question for the second unofficial book or your magazine?
Well, what I will say is I was given the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and still be contracted to my club that I am contracted to.
For those months, for the three months that the team wasn't playing, I enjoyed a great time. Then the club asked me to stay on. I think if you asked any player in any league in the world, if they were given the chance to finish the league, finish the season and spend a little bit more time with one of the biggest clubs in the world, they wouldn't turn that down. There's not one player that would turn that down.
What I'm saying about my commitment is I'm an honest person. If I didn't want to be here I wouldn't. I'm a very honest person. And I've always been committed to every contract that I have had as a soccer player. Manchester United. Real Madrid. The Galaxy and that doesn't change. I'm a very committed person.
If people want to question my professionalism and also my commitment, then what I will say about that is the fact that I do want to travel thousands of miles to play for my country, I think says it all.
Whenever I'm called up for a squad with my country, I will turn up. It doesn't matter. I've always done the same throughout my whole career. And I've been lucky enough to play for my country for 13 years. And I'll carry on doing that as long as possible.
But like I said before, I'm committed to this. I'm committed to Bruce. I'm committed to the players. I'm committed to the MLS as an ambassador. And for me it's about creative visualization, and I visualize that this game will take off and get bigger in years to come.
And I want to be part of that.

Q. David, when you said that you had your discussion with Landon and he apologized. Did he apologize for what he said, or did he apologize for saying what he said, perhaps, in a public manner without speaking to you about it first?
DAVID BECKHAM: Obviously I'm not going to go into details. All I will say is apologized for everything that went on and the position that we were in. And like I said, we're professional people now and we move on, because it's important that we do that.

Q. David, which is a greater priority for you right now: Growing the game in the United States and your commitment to the LA Galaxy or playing in the 2010 World Cup, and are the two compatible?
DAVID BECKHAM: At the moment my priority is the rest of the season and also playing and keeping in every squad for England and representing my country. Going forward of course I want to be involved in the World Cup, I've not hidden that fact.
But even with going back on loan to AC Milan or another club, it doesn't guarantee my place in the World Cup and the World Cup squad, if and when we qualify.
At the moment all I'm concentrating on is being part of this team and being successful with this team. Once the season is over, then I will decide and decide what I do from then on.
But leading up to the World Cup, you know, the England managers made it very clear to me that I need to be playing at a European level. So I will do everything possible.
I'll always regret it if I didn't do everything and to give myself a chance to be involved in that.

Q. I'm wondering if you ever feel like you're maybe spreading yourself a little bit too thin, that you have commitments to all these different teams with all your PR appearances, do you ever feel like that you're losing sight about that it's about the game?
DAVID BECKHAM: I've never left any sight that it's about that it's about the game. My career and my whole life has been about soccer. Nothing else. Yeah, I have the advertising and the appearances, but not once in my whole 17-year career have I let anything get in the way.
That's why so many players have commented over the years how professional I've been. You have a player like Roy Keane that probably wouldn't understand some of the things that I did outside of the game.
But if you ask him if I was professional once I was on the training field and once I was in a game situation, I know what his answer would be. So not once have I stepped out of that zone of my first job is a soccer player. Nothing else.

Q. Bruce, obviously this was a less than ideal situation this year with David. Would you be willing to do this again, the loan situation?
COACH ARENA: I think having David Beckham on our team is just a fabulous asset. It was a little bit awkward, the loan process, but fully within the conditions of his contract. And we were fully in agreement with it and signed off on it. We knew the pros and cons attributed with David leaving on loan.
It was well understood as we planned for the season. We knew David would be back in July. And I'm hopeful that we will have proved everyone that it's been a great opportunity for not only David but it will reap benefits for the Galaxy as well?

Q. Would you do this again next year?
COACH ARENA: You know, I've had a great 30 years coaching. This is a high point. Not a low point. It's fabulous to have a player of this caliber on our squad. I look forward to working with David the remainder of the season.

Q. Bruce, staying on that tone, when David came into the league, it was pretty certain he would either play for the Galaxy or the Red Bulls. You were with the Red Bulls at the time, and you expressed a thought that he probably wouldn't come to New York because of the lack of a stadium and practice facilities. You also had some reservations at the time about whether you wanted to deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis. Now that you're there, has it been what you thought, or better or worse?
COACH ARENA: It's good. I think if we're going to grow this league, we need to grow this league with a good plan in mind and have the ability to track players of David's visibility here.
I think David Beckham has been only a plus for the league. And I firmly believe when it's all said and done he's going to be a real plus for the Galaxy?

Q. David, you've been in the states for some time now. What is it that you enjoy most about playing here and living here? And if and when you did move on, what would you miss most about this country?
DAVID BECKHAM: Everything, to be honest. I would miss everything. Because I don't spend six and a half months away from my children and my wife for no reason. And I think that on its own shows my commitment to my job.
But the biggest thing is my family. My family are happy. And that was the thing about moving here, about staying here. And also about telling people that I am committed to being here, because my children are happy in their school.
We don't like moving around. We don't like unsettling the kids. And that, for us, is the most important thing. So I've been away from them for six and a half months, and I've missed them. So I'm happy to be back. And there's many things that I've enjoyed being here. Playing here is an experience, without a doubt. It's great to see some of the young American kids that are coming up.
There's still a lot to learn from playing here and from living here, and I'm going to enjoy that in the next few years. But the most important thing is the moment now. It's about growing the game.
That's not just about bringing big names over to this league. It's about bringing the young lads and the young kids that are interested in soccer and love playing soccer and bringing them through, because that's not just going to be great for the MLS, that's going to be great for soccer in general, to have American kids going over to the big European clubs and also keeping them here in this league, it's so important because that's how the European clubs have been able to go for so many years and been able to grow their leagues to a certain level.
They bring them up from a young age and they take them all the way through. So it's important that we do that.

Q. David, considering that you say you're going to be committed to the Galaxy but you also want to make it to the 2010. Are you planning on going out on loan in the offseason. If you do, are you thinking about making it another six-month loan?
DAVID BECKHAM: I think it would have to be, obviously, leading up to the World Cup. But with the last loan, it worked out pretty well. I'm not going to sit here and say it was ideal and it was perfect, because at the end of the day it was great for myself.
But with the Galaxy and the guys, it's tough when you lose any player. So I've had a lot of help along the way. And I really have to thank Bruce and I have to thank Tim Leiweke and everyone at the Galaxy for the support they've given me, because without them this wouldn't have been possible. And without the support it wouldn't have been possible.
And when obviously people talk about is it good for players to come in halfway through the season, it happens all over the world. It happens where players do come into new teams and players buy -- teams buy players in transfer windows.
And it's more of a positive like the manager said than a negative.

Q. David, you had a chance to see the Galaxy play on Saturday. Bruce has made a lot of changes from the team from last season. How did you view the squad, and how has it improved and how you can perhaps help the team moving forward?
DAVID BECKHAM: Well, yeah, there's a lot of new faces. There's a lot of fresh faces. There's a lot of young lads and a few experienced lads in the team. In the last couple of years we've had some good times and some bad times.
And hopefully now, you know, we're going to push forward, because that's what the manager's aim is. That's what the club's aim is, and that's what players's aim is to do.
It's still a learning process for some of these young players that we've got on the team. But it's exciting. It's exciting to see some of the young kids that are coming through.
You know, the game of the weekend was a big game, rivalry. And it's always nice to win those games. I think the manager has agreed that the first half we looked compact and we looked strong. Second half was a bit messy.
But it shows the character of the team, that when there was tough times in the game, we came through those. So it's important that we carry on as a team to keep doing that.

Q. David, clearly it's important to you to be seen as a professional. You spoke about it just now. So when you have people criticize your professionalism, like Donovan, do you think about doing anything differently? And if so, what?
DAVID BECKHAM: No, I never see as if I should be doing things differently. I think about everything that I do, especially at my age now, maybe a few years back, I've done things maybe I shouldn't have done.
And you learn from those things. But at the end of the day you get on with it. You get on with things whether you're criticized or whether you're not. I have been criticized by Pele before and by George Best before. And these are people that I've respected throughout my career, the people you look up to.
So at the end of the day you hear the criticism, but it's about how you deal with it and it's about how it affects you. And it doesn't affect me.

Q. David, seeings as how you helped finance your own loan to Milan, do you understand how people would see that as a contradiction to your statements about commitment to the Galaxy?
DAVID BECKHAM: No, because I think when we speak about commitment to my job, then when I put up my own money that I worked hard for to be in a certain position and to stay on a team, that shows a certain kind of commitment.
But I can only show my commitment to the team while I'm here and while I'm contracted here. If people don't agree with that, then so be it. But I always work hard and the most important thing and the most important people there is the manager, the owner of the franchise, and the players.

Q. David, you said before that in order to make the team 2010, the only way is to go on loan again for at least six months. Is the loan going to be AC Milan again? There's already an agreement? Or could be eventually another team?
DAVID BECKHAM: I don't know. Of course, AC Milan have said before I even left that they'd love me to come back. But I can't stress enough that at the moment all I'm focusing on is the Galaxy. My contract is with the Galaxy. I'm committed to them.
And I'm happy here. I'm so happy to be back. I'm happy to be hopefully involved in the game at some point tomorrow. And then I'm happy to be in training and to be living back in LA. Because I've actually really missed living there.
So it's great to be back with the family and great to be around the guys again. And really looking forward to it. But the loan thing is on hold at the moment, because I'm more focused on this at the moment.

Q. David, do you feel pressure knowing that people expect you to play well tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of people probably for the first time at a soccer game just to watch you play tomorrow?
DAVID BECKHAM: I always feel pressure whether it's in life or in my job, because that's part of my life, it's a big part of my life that the expectations are very high.
I'll try and do my best. That's all I can do. And hopefully it's enough for people. If it's not, then if we win the game, then that's the most important thing. It's not about, obviously, how well I play in the game and how I want to impress people, even though I do.
If we win the game and I have a bad game, then the most important thing is the points.

Q. David, since you started with the Galaxy, there's been a host of problems, especially for you physically. How much do you feel that there's maybe a little bit more pressure on you to do well this year because of what's happened in the past since you've been with the Galaxy?
DAVID BECKHAM: I don't feel any more pressure this year to the first year that I arrived. It's the same in my eyes. I still have to be seen to be playing well, and I still have to make sure that I'm working hard. And that's not changed from the moment I arrived to this year.
Of course it's been also frustrating because I've had a few injuries along the way. And that's always frustrating for any sportsman. But all I can do is my best and I always feel I go onto the field and give 110 percent every time I step over that line, and I do the same in training.
So as long as I can wake up in the morning and be honest with myself and know that I've done everything that I can, then that's all I can ask of myself.

Q. David, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the difficulty in dynamics with playing along side players who are earning $30,000 a year at times. Is there a necessary friction there? Have you felt any awkwardness because of that along the way? How do you deal with that?
DAVID BECKHAM: Funny enough, I haven't felt any awkwardness. I think when we're together as a team and whenever we're on the road, we've done certain things. It's all about bonding with players. And I think it's always important to have a steady line of doing things with the team or with players.
And you know we've done some great things in the last two seasons. We hired a house on the beach in Santa Monica, and we had a nice barbecue, which was nice. And we went to certain restaurants in Beverly Hills. So it's important that side of bonding with the team.
There is obviously, you know, the difference in wages is different all the way throughout soccer. And that's one thing that obviously certain things have to change in this league to either attract players from Europe or either to improve the youngsters that are out there, the talented youngsters that are in the lower leagues and the lower levels, and there's a lot that has to be done. There's a lot of hard work.
But if people are persistent and people are positive and want that to happen, it will happen. I think we've seen it with the franchises and the stadiums that have been built, because people don't put up millions of dollars for no results.
And you've seen that with teams like Seattle. Sold out 30,000 season ticket holders. People don't put money up for no reason. So there are a lot of people that do believe in this and may that continue.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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