POTUS Turns LA Galaxy White House Visit Into Roast of David Beckham

The 2011 MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy visited the White House yesterday—squeezing in the cross-country round-trip ahead of their LA derby vs Chivas USA on Saturday night—and President Obama used the occasion to go Don Rickles on Beckham, telling the 37-year-old midfielder that most of his teammates “could be his kids,” and that, after battling several injuries during the title run last season, Beckham is the “rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear.”

He also mixed in plenty of praise for the iconic Englishman, as well as the club, while demonstrating some solid knowledge of their 2011 season.

Here’s the clip:

Afterward, Beckham talked to the MLS website about this pinnacle of his U.S. sojourn, which started in 2007:

“It’s amazing. It’s a huge honor for every one of the players, the club, the franchise, to be invited here after the championship. And I think it’s an amazing tradition to have as well, for teams to be able to come here. Because you come out of meeting the President, and it’s a motivation—it motivates you to want to come back next year. I hope we do, because it’s a great day, a proud day for all of us.”

As with everything that enters the political sphere, though, there was some controversy: The Galaxy did not invite 10 former players to take part in the visit, including midfielder Chris Birchall (now with Columbus after a brief stint abroad), defender Frankie Hejduk (retired, and currently in the Columbus front office) and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts (now with Montreal). Birchall, for one, was not pleased about being excluded.

The club did include goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who has been absent from the team since April 27 while he participates in the MLS substance-abuse treatment program.

Here’s Beckham and the MLS Cup Trophy on Jimmy Kimmel Live

He says the postgame party at the Staples Center went till 3:30 a.m. Monday morning. If that’s true, he bounced back pretty well for this Tuesday afternoon appearance.

Part 1

Part 2:

Beckham didn’t tip his hand about whether or not he’ll be back in LA next season. But speaking to the BBC recently, he did pretty much rule out a return to England.

The 36-year-old has offers from “a couple of big European clubs,” he says, and of course, the Galaxy has an offer on the table. (“He has the information he needs” from LA, coach Bruce Arena told ExtraTime Radio yesterday.)

So now it’s just a matter of him making up his mind.

But what about LA? What if they were to decide to move on? They could let Beckham go, along with the now retired Gregg Berhalter and possibly Jovan Kirovski and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, then use the freed-up cash to go get another marquee player.

Either way, the 2011 champs are in a solid position heading into 2012.

Behind the Scenes at MLS Cup 2011

This is pretty rad. The MLS video crew gives the full slo-mo glory treatment to LA’s historic championship win over Houston on Sunday night, complete with locker-room revelry involving No. 23.

Check it out:

For another look back at the game, the 2011 season, and some changes in store for 2012, see here.

Kandji Tore His ACL on MLS Cup–Winning Play

Turns out Macoumba Kandji wasn’t time-wasting after his nutmeg-and-toe-poke led to an own goal that won the MLS Cup for Colorado this past Sunday night.

Dallas players complained that the Rapids striker was taking too long to clear the field after the play—and understandably so: the clock was ticking, and their title dreams were slipping away.

But if the fact that Kandji left the game, leaving his team to play with 10 men the rest of the way (they had used all their subs), wasn’t evidence enough of an injury, test results yesterday confirmed a devastating one: The lanky Senegalese attacker suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament when Dallas defender Ugo Ihemelu landed on his left knee at the end of the sequence.

Though Kandji told ESPN Los Angeles’s Scott French that it was the “best way ever!” to get injured, he’ll be out of action until next July or August.

Colorado Lifts MLS Cup 2010

Of the eight entrants in the MLS playoffs, they were probably the seventh-most likely to win the whole thing. They edged their first-round opponent on penalties, squeaked past the second round with a 1-0 victory, and entered last night’s final as the underdog.

And when they went down a goal at halftime, they were looking at an 0-for-50 record during the past several years when trailing at the break.

Yet here the Colorado Rapids are—after Mac Kandji’s extra-time toe-poke led to a Dallas own goal—MLS champions for the 2010 season, following a wild 2-1 win at Toronto’s chilly BMO Field.

For more on last night’s game, click here and read our column at MLS.

In related news, we have a winner in the First Annual Backpost MLS Playoff Pool, and his name is … envelope please…. Old 27!

A Denverite, Old 27 was one of two entrants to pick the Rapids to go all the way—the other was Jon, from the British Bulldog pub (“Your Colorado Rapids Bar”), also located in that fair Rocky Mountain city.

One point separated the two, and it came from Old 27’s selection of LA over Seattle in the first round, while Jon had Sounders FC winning that one.

So congrats, Old 27. A copy of Soccernomics is headed your way soon.

Thanks to all for playing, and reading.

Arsene Wenger Weighs in on MLS Cup 2010

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke to his club’s website recently about Sunday’s MLS Cup final, showing a decent grasp of Major League Soccer and Colorado’s playoff run.

The Rapids have a partnership with Arsenal and trained at the London club’s facility during the MLS preseason.

Here he is:

MLS Cup Preview

Back on September 24, when the Red Bulls blanked the Galaxy 2-0 at the Home Depot Center, and an unprecedented four designated players took part in the game (Donovan, Beckham, Marquez, Angel), MLS brass, along with relevant TV executives, no doubt hoped they were witnessing a preview of MLS Cup 2010.

They also surely hoped that a fifth DP, New York’s Thierry Henry, would be healthy and back on the field for their dream championship matchup, putting $26-million worth of Major League Soccer salary on the field for a marquee final.

Alas, two months later, that has not come to pass. We have an MLS title game bereft of designated players, glamour names, and big markets.

But we do have an interesting matchup in Dallas vs Colorado, along with plenty of quality players, and two sides that could be said to subscribe to the motto of last year’s titlists, Real Salt Lake: “the team is the star.”

We also have a guarantee of crowning a first-time champion, as Dallas has never been to an MLS final before (they’re the last remaining original franchise to make the trip), and Colorado has been just once, losing to DC in 1997.

Let’s break it down into bite-size positional pieces:

Goalkeeping

Dallas: Kevin Hartman

Abandoned by Kansas City at the start of the season, he latched on with Dallas and produced an MVP-caliber season.

Colorado: Matt Pickens

He and his Li’l Rasputin beard are headed to the title game, but there have been some glitches down the stretch, including his gift to Alvaro Saborio in the regular-season finale, and some sketchy moments on crosses in the playoffs.

Edge: Dallas

Backline

Dallas: Left back Heath Pearce is still recovering from injury and is listed as questionable for Sunday, and centerbacks George John and Ugo Ihemelu are only recently returned from the DL themselves. But John looks like a player with a bright future, and both he and Ihemelu should be less rusty this week. Wingbacks Jackson and Jair Benitez are solid, with Benitez showing a flair for joining the attack.

Colorado: Right back Kosuke Kimura produced a man-of-the-match performance last week and is peaking at the right time. Drew Moor is a steady-Eddie in the middle, but the other two Rapids defenders, Marvell Wynne and Anthony Wallace, are occasionally suspect in their positioning. Wynne is an incredible athlete whose freakish ability to recover often bails him out, but still, emergency defending comes into play more than coach Gary Smith would like.

Edge: Push.

Midfield

Dallas: A five-man force-field with quality at every spot. Backpost favorite Daniel Hernandez (a former Metro) is a minesweeper in front of the FCD defense (and unflappable on the ball); Dax McCarty is a Kyle Beckerman–type who does untold amounts of dirty work and also gets forward in attack, the wingers, Brek Shea and Marvin Chavez, are both internationals (for the U.S., and Honduras, respectively) with size (Shea) and speed (Chavez), and the playmaker, David Ferreira, is the newly minted MVP of the league.

Colorado: The central duo of Jeff Larentowicz and Pablo Mastroeni is as rugged and effective as they come in MLS. Winger Brian Mullan will be making his sixth trip to the MLS Cup final in 10 seasons in the league (he’s won four; no wonder Colorado dealt for him at midseason), and Wells Thompson (if assists leader Jamie Smith doesn’t get the nod) is a high-energy two-way player.

Yes, this game will be won or lost in midfield.

Edge: Dallas.

Forwards

Dallas: Last week it was Atiba Harris, but we could see Jeff Cunningham or the recuperating Milton Rodriguez up top for the Hoops on Sunday. Harris brings size and post-up ability, Cunningham speed and a nose for goal, and Rodriguez a crafty poacher’s knack.

Colorado: The Conor Casey and Omar Cummings Show has been playing to rave reviews all season long, as the duo were involved in 36 of the Rapids’ 44 goals this year. Nuff said. They’re the top strike force in the league.

Edge: Colorado.

Prediction

That FCD midfield is too tough to topple, and the Hoops have been remarkably consistent in 2010, producing a 19-game unbeaten streak and losing just four times all year.

Dallas 3, Colorado 1

Post your predictions and thoughts in the comments, and enjoy the game, people—it’s on ESPN at 8:30 on Sunday night.

Step Right Up, It’s the First Annual Backpost MLS Playoff Pool!

Major League Soccer’s 2010 playoffs kick off tomorrow night, when the Colorado Rapids host the Columbus Crew at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado (9:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2).

This year’s edition has the potential to be the best postseason in the history of the league. Every team in the field has a winning record, there are six legitimate title contenders, no weak sisters, and an impressive array of international stars will be taking part, including David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Rafa Marquez, Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry (hopefully, but more on that later), Geovanni, and Blaise Nkufo.

We could go on, but it might be more effective to hand the mic over to “Jon,” a pub owner in Denver who recently offered an impassioned email plea to his fellow Coloradans on behalf of their hometown team, and their domestic league.

Take it away, Jon:

“It is always easier to be negative than positive in life, and we’ve heard it all when it comes to our domestic league (MLS). The naysayers are quick to make claims like, ‘the play is too slow,’ … or, ‘it isn’t like European or world football.’ I say ‘Rubbish to that!’ Having attended every Colorado Rapids and MLS match I could since 1997, I have personally watched our league, and team, improve year in and year out. Those arguments, although they may have held water up until a few years ago, are simply no longer valid. … MLS has improved tremendously over the last few years, and there are really no more excuses. The pace of play, the coaching and training, the atmosphere at the matches, and the competitiveness of the league, have all risen to a world-class level. This is a call to arms for those of you that love the sport: Get your butts out to DSG and support your team. If you love the game, it is your responsibility to get involved!”

Hear, hear!

Jon speaks the truth.

Without further ado, then, here are the scoring system and selection form for the 2010 BP MLS Playoff Pool, brought to you by debonair reader Abraham Thinkin’.

(We’ll post a playoff preview next to help you along in your picks. Check back for that shortly.)

No money is at stake, but the winner will get a copy of Simon Kuper’s and Stefan Szymanski’s excellent book, Soccernomics. That, and glory, plenty of glory.

Submit your completed forms to jbackpost12@gmail.com before kickoff tomorrow night.

Scoring System

• First round: 1 point [The first-round matchups are two-leg, total-goals series. Simply select the winner.]

• Conference Finals: 2 points

• MLS Cup Champ: 4 points

Tiebreakers:

† 1^st: Both MLS cup finalists predicted

† 2^nd: Total goals scored during the entire MLS Cup Playoffs (all teams, all games)

Complete the following form (don’t forget the ‘total playoff goals’ tiebreaker blank at the end) and submit to jbackpost12@gmail.com before kickoff on Thursday night:

Eastern Conference

EC1: Columbus v Colorado (1 point): ____________

EC2: New York v San Jose (1 point): ____________

EC Champ: EC1 Winner v EC2 Winner (2 points): ____________

Western Conference

WC1: Los Angeles v Seattle (1 point) : ____________

WC2: Real Salt Lake v Dallas (1 point) : ____________

WC Champ: WC1 Winner v WC2 Winner (2 points) : ____________

MLS Cup:

Champ: EC Champ v WC Champ (4 points) : ____________

1^st Tiebreaker: Participant who predicted both Cup Finalists

2^nd Tiebreaker: Total Goals Scored during MLS Cup Playoffs (excluding pks) : ____________ [so a 1-1 draw decided on PKs counts for 2 total goals]

Good luck, and enjoy the games.

Slow Friday? Scroll through the MLS Highlights of the Decade

What was the biggest story of the decade? Let's see here, give us a sec...

Before the first full week of 2010 slips away, let’s take a look back at the decade that was in MLS. The aughts (zeros? 00s?) were obviously a massive ten years for the league, with significant growth both on and off the field. Here’s a glance at the most notable moments, in and out of competition, of each year in MLS from 2000 to 2009.

2000

Off-the-Field Highlights: The league scraps the shootout, puts timekeeping in the hands of the referee on the field (with the scoreboard counting minutes up, from 0 to 90, in the traditional fashion), and locks down the most legit TV package to date. Games appear on ESPN and ESPN2, while ABC does “Soccer Saturdays.” ESPN2 also airs a weekly highlights show. Decade off to a rousing start.

On-Field Highlight: Clint Mathis scores 16 goals and adds 14 assists to lead the MetroStars to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and Tampa Bay’s Mamadou Diallo scores 26 goals in 28 games. But it is official policy of this blog that whenever a player buries a full bicycle kick in the back of the net, as Marcelo Balboa does in the clip below from the 2000 season, it shall automatically qualify for on-field highlight of the year. Sorry, regulations:

Honorable mention: Mexican international Luis Hernandez signs with MLS, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy.

2001

Off-Field Highlight: Landon Donovan, 19, signs a four-year loan deal with MLS, moving from Bayer Leverkusen to the San Jose Earthquakes. (He scores seven goals and adds ten assists in 22 games for the Quakes.)

On-Field Highlight: Dwayne DeRosario wins MLS Cup 2001 for those same Earthquakes, pinging one in off the post in sudden-death OT to give San Jose a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy. Here’s an in-depth video recap of that final, but be warned, it contains shocking images of Lando’s bleached-out ’do:

Honorable mention: Mamas, if you name your son Clint, chances are he’ll grow up to be a gunslinger, or a soccer player. Or both:

2002

Off-Field Highlight: MLS’s single-entity structure is preserved when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upholds verdict in favor of the league in Fraser vs Major League Soccer. Players’ rights take a (necessary) backseat to financial well-being of the league.

On-Field Highlight: MLS star Landon Donovan seals win over Mexico in the knockout stage of the 2002 World Cup, heading home a cross from MLS alum Eddie Lewis. There are 12 MLS players on the national team, and it’s the first time the U.S. has ever won a game in the World Cup knockout stage. Dos a cero:

Honorable mention: The league contracts, pulling the plug on the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny franchises. While these moves seem like negatives at the time, they turn out to be fiscal positives in the longer term.

2003

Off-Field Highlight: MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard moves to legendary English Premier League club Manchester United, netting a $4-million transfer fee for MLS.

On-Field Highlight: The greatest game in MLS history? We say yes: After losing 2-0 in the opener of their home-and-home Western Conference semifinal with L.A., San Jose goes down 2-0 in the first 13 minutes of the second leg, putting itself in a 4-0 hole on aggregate. So what happens? The Quakes reel off four unanswered goals, and then win the series in sudden-death OT (and go on to win the championship). Here ya go (first six minutes):

Honorable mentions: Kroenke Sports Enterprises, owners of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, purchases the Rapids; 14-year-old wunderkind Freddy Adu signs with MLS, though few thought at the time that it would only merit an honorable mention by decade’s end.

2004

Off-Field Highlights: MLS ditches overtime, confirms the addition of two expansion franchises, Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA, and announces a $160-million dollar sponsorship deal with adidas.

On-Field Highlight: D.C. United wins MLS Cup 2004, scoring three goals—two by Man of the Match Alecko Eskandarian—in a seven-minute span in the first half to down Kansas City 3-2. It is D.C.’s fourth league title.

Honorable mention: Two words: De. Ro.:

2005

Off-Field Highlights: The Generation adidas player-development program debuts, as does the first Reserve League in MLS history; MetroStars sign French World Cup star Youri Djorkaeff; and, at season’s end, the San Jose Earthquakes pull a Cleveland Browns and relocate to Houston, leaving the team name and history in San Jose for a potential Quakes rebirth there.

On-Field Highlight: Per official policy stated above, see Carlos Ruiz’s bike strike vs D.C. United from May 2005. It was voted top goal of MLS’s first decade.

Honorable mention: The Los Angeles Galaxy does the double, knocking off New England 1-0 in overtime to win MLS Cup 2005 several weeks after downing FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup final.

2006

Off-Field Highlights: Austrian energy-drink juggernaut Red Bull purchases the MetroStars, renames the team New York Red Bulls; MLS announces new TV deals with Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports en Espanol, ABC, ESPN, and the Univision family of networks; and the league unveils its 13^th team, Toronto FC, which will begin play the following season.

On-Field Highlights: MLS All-Stars knock off Premier League powerhouse Chelsea, 1-0, at mid-season; MLS Cup, despite being decided on penalties for the first time ever, is a cracker. Both goals come in extra time, as Taylor Twellman scores for the Revs, and Brian Ching answers for Houston, which goes on to win the shootout. Video below (with current Fulham star Clint Dempsey in Revs blue):

In Memoriam: U.S. Soccer loses two key figures: Colorado Rapids coach and U.S. national team assistant Glenn Myernick passes away, as does Lamar Hunt, a founding investor of the league and a stalwart supporter of the game in the U.S. since the 1960s.

2007

Off-Field Highlights: Let’s see here, what was it, some sort of player acquisition … give us a sec, oh right—The L.A. Galaxy signs David Beckham to a five-year contract, using the league’s new Designated Player rule, which allows teams to sign a player without concern for the salary cap. Other D.P.s follow—Cuauhtemoc Blanco joins the Chicago Fire, and Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel sign with Red Bull New York.

On-Field Highlights: Beckham and the Galaxy visit the Red Bulls, drawing 66,000 fans to Giants Stadium and staging a wild, 5-4 goal-fest. Beckham has two assists, while New York’s Juan Pablo Angel scores two goals, including the game winner.

Honorable mentions: Seattle is awarded an MLS franchise, to begin play in 2009; the Earthquakes announce their return to San Jose, due in 2008. Houston repeats as MLS champs and New England drops its third straight final, losing 2-1 in a rematch of the previous year’s title tilt.

2008

Off-Field Highlights: MLS announces a 16^th team, based in Philadelphia, to begin play in 2010. Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore, 18, is sold to Spanish club Villareal for an MLS-record $10-million; Beckham goes on loan to Italian superclub AC Milan, plays well enough to extend loan to end of season.

On-Field Highlights: Among the candidates for goal of the year is a fluke tally from Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero—a sign of things to come as the historically underachieving New York franchise (10-11-9 for the season), somehow reaches MLS Cup, falling to the Columbus Crew, 3-1. The goal-of-the-year nominees:

Honorable mention: MLS deputy commish Ivan Gazidis becomes chief executive of English superpower Arsenal.

2009

Off-Field Highlights: Expansion franchises go to Portland and Vancouver, both to begin play in 2011. Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl publishes The Beckham Experiment, his account of a year spent with the L.A. Galaxy. The book contains sharp criticisms by Landon Donovan of Beckham’s commitment to the MLS club.

On-Field Highlights: Beckham returns to MLS in July following his extended loan stay at Milan. In the face of some pretty negative crowd reactions, he jells with the Galaxy, and the team plays well and reaches the MLS Cup final. Real Salt Lake qualifies for the playoffs on the final day of the season, then makes an improbable run to the championship game, which it wins on penalties:

Honorable mention: Red Bull Arena nears completion in Harrison, N.J., and will be ready for the team’s 2010 opener, when it’s expected to be the premier stadium in the league. The new park is at the crest of a wave of nine soccer-specific stadiums built for MLS teams since 1999. Here, let Mike, Don G and JPA walk you through it.

Not a bad decade, eh? Share your thoughts in the comments, and let us know if we missed any big moments.

Jason Kreis Completes Historic MLS Cup-Top Chef Double

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Kreis's feat is unprecedented.

Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis capped an incredible month last night by winning the sixth season of Bravo’s reality show Top Chef, narrowly defeating his brother Bryan in the last elimination challenge of the hour-long season finale.

Coming less than three weeks after Kreis coached Real Salt Lake to a penalty-shootout win over the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup 2009, the victory seals a unique and apparently unprecedented double for the coach/chef. According to Seymour Siwoff, venerable head of the Elias Sports Bureau, there’s no record of such a coaching/culinary double in the annals of sport or haute cuisine. “I went all the way back to the 1905 Chicago Cubs of Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, and found nothing comparable. Of course, Brown got his nickname from mishaps in the kitchen, so perhaps he wasn’t the best candidate.”

Kreis overcame the early loss of star midfielder Javier Morales in MLS Cup, replacing him with Clint Mathis, who filled in capably. Similarly, in the Top Chef finale, he prevailed despite a reconstituted-mushroom side dish that one judge called “gimmicky.”

Siwoff surveyed the entire history of U.S. and international soccer, including in France, and found nothing that ranks with Kreis’s achievement. He stated that U.S. baseball history comes closest to providing a similar accomplishment. “In addition to Brown’s ill-fated culinary career,” Siwoff says, “there was Chief Bender, Hall of Fame pitcher with the A’s, who, not surprisingly, was adept with a Bloody Mary and won several local mixology competitions. And the A’s Hall of Fame manager  Connie Mack made a fine pancake, but nothing on the level of this national double.”

Kreis said he plans to put the $125,000 prize money toward replacing Real Salt Lake striker Yura Movsisyan, who departed for Danish club Randers after the title game.

Note: post may not be true.