Ruud Gullit, pictured here with David Beckham, has quit the LA Galaxy.
If a seven-match winless streak wasn't enough trouble, MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy now has to contend with having an inexperienced 37 year-old ex-player, Cobi Jones, as an interim coach after the shock resignation of Ruud Gullit.
In a double whammy for the glamour club of US soccer, general manager Alexi Lalas has been sacked by the club despite having just months left before his contract was due to expire.
The Dutch legend and former manager of English Premier League sides Chelsea and Newcastle cited 'personal reasons' - his family had problems settling down in LA - for leaving the club just 7 months into a three-year contract.
Tim Leiweke, president of the AEG Group that owns the Galaxy, said both parties had agreed on mutually-agreeable terms to part company and paid tribute to the Dutchman's contribution. In the case of GM Alexi Lalas, however, the club chose to dismiss the ex-US international rather than wait for his contract to expire at the end of the season - a move that is part of 'sweeping changes' made by Leiweke throughout the organisation.
The Galaxy, led by football icon David Beckham and US star Landon Donovan, were in good form earlier this season but their current winless streak has left them languishing in fourth spot on the Western Conference.
Will the club turn around its fortunes? With Beckham set to join up with the England squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic on August 26 and the World Cup qualifier in early September, how will the Galaxy cope without their star player?
England and LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has been selected for the annual MLS All-Star Game for the first time since his arrival in the US to be played against some familiar opponents - English Premier League club West Ham United - on July 24 in Toronto.
Joining the ex-Real Madrid star is LA Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan, Chicago Fire playmaker Cuauhtémoc Blanco, and New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst, midfielder Shalrie Joseph and goalkeeper Matt Reis.
The 2008 MLS All-Star First XI
Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (New England Revolution)
Defenders: Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)
Midfielders: David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
Forwards: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
The First XI received the most votes at their respective positions from four groups - fans, players, media and coaches/general managers but Beckham was not the first player in aggregate voting - that honour when to his LA Galaxy teammate and striker Landon Donovan who led all players in combined voting, followed closely by Beckham and Chicago Fire playmaker Cuauhtémoc Blanco.
Not surprisingly, Beckham got the most votes from fans but regardless of the fan's votes, it would have been hard to imagine his exclusion from the All-Star game given his stature in both the MLS (as a player and ambassador) and the world game.
LA Galaxy captain David Beckham repeated a feat he first achieved almost 12 years ago by scoring a goal from inside his own half in the Galaxy's 3-1 over Kansas City Wizards in the MLS overnight.
In the opening game of the season way back in 1996, Becks made headlines for chipping Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan - who was off his line - with a shot just inside the Manchester United half which launched the career of the then youngster.
Almost twelve years later and now plying his trade in the US, Beckham repeated his audacious effort - this time from at least 60 yards out - with a goal into that flew into an empty net much to the delight of the crowd and teammates.
An awe-struck Chris Klein said he was amazed but not surprised: "It's one thing to be aware enough to realize that Kevin Hartman was up the field, it's another thing to be on our half of the field, and strike a ball as clean as [Beckham] does,"
"He does it 10, 15 times a day anyway, so no one's really surprised, but it was still a brilliant goal."
The long-range effort was Beckham's fourth goal of the season and his team now sits atop the Western Conference with their second straight win.
For those of you that have been living under a rock, full-time celebrity and some-time footballer David Beckham has been in Australia for the past week in preparation for the exhibition match between his club side LA Galaxy and A-League's Sydney FC.
The match took place last night at the Telstra Stadium in front of a packed house of 80,295 spectators all there to see one thing: Beckham magic.
And the former England captain duly delivered in the first-half stoppage time when he curled home a trademark free-kick. Although unable to prevent his team from succumbing to a 5-3 defeat by the home side, his fans were happy to see their idol deliver some magic on Australian soil.
It appears the round trip around the world coupled with playing a handful of tough matches with an ankle at less than 100% has finally caught up with the 32 year-old David Beckham.
The England star suffered a sprained knee during the SuperLiga final against Pachuca when he went in for a tackle with Pachuca midfielder Fernando Salazar and limped off in the 30th minute. The Galaxy, without their talisman, eventually lost 4-3 on penalties.
"I went into the tackle a little light because of my ankle and tried to compensate for that," Beckham said. "I'd been better off not doing it at all."
"It's just gone from one thing to another thing,'' he added. "Maybe it's time for me to just say, 'I need the rest,' and get it right and don't come back until it's right.''
Sprained knee injuries typically rules a player out for 4-6 weeks, which means Beckham will surely miss the crucial Euro 2008 double qualifiers against Israel at Wembley on Saturday 8 September and then Russia four days later.
His presence will be sorely missed by both England and LA Galaxy.
Former England captain David Beckham scored in his first start for his new club - the LA Galaxy - against DC United in the Superliga competition.
Returning from an ankle injury first sustained in early June while on international duty, Beckham duly delivered for his legion of admirers with a trademark free-kick when McTavish fouled Carlos Pavon from 25 yards out.
In typical Hollywood fashion, up stepped 'Goldenballs' to curl a free-kick over the wall and into the top left-hand corner of the goal with United keeper Troy Perkins rooted to the spot.
The crowd went wild and so did his team-mates including goalkeeper Joe Cannon who ran half the field to offer his congratulations to his new captain.
In the second half, Beckham tore apart DC United with a defence splitting pass to Landon Donovan for Galaxy's second goal of the evening before being withdrawn to a standing ovation from the Galaxy faithful on the 63rd minute.
After the game, Beckham was quick to praise his team-mates for their collective effort.
"It was a great team performance tonight. We showed a lot of character to play like we did. I didn't expect to last an hour, but it felt great after 10 minutes into the game. My confidence grew." he said.
When quizzed about his surprise captaincy, Beckham was quick to acknowledge the honour and thanked his team-mate and now ex-captain Landon Donovan for his kind gesture.
"I'm very honoured that he felt the need to give me the armband and that he felt it would lift the team," said Beckham.
Donovan happily relinquished the captaincy in consultation with manager Frank Yallop and said that it was only natural to hand over the armband given Beckham's leadership and experience from his time as England captain.
"I told him that if he was ready for it, I thought it was appropriate that he wear it and that I thought it would help us right now." Donovan said.
Beckham's next game will be against New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
There was no way MLS side LA Galaxy would waste the opportunity of updating their away kit to coincide with the arrival of superstar David Beckham and here it is.
The cutting and design of the away kit mirrors the home kit but is finished off in a dark blue colour with yellow stripes. The name and number printing on the back is white.
Who else thinks this colour combination actually looks better than the home kit?
While David Beckham signalled his arrival in US Major League Soccer with a 16-minute appearance for LA Galaxy against Chelsea over the weekend, the club's marketing division has switched on the turbocharger with Beckham plastered all over the official website (which has received a make-over) and club merchandise.
The arrival of the global icon has even prompted a switch of jerseys to include new home and away kits with design inputs from the man himself!
The home kit is in white, blue and yellow - the collar and the famous three stripes of kit manufacturer Adidas in navy blue and yellow around the neck-line and stripes.
The man himself decked out in the new home kit
The club's sponsor is Herbalife with the club's redesigned logo (to coincide with Beckham's arrival, of course) on the right.
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