CARSON, Calif. – David Beckham may not be suiting for Team Great Britain when they take the field, but that does not mean that the Galaxy midfielder will not play some role in the 2012 Summer Games.
After the Galaxy’s training session on Thursday, Beckham fielded questions on his Olympic snub for the first time since the announcement on June 28th. During a majority of a nine minute interview, Beckham fielded questions about his role in the Olympics and his feelings after on the decision that Team GB manager Stuart Pearce had decided to leave him home.
While the 37-year-old midfielder admitted that his role in the London Games is an evolving one—that may cause him to miss the MLS All-Star game—Beckham refuted speculation that he would light the Olympic torch and that he could be considered as a late injury substitution for the Olympic side.
Beckham’s thoughts below:
(On his Olympic participation schedule…)
BECKHAM: “I’ve been speaking to Seb Coe and a few other people about what I’m going to be doing. It’s yet to be decided, but I will be a part of it in some way. It’s not out there yet, but we have talked about a few things. “
(On potentially missing the All-Star Game…)
BECKHAM: “At the moment, I don’t know, I’m obviously very proud to have been picked for the All-Star team which is something that I’ve enjoyed in the past and hopefully I can be there. But obviously, with Olympic commitments, I don’t know yet. I hope that I can be there.”
(On lighting the Olympic torch…)
BECKHAM: “Yeah, I’ve always said that lighting the torch in the stadium is something that should be done by an Olympian and an Olympian that has done incredible things for our country and won gold medals and I’m sure whoever decides that will be an Olympian, but we have to wait and see."
(On whether participation in the games gives him some solace on not making team GB…)
BECKHAM: “No. Obviously, I’m very proud to be an ambassador and I’ve been for the years that have led up to this. Getting the Olympics is one of the proudest to be involved in, to be involved in the bid team was an incredible moment and then all the talk of me possibly performing in an Olympics would have been a very proud moment for me. But everyone knows about how proud I am of representing my country and to do it in my home town, on such a big stage would have been incredible so, of course, I’m disappointed, but life goes on. My family is healthy; I’m pretty healthy so at the end of the day, I’ll be there to support the GB team. We’ve got some incredible athletes all the way through and in every event and it’ll be a proud moment to be there and to know that I was part of bringing the Olympics to the East End of London. I’m proud of that.
(On his conversations with childhood friend and former teammate Ryan Giggs, recently named captain of Team GB…)
BECKHAM: “Yeah, Ryan obviously has had such an amazing career with Manchester United and with the Welsh team. He might not have made a major competition, but for the amount of times that he played for Wales and the way that he’s represented Manchester United over the years, he deserves to be there and deserves to play in a big competition like this. It would have been great to be there with him because we have a lot of great memories of playing with Manchester United, but I hope he gets a gold medal.”
(On Pearce leaving the door open for Beckham as a late injury inclusion…)
BECKHAM: “I doubt that, I doubt that very much. Like I said, I’m going to be happy to be there as a fan above anything else in a part of London where I grew up and where I used to play soccer over the fields that have been changed now. As a fan an as an Englishman, I’m going to be very proud.”
(On his favorite Olympic events…)
BECKHAM: “There’s going to be a few events that I’m looking forward to. Obviously, basketball because I’ve become a basketball fan since I’ve moved here and obviously in Beijing when the U.S. won that, it was incredible to watch. But there are many other events, I’m looking to watch Jessica Anne Souza, who is an incredible athlete and the 100 meter [dash] is always an exciting event so I’ll be taking the kids to a few of them.
(On support that he’s received after he was not selected..)
BECKHAM: “I’ve had an incredible amount of support and obviously, I’d like to thank the British public more than anyone because of the support that they’ve given me, not just this moment, but throughout my career. The support has been incredible, the letters that I’ve got, the phone calls and of course that’s from fans, friends and everyone. People who care and know how disappointed that I am and I was, but like I said, life moves on and I hope that the GB team go to the Olympics and win as many medals and Gold Medals as possible.”
(On Pearce’s reasoning…)
BECKHAM: “You’re probably better off asking him. I’ve moved on and gotten over things and like I said hope that the GB team go to the Olympics and win as many medals and Gold Medals as possible.”
