CARSON, Calif. – Facing an in-form FC Dallas side was always going to be difficult for LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, but stricken with an illness less than a day before kickoff, the task became that much more difficult.
But Beckham handled the illness in stride as he put in an effective 78 minute shift as the LA Galaxy were able to defeat FC Dallas, 2-0 on Sunday at The Home Depot Center. Although Beckham battled through the illness, he admitted after the match that it was certainly not easy.
“After an hour of sleep, throwing up all night it’s never easy, but two of the kids are the same so I just got through it,” Beckham told a Galaxy spokesman following the match. “I think at the end of the day I played almost 80 minutes and I didn’t feel great, but the important part was the three points.”
The illness did not appear to hobble Beckham too greatly as while he was unable to create much in the way of attack, he was vital for the Galaxy on the defensive end of the ball. Facing off against a Dallas midfield trio of Julian de Guzman, David Ferreira and Andrew Jacobson, Beckham and midfield partner Juninho were able to silence the FCD midfield en route to the victory.
This performance led to considerable praise from Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena after the match.
“David was a little sick. There’s a virus going around that he caught, and for David to hang in there was outstanding,” Arena said in the postgame press conference. “Great leadership on his part, he was really not feeling well today.”
When asked if the illness was the reason that Beckham took off for the locker room after giving way for Michael Stephens in the 78th minute, Arena was quick to affirm, albeit in a joking manner.
“Yeah,” said Arena. “We wanted him to stop puking on the field. He’d ruin the surface.”
Although it was a difficult match for the English midfielder, Beckham was pleased with the way that the Galaxy were able to see out FC Dallas and head into an important CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday against the Puerto Rico Islanders.
“Obviously it was an important win just because they were in good form and they were coming up close,” said Beckham. “We knew that they were playing well and we needed to be on form. It wasn’t the prettiest of games that we’ve played, but I think three points was a big one today.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider
