CARSON, Calif. – After spending the first six weeks of the year training with EPL club Tottenham Hotspur, David Beckham has returned to the LA Galaxy.
Beckham participated in his first Galaxy training session of the year on Thursday, and though he did not play a match with Spurs, Beckham said his overall fitness is right on schedule.
“My main objective was to get fit for the Galaxy and for the MLS season," Beckham said after training. "My main objective wasn’t to play for a Premiership team. Even if I would have been on loan, even if I would have played the games, this is the time I was always going to come back.”
Beckham said at the end of the 2010 season that he intended to rest and would not seek a loan at a foreign club during the MLS offseason. However, after taking a few weeks off following a friendly in Australia at the end of November, the 35-year-old decided he needed to stay fit throughout the winter and admitted that he would have welcomed a loan move.
“If there was an option to play, I was going to take it," Beckham said. "But without a doubt, I 100 percent wanted to go somewhere and train and not take the three months and just sit around doing nothing. At this stage of my career, and especially after the injury I had, I realized it was more important to train than to sit on a beach.”
[inline_node:327883]Beckham said the decision was made jointly with Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena and AEG president Tim Leiweke. The Galaxy began preparations for the 2011 season while Beckham was still in England, but the midfielder remained at Spurs.
Beckham also missed a 10-day trip to Arizona.
“Speaking with Bruce and speaking at the level that the players came back at, at the end of January, it was sensible to continue the program I was doing at Spurs — only missing out on a few weeks with the lads here,” he said. “It was just important for my fitness, and for my level, that I continue there and come back fitter than I was last season.”
Beckham missed nearly six months after tearing his Achilles tendon while on loan with AC Milan early last year. The injury cost him the chance to play in the World Cup and also delayed his Galaxy return, but he was able to play 90 minutes before the postseason and helped the Galaxy reach the Western Conference Championship.
Still, he said it was vital to have spent time in England this past winter as he prepares for the 2011 season.
“Especially coming back from the injury, it was even more important to go somewhere and keep fit,” Beckham said. “Any Premiership team – especially a Premiership team in the top four – the quality and the intensity of their training was going to be good for me.”
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