It didn't take long for Alecko Eskandarian, one of the newest members of the Los Angeles Galaxy, to witness first-hand the prodigious talent of one of his newest teammates.
It was Monday at practice, and Eskandarian, recently acquired from Chivas USA, learned he never can take his eye off David Beckham if the English standout has the ball.
"He caught me flat-footed on a pass," Eskandarian said of Beckham, who is expected to play Thursday against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. "I thought he was going to take a touch, and he hit it perfectly the first time.
"He's obviously a quality passer and he sees plays ahead. He looked great."
The 34-year-old Beckham returned to Los Angeles on Monday and found himself caught in the middle of a raging storm spawned by a new book that strongly criticized his commitment to the Galaxy and MLS, but he told reporters he is anxious to move on and start playing. He gets his first chance on Thursday, which will mark his first regular-season appearance with the club since last Oct. 26, a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas in the 2008 regular-season finale.
He teammates, understandably, are eager to see what he can add to a team that is on a three-game winning streak, is tied for fourth in the Western Conference with a 5-3-9 record and is right in the thick of the playoff race.
"He fits right in," midfielder Chris Klein said. "He's a world-class player we're adding to this team, and at this point of the season it's very good."
Defender Todd Dunivan said Beckham, who had been on loan to AC Milan since January before taking a month-long break, can offer a lot.
"He's a great crosser of the ball and he can help us with possession a little bit," he said. "He can help us move forward. In the second half against Chivas (a 1-0 victory last Saturday), I think we got away from that a little bit. We haven't done ourselves any favors by not keeping the ball as much, and I think he'll be able to help with that.
"He's another skilled, talented player we're adding. We can pass through him ... he's another good option for us."
After training on Monday at The Home Depot Center, the Galaxy left for New York on Tuesday, where they will be taking on a Red Bulls (2-13-4) team that has fallen on hard times this season. They are on an 11-game winless streak (0-9-2) and have not won since a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on May 8. The Red Bulls, who begin a stretch in which they play six of their next seven games at home, are led by Juan Pablo Angel, who has six goals and one assist.
The Galaxy are playing the first game of a three-game road trip that continues with stops at Kansas City on July 25 and New England on Aug. 8. Aside from exhibitions at home against AC Milan on Sunday and at Pasadena's Rose Bowl against FC Barcelona on Aug. 1, the Galaxy won't play their next regular-season home game until Aug. 15 against Seattle.
Beckham should be fully acclimated by then, not that the Galaxy were expecting any problems with him or the distractions caused by the furor over the new book.
"It's an awkward situation," assistant coach Cobi Jones said, referring to the book. "But when it comes down to it, one of the positives of having a lot of veterans on the squad is they've seen stuff like this all the time. It's not something that's going to be distracting to the team.
"The overall mood in the lockerroom is pretty good. We have three wins in a row. Let's go to New York and get a fourth."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com
