David Beckham is probably the most famous Footballer in the World, but regardless he remains one of the classiest players of all. A true good guy of the game who works dam hard at his game and even at the age of 34 was still doing his stuff for Milan in the winters and for L.A. Galaxy in the summers chasing a place in the World Cup with England this summer. But today it all came crashing down when he snapped his Achilles in a game against Chievo and it will likely rule Beckham out for the better part of a year destroying his Milan season, World Cup hopes and his MLS 2010 season.

Stan Collymore of TalkSport has been Tweeting about the injury this evening and had the following to say thoughout the evening on his Twitter:

Achiles Tendon tear. Zero chance of WC. In my experience,a physio will tell you a bad rupture is around 10-12 months before you’re anywhere near fit to play. I think Becks will play again in the MLS just as a courtesy to Galaxy but it’s a very serious injury for a 35 year old. You can’t rule anything out but 10 months out,potential complications when back,secondary injuries etc IMO makes European club, international football virtually impossible.It’s an injury that virtually no player who’s had it,is ever the same. 21 you have a chance, 35, very difficult.

Feel your achiles.Do it now.(thick gristly rope that runs to your heel).Feel how thick it is.Imagine snapping itn two. Achiles when ruptured rides up the calf a lot of the time like cutting a tense elastic band.Surgeon stitches two ends back together.

No doubt Stan and the boys will be discussing this one further on TalkSport in the coming week.

Not many players at 34 will, would or could play year round Football in two leagues – one through the winter, one through the summer – with such dedication to try and make the World Cup for England. It isn’t like Beckham hasn’t been at the World Cup before and many similar players would have said their time had been and taken their big money and went to lie on a beach for the rest of their lives. Beckham however just loves the game regardless of his celebrity status and was willing to do what it took to impress England coach Fabio Capello and get picked for the squad.

Going by recent selection I think Beckham would indeed have made the squad but the debate of whether he should or shouldn’t be picked has suddenly ended and will become a debate on whether he would have or wouldn’t.

It’s hard to know whether this will end his career. An Achilles injury is tough to come back from and few players come back to be the same again. At 34 and with such a long recovery road ahead of him it wouldn’t come as a shock if he finally hung up the boots. Then again, this is Beckham and I likewise wouldn’t be surprised if he worked himself back to fitness and was able to play a year or two more out in America for L.A. One thing is almost certain, his European career is done. I wish him well on his recovery and although there isn’t much to take from such an injury, especially so close to the World Cup, I can only say at least he got to play one last time at Old Trafford just last week.

I sat up late last night as the MLS Cup game went into extra time, rooting for LA to come up with the goods and win the trophy. It would make for quite a story, Beckham returning from Milan this season as the villan only to help take his team to glory winning back the fans. In his third MLS season after joining the worst team in the league it would be quite the achievement for Backham’s CV, but it wasn’t to be and Salt Lake upset the odds to take the championship on penalties.

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Toronto FC’s season may be over for me but the MLS season is still running with the MLS cup down to its final four teams as of this past weekend. David Beckham and his La Galaxy are still in the hunt and take on Houston Dynamo in the Western Final while Real Salt Lake will play Chicago in the other final. The winners of course will meet in the MLS Cup Final. Should Beckham win it would certainly justify LA’s move to get him a few years ago as back then they were the worst team in the MLS. Beckham is taking it serious, he has just pulled out of the England Squad in order to play these big games.

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Toronto FC v Los Angeles Galaxy
6/6/09

I got hold of another ticket for the Saturday afternoon game and got down to the stadium good and early to not only take in the atmosphere but to take in a few burgers at the tail-gate party. The team had lost a couple of away games since my last visit but I was still optimistic they could turn it around in front of their own support. It was Los Angeles Galaxy in town minus David Beckham — he was still over in Europe having just finished his season with Milan and now playing World Cup qualifiers with England so without the big draw of ‘Golden Balls’ it probably made it easier for me to acquire a ticket. I didn’t mind whether he played or not and him not playing probably gave Toronto a better chance of winning.

Unfortunately they went behind early and never really recovered. Danny Dichio the fans favourite levelled the score but Los Angeles were the better team throughout and inevitably grabbed their winner.

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Have you ever been drunk in a pub and missed the last call and then went to the bar looking a final pint before hitting the road only to be told the bar was closed? Your mind recoils in horror as you scream at the bar man while eyeing the doormen out of the corner of your eye, waiting for them thugs in leather coats to grab you and toss you into the gutter like the drunk you are not. The barman doesn’t shift and refuses to open the bar up for your convenience and it disturbs you greatly. You scream gibberish in his face as he grows more disturbed, either with fear that you might have the potential to jump over the bar and use his eye lids to open a round of bottles for you and your friends or more than likely disturbed by your state. To get rid of you he can either call for the doormen to eject you from the bar by your head via the fire exit door or offer you a glass of water as an alternative.

The glass of water is the ultimate insult for what you really wanted and you choose to go out the door by your head! At about this time you realise how exactly the Los Angeles Galaxy are feeling when, in hoping for upward of $10-15-million dollars for David Beckham, they are offered $3-million by Milan.

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