Something For The MLS To Think About

The MLS might want to read this post before they get themselves too carried away with their massive marketing blitz promoting their new toy, David Beckham.

From the AP:

Real Madrid put commercial exploitation of players like David Beckham above success on the field, former Brazil international Roberto Carlos said.

"They have used David a great deal, to a point where David sold more shirts than played soccer," Roberto Carlos told The Associated Press in an interview. "I don't like it when my friends get used. Slowly this activity has undermined and tired us."

And this comment is from a teammate who actually thinks very highly of Beckham.

"In my opinion, he is among the five or six best players in the world and the best free kick taker," Roberto Carlos said. "For me, David Beckham will always be a legend ... everything David represents for soccer, as an example to children, is reserved for very few people."

Okey dokey there good buddy. Calm down. You like him. We get it.

So the question now becomes will the MLS choose a similar path (commercial exploitation) and risk creating similar ill-will amongst their players? As was stated in the Herald in early March, it's looking quite a bit like that's exactly what they are planning:

"Dynamics exist within every team and every locker room and I am not naive to this fact," [Galaxy general manager Alexi] Lalas said. "This is a very unique situation we are going into, and I think how our players react to it and how David faces it will go a long way to how successful we are on the field. There are realities to the situation and every player wants to make as much money as possible, regardless of where they are playing or how old they are.

"I've challenged the players and told them this is a great opportunity to be in this spotlight that is shining on David Beckham and on the Galaxy. And if they honestly believe they can be as good as the best players in the world, here's the opportunity to show it. I would love to be challenged and have the spotlight on me on a consistent basis. I'd want to be the player that scores three goals, the player that heads home Beckham's first corner kick, the player who gets taken down for his first free kick, to be a part of the team that wins its first game with Beckham."

If you were a top player in the MLS, wouldn't this make you want to bury Beckham, rather than help him? Alexi and the rest of the MLS needs to get a grip. They are going to piss a lot of good players off if they keep talking like that. I mean who wants to be known as "the player who did this for Beckham" or "the player who did that with Beckham"? I would think that players that consider themselves to be good would find that more insulting than enticing.

It sounds to me like the MLS is already headed down the same slippery slope that Real Madrid followed and Beckham hasn't even played a game for them yet. How much damage might it cause? Can they afford it? Or will they realize that they are playing with fire and back it down a notch before it can get out of hand?