Soccer just got a little bigger in the United States, thanks to the fabulous2 feet of one man: David Beckham.
The sport’s most famous talent created a huge splash3 in January with the announcement that he would join Major League Soccer4. Beckham will play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, one of 13 teams in this country’s most prominent5 soccer league.
Few athletes in the world are as distinguished as Beckham, whose true gift is an almost unmatched ability to strike precision free kicks6 and corner kicks7. He directed England during three World Cups, 1998, 2002 and 2006. He captained the team during those last two.
Playing the Big Stage
Through the years, Beckham also wowed8 audiences for two of the globe’s most famous clubs: England’s famed Manchester United and, later, Spain’s equally famed Real Madrid. Both clubs are among the giants of European soccer, and both have claimed the biggest prizes available. But Beckham is a global phenomenon not just because he’s a fantastic midfielder. He has combined those game-breaking free kicks and pinpoint9 crosses10 with a movie star’s lifestyle off the field.
While sports fans may know about his substantial11 skills, nonsoccer fans know about his good looks, his charisma12 and his fashion sense. Still others might know about his talented wife, Victoria, who flourished13 a few years back in the pop group The Spice Girls.
“Obviously, this is a very, very memorable day in the history of sports,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said on the day Beckham made his announcement. “Not just in our league, but in the history of sports.”
Big Talent, Big Bucks
The occasion was momentous not only because Beckham has such a recognizable face. Eye-popping14 dollar figures also helped create front-page headlines across the country. Beckham’s salary and other payments will total about $250 million over five years.
That’s about $50 million a year. By comparison, the next highest paid athlete in American professional team sports, baseball’s Alex Rodriguez, makes about $25 million a year for the New York Yankees.
Major League Soccer officials were willing to pay so much because they believe Beckham can generate unprecedented15 publicity16 for the 12-year-old league. They believe he can help fill soccer stadiums now opening across the country, such as the brand-new17 facilities in Denver and Chicago, or the two-year-old stadium just outside of Dallas.
“We know that many people will come to their first soccer game and, in our case, to their first Galaxy game, just to see David Beckham,” Los Angeles Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas said.
Legendary Kicks
Beckham has supplied some famous goals, like the 60-yard wonder he launched in 1996 during an English Premier League contest playing for Manchester United.
Two years after that, at 23 years old, Beckham was patrolling18 the midfield for England during the World Cup in France. There, the world learned of his specialty:19 the free kick. Beckham’s ability to lift the ball over—or bend it around—defensive walls became so legendary20 that it inspired21 the title of a popular 2002 movie, “Bend it Like Beckham.”
“There is nobody in the league that you’d rather have standing over a free kick22,” said John Ellinger, coach of the MLS’a Real Salt Lake in Utah.
Questions Abound23
Not everyone is excited about Beckham’s arrival in the MLS. Some believe he is already too old to be truly effective. Others fear they have seen too much attention damage the game before and prefer not to see history repeated.
Back in 1975 legendary Brazilian striker Pele was lured from retirement to play soccer in the United States. He joined the New York Cosmos, the most visible team in the old North American Soccer League.
Pele helped generate a fantastic wave of excitement, just as Beckham is doing today. He helped attract crowds of more than 70,000 in New York. But other teams wanted their own big stars and began trying to outspend each other. Many went broke in the process, and the league collapsed in 1984.
MLS leaders say the sport has achieved far greater stability since then and say they are certain that Beckham can only enhance24 the game’s appeal25 here.
New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol says Beckham’s arrival will inspire younger soccer stars to join MLS, and says that will improve the quality of the game and make it even more popular in the United States.
“When one star comes over, others are more willing to give it a try,” Nicol said. “Hopefully, there are more Beckhams to come.”
贝克汉姆以其出神入化的脚下功夫，促成了足球在美国的进一步发展。
1月份，这位足坛最著名的天才球员宣布加入美国职业足球大联盟，从而引发巨大的轰动。贝克汉姆将效力于美国最著名的13只足球俱乐部之一的洛杉矶银河队。
当今世上极少有像贝克汉姆这样杰出的运动员，他真正的天赋在于其无与伦比的、精准的角球和任意球能力。他在1998、2002和2006年三次世界杯赛期间，参与了英格兰队的指导工作，还是后两次世界杯赛英格兰队队长。
登上大舞台
这些年，让广大球迷感到钦佩的是，贝克汉姆先后效力于两个世界上最知名的足球俱乐部：先是英格兰著名的曼联队，后是同样著名的西班牙皇马队。这两家俱乐部都是欧洲足球界的巨人，获得过所有重大奖项。但是，贝克汉姆成为一种国际现象不是因为他是个极好的中场球员，而是因为他将打破比赛僵局的任意球以及准确的横传球同球场外电影明星的生活方式结合了起来。
球迷看重的是他高超的球艺，而非球迷看重的是他的英俊相貌、超凡魅力和时尚感觉，另外一些人看重他才华横溢的妻子、几年前风靡一时的“辣妹组合”中的“漂亮辣妹”维多利亚。
“很显然，这是体育运动史上非常非常值得纪念的一天，”大联盟总裁唐·贾伯在贝克汉姆宣布他的决定那天这样说。“不仅在我们联盟内部，而且在整个运动史上。”
艺高价昂
这是一个重大的时刻，不仅仅因为贝克汉姆拥有一张如此熟悉的脸，令人瞠目的美元数字也成为整个美国报刊的头版头条：贝克汉姆五年内的工资以及其他收入加起来大约2亿5千万美元。
这大约是每年5千万美元，相比较而言，收入排在第二的是美国职业团体运动棒球球员纽约杨基队的阿莱克斯·罗德里格斯，年收入为2千5百万美元。
美国足球大联盟官员愿意支付如此高的薪酬是因为他们相信贝克汉姆能够为这个只有12年历史的联盟带来前所未有的知名度，他们相信他能够招徕观众，填满遍布美国的新建运动馆，比如丹佛和芝加哥崭新的体育设施以及达拉斯郊外刚建成两年的体育馆。
“我们知道，很多人第一次去看足球比赛，或者就我们的情况而言，去看银河俱乐部的比赛，仅仅是为了去看贝克汉姆，”洛杉矶银河俱乐部总经理阿列克斯·拉拉斯这样说。
经典传球
贝克汉姆贡献了几次著名的进球，其一是1996年英格兰超级联赛期间他为曼联队进的那粒60码的奇妙进球。
两年后，23岁的贝克汉姆在法国世界杯期间为英格兰队镇守中场。就在那儿，全世界见识了他的专长：任意球。他能够将皮球开起，越过或者绕过防守人墙，他的传奇进球成就了2002年的一部流行影片：《我爱贝克汉姆》。
“在整个联盟中，你不会让其他任何人来罚任意球的，”大联盟尤他皇家盐湖城队教练约翰·艾林格说。
问题多多
贝克汉姆登陆大联盟并不是令每个人都欢欣鼓舞的，有人认为他已经太老，不会真正发挥作用；其他一些人目睹过明星效应给足球运动带来的伤害，他们为此担忧，不希望历史重演。
早在1975年，巴西传奇中锋贝利经不住诱惑，退役来到美国踢球，他加入纽约宇宙队，这是原北美足球联盟最引人注目的一支球队。
就像今天的贝克汉姆一样，贝利掀起了一股激动人心的浪潮，在纽约他帮助吸引来7万多的人潮。但是，其他的队也要引进自己的大牌球星，开始比着大把地花钱，结果很多球队破产了，联盟于1984年解体。
大联盟领导层说，这项运动从那时开始已经取得了更大的稳定性，他们相信贝克汉姆只会加强足球这项运动在美国的吸引力。
新英伦革命队教练史蒂夫·尼科尔说，贝克汉姆的到来会激发更年轻的足球明星加入美国足球联盟，从而改善球赛的质量，使其更受美国人的欢迎。
“当一个球星过来，其他的也会愿意来尝试一下，”尼科尔说。“但愿有更多的贝克汉姆来美国踢球。”
1. Woccer: world soccer
2. fabulous adj. 令人难以置信的；令人惊异的
3. splash n. 骚动
4. Major League Soccer 美国职业足球大联盟
5. prominent adj. 卓越的、突出的
6. free kick: 任意球
7. corner kick: 角球
8. wow [wau] v. 使惊叹, 使佩服
9. pinpoint adj. 精确的
10. cross: 横传球
11. substantial adj. 很多的; 重要的
12. charisma n. 超凡魅力
13. flourish v. 活跃、繁荣
14. eye-popping: 使人瞠目的
15. unprecedented adj. 空前的
16. publicity n. 宣传；推广；广告
17. brand-new: 崭新的
18. patrol v. 巡逻；巡查
19. specialty n. 专长、特长
20. legendary adj. 传奇的
21. inspire v. 激发、引起
22. stand over a free kick 罚任意球
23. abound v. 有许多；大量
24. enhance v. 提高
25. appeal n. 吸引力