David Beckham has been confirmed as part of the LA Galaxy squad which will travel to Australia to play Melbourne Victory on December 6.
David Beckham has been confirmed as part of the LA Galaxy squad which will travel to Australia to play Melbourne Victory on December 6.
Arguably the world’s most famous footballer, Beckham’s participation in the tour, which also takes in Indonesia and the Philippines, had been under a cloud due to an injury suffered in the lead-up to the MLS Cup final, plus conjecture about his playing future.
But the 36-year-old, who has represented England 115 times and played top flight football in England, Spain, Italy and the USA, is confirmed as one of the 27-man squad.
He is expected to overcome a hamstring injury which troubled him ahead of the MLS up win over Houston, while he is yet to confirm if he will be seeking a move elsewhere in the January transfer window.
A total of 27 of the 30 players that helped the Galaxy win MLS Cup 2011 last week will be a part of the tour, with injured trio Sean Alvarado, Chad Barrett and Leonardo left behind.
Beckham is joined by his championship winning team-mates Landon Donovan, who was also the MLS Cup MVP, Todd Dunivant, 2011 MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez, as well as Robbie Keane.
The first match of the tour is in Jakarta on Wednesday against Indonesia, while three days later they will face the Philippines.
They then head to Melbourne for their match against Victory at Etihad Stadium.
LA Galaxy squad:
GOALKEEPERS (3) – Brian Perk, Donovan Ricketts, Josh Saunders
DEFENDERS (8) – Gregg Berhalter, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Frankie Hejduk, Dasan Robinson, Ryan Thomas
MIDFIELDERS (12) – David Beckham, Chris Birchall, Paolo Cardozo, Landon Donovan, Hector Jimenez, Bryan Jordan, Juninho, Dan Keat, Jovan Kirovski, Mike Magee, Dustin McCarty, Michael Stephens
FORWARDS (4) – Adam Cristman, Robbie Keane, Miguel Lopez, Jack McBean
HEAD COACH – Bruce Arena
