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The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America |  | Author: Grant Wahl
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 50707
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3340969
ASIN: B002DOSBMA
Publication Date: June 17, 2009
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Product Description
In 2007, David Beckham, the golden boy of soccer, shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Under the direction of his manager, Simon Fuller, the mastermind behind American Idol and the Spice Girls, Beckham was ready for a monumental challenge and a risky adventure–ready, as Fuller put it, to earn his stripes Stateside. Could he pull off what no player had ever accomplished (including Pelé in the 1970s) and transform soccer into one of the most popular spectator sports in America? It was a bold experiment: failure meant a team, a league, a sport, and Beckham himself might miss their chance to hit primetime in the U.S.
With unprecedented access to the Galaxy and one-on-one interviews with Beckham, veteran Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl focuses on the inner circle of the experiment: Beckham, Galaxy leading scorer Landon Donovan, Simon Fuller, controversial former coach Ruud Gullit, outspoken former Galaxy president Alexi Lalas, and Mrs. Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham. Wahl takes readers behind the scenes, on the road with the team and inside the locker room, to reveal just what happened on and off the field when the most renowned player in the world left the glamour of European soccer to play in a country that has yet to fully embrace the sport. We find out what his teammates really think of their superstar captain, who was calling the shots behind the scenes, how Beckham’s management conducted a shadow takeover of the Galaxy organization, and if the team plans to embrace him–or not–when he returns from AC Milan for the 2009 season.
The Beckham Experiment is a no-holds-barred account of ego clashes and epic winless streaks, rivalries and resentments, big gambles and great expectations, cultural and class collisions, and ultimately the volatile mix of celebrity and professional sports. As Beckham embarks on his third season with the Galaxy, the question remains: even for a player the caliber of David Beckham, are some goals out of reach?
From the Hardcover edition.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 31
Great reading, but warning about the Kindle edition June 14, 2010
Zinc Saucier (Washington, DC)
This is a very crisply written book. I've always been an admirer of Wahl's, but worried about his transition to longform writing. This book, though, is fantastic. Some of these characters really open up, and he keeps a close eye on the progression of this "experiment."
My only qualm is that I held out on buying this version on my Kindle for the afterword in the paperback edition, which sadly is not included with the electronic version. A 5-star review is in order if that is ever remedied.
Regardless, the excellent author should not be held at fault for such an omission. Kudos to him.
 As close as we will ever come to understanding the MLS and LA Galaxy January 15, 2010
mj (Silicon Valley, CA United States)
If I could meet Grant Wahl, I would fall to the ground, do the "I'm not worthy" mantra, and thank him for writing this book. I am afraid that no writer will ever again be allowed the kind of access he had, and tell us where our sports entertainment dollar is going. And also, where it is NOT going, i.e., to 90% of the MLS players. Wahl also covers the behind the scenes machinations by Tim Leiweke and Beckham's handlers, the monumental mistakes Alexi Lalas made, and the business side of the MLS.
The only aspect of the book that I did not like was Wahl's frequent quotes from forums on [...]. That was the weakest part of his reporting, because not only are the opinions on bigsoccer mostly meaningless, but I think 80% of the participants don't even buy tickets to MLS games.
I am so glad the book came out so quickly after Beckham's debut, so that we didn't have to wait 10 years to hear a cleaned up version of history. The flip side of that is-- the Beckham Experiment is not over. And there may be a lot more MLS experiements to come, as the league increasingly opts for, as Wahl describes it, players of exorbitant incomes and players of my-real-job-is-cleaning-pools incomes, with no middle class inbetween.
Great Insight in to American (MLS) Soccer January 14, 2010
Samuel B. Petite (Seattle, Washington)
This book did a great job of describing the USA's soccer league, MSL or Major League Soccer. It further described how David Beckham fit in to it and changed it. As a season ticket holder for the Seattle Sounders, I thought the insight in to MSL was very interesting. I have read many books on soccer and come across almost zero information on the MSL. The author was very objective concerning everything and everybody he discussed.
The book was more about those affected by Beckham before and after he came along than it is about Beckham himslf. There was great insight on Landon Donovan.
I was never a Beckham fan to begin with. After reading this book, I was left feeling that he is quite a pitiful person.
If the book was focused on a more impressive player such as Donovan, I would have given the book 5 stars.
Great Read by the Best American Soccer Writer December 18, 2009
Laurence Zimmerman (Maryland, United States)
This book is not so much about Beckham (there are many biographies and even a few autobiographies about him) as it is about the surrounding cast. The one person with whom Grant did not speak with was Terry Byrne and thus it is hard to really know how much David knew or approved of in regards to moves made by the Galaxy.
Needless to say, after gracing the pitches of Old Trafford and the Santiago Bernabeu, coming to the Home Depot Center was always going to be a let down for David. Southern California offers him the sunshine of Madrid, without all of the pressure of having to win every single game. However as a world-class footballer, naturally David is very competitive and thus playing away games in Kansas City or Denver or passing to Alan Gordon or Edson Buddle does not give him the same satisfaction that away days at Anfield or the Camp Nou or passes to Ruud Van Nistelrooy did and Ronaldo(the Brazilian one) did. When Beckham signed with MLS he thought that his England career was over and thus determined that it was time to come to America. He would have been better of waiting until after the 2010 World Cup, when he England career will certainly be over.
Best sports book of the year! November 29, 2009
Jared M (New Zealand)
I have to confess that I don't read many sports books - and those I do read tend to be biographies of cricket/rugby players, with a sprinkling of football (soccer) books thrown in. Those books don't tend to be anything special. But "The Beckham Experiment" has to be hands down the best sports book I've read. Not only is it about Beckham the football player, but it is also about Beckham the brand - a combination of sports and business. This had the potential to be off putting for a sports fan, but the author has done a fantastic job of combining these two elements of the Beckham Experiment, writing a readily accessible and enjoyable read of Beckham's ill fated dabble in the MLS.
Beckham's move to the US was always going to be either a spectacular success or a spectacular failure, and quite clearly by mid 2009 it is the latter. I can't claim to be a devoted follower of football, but I was certainly aware of Beckham's move to the Galaxy. But until I read this book, I had no real knowledge of the MLS - Wahl has done a good job of introducing the workings of the MLS without impacting on the pace of the story. There is also consideration given to the politics and business decisions that can be involved in the running of a football club. The involvement of big business (AEG) in Beckham's shift to the Galaxy is not surprising - but the degree of manipulation and control over the management of the team is quite astonishing. Right from the start, it is readily apparent that signing with the Galaxy also represented a skillful business move by Beckham and his advisers.
Wahl has delved deep into the personalities in the team in the course of preparing this book, and has done a warts and all expose. There is some fingerpointing here - but Wahl is reasonable in his criticism, and puts a good case forward as to why just about everyone needs to take some responsibility for the fiasco that resulted during the LA Galaxy's campaign in the 2007 and particularly the 2008 season. One of the most surprising relevations from the book is Ruud Gullit's performance as a coach. I was astonished that he appears to have little idea what he was doing, and was unable to adjust to the US scene. I felt some sympathy for the players - I guess I fell victim to the general perception that as professional sportsmen in a first world country, they would be well paid, which as it transpires is not the case for the majority of the players. This is one of the highlights of the book - the perspectives of some of the lesser lights in the team on Beckham, and the impact he had on the team.
This book has everything going for it - a superstar football player, a team falling apart, outspoken former associates of the team, all skillfully put together in a totally enjoyable - and easy (I read this in the course of a weekend) - read. Easily the best sports book I've ever read, and probably one of the best books of the year for me. Recommended to anyone interested in football, learning about the MLS, and the global phenomenon that is David Beckham.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 31
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