Beckham meets the Chivas USA

By: Alex | August 29th, 2007

WHAT A DERBY!

Well, I typically don’t condone an all out brawl on the pitch but I think there was a lot of good that came out of this one.

Jesse Chan. Beckham has one major flaw being over here in MLS, and it is not his own doing. He is bigger than the league. Referees all over the world have trouble with stars, what to call, what not. I think it will be a while before the whistle is blown on him. Not his fault, but this is what resulted.

March is never innocent, but those who were watching the game closely saw the challenge that took place seconds before the Beckham kick. It started out as a 50/50 shoulder challenge, and then Becks kept going. It went from a 50/50 to a hip check and then Becks steamrolled the guy. Granted, it wasn’t a horrible foul and did not warrant a card, but it fired up Jesse and rightfully so.

I still don’t recommend retaliation such as a kick towards the waist, but it was what it was. a foul. Had it been unprovoked, it would have received a red, but the ref saw it all, and maybe he thought, “I should have called something earlier”. So the yellow came out, deservedly.

As long as refs handle Becks with special gloves, this will repeat itself. Hopefully the officials will realize this.

Battle of LA. The melee that followed is the best thing that happened to the Super Classico. What better way to get fired up over a derby than a brawl. For those 5 minutes, Galaxy actually looked like they cared about playing soccer and the rivalry between the two clubs. This alone will bring people to future Super Classicos.

Super Harmse. What’s the deal? Who throws a punch in an MLS match? I am surprised the officials caught it, but they did, and they did the right thing. But the good thing is that he provoked the next best thing to that match.

Zinedine Zotinca. What a way to cap the night off. A head butt. This is my favorite part of the match. For starters, Zotinca is the man. Second, what better way to remind the people whose last time watching soccer was Zidane in the World Cup. Soccer is passion. That is what this Derby is all about.

Chivas USA did us all so proud. It was a huge landmark for the team. I anticipate that future matches will be good, fought hard and an exciting challenge for both teams.