Beckham was born in London on May 2, 1975, the same year Pele came to the U.S. Beckham was signed by English power Manchester United at age 16 and played for the club until 2003, when he was sold to Real Madrid for $41 million.
He was one of five "galacticos" acquired by the nine-time European champion, the other global stars in Madrid being Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos of Brazil, Zinedine Zidane of France and Luis Figo of Portugal.
Despite its star power, Real Madrid has struggled in the last four years, winning nothing during Beckham's time with the club, and this season Beckham has spent far more time on the sideline than on the field.
Joining MLS will make him that much richer, but just what impact he will have on the Galaxy, MLS and the sport as a whole remains to be seen. Some clues were offered Thursday:
* The club already is making plans for a spring 2008 tour of Asia, where Beckham has a massive following.
* Leiweke said that English Premier League champion Chelsea will play the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in Carson this summer. He said the Galaxy would not move any of its games from the 27,000-seat venue, even though Beckham's debut could attract a much larger crowd to the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl.
* The Galaxy will sport a new logo and a new look when the season opens in April. "We will, absolutely, market the Galaxy brand as a world brand," Leiweke said.
* In addition to its league schedule and U.S. Open Cup matches, the Galaxy will also do a tour of potential MLS expansion cities, using Beckham as a vehicle to gauge fan interest.
Said Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop, in Indianapolis for today's MLS draft: "It will be interesting to see how our players react to the media attention they're going to get."
A word of caution about the Beckham signing came from Fire Coach Dave Sarachan, assistant on the 2002 U.S. World Cup team.
"I think it's a huge lift for soccer in America and the league," he said. "The stir he creates, that's the obvious answer. I think we have to step back for a moment and realize he's one player."
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\o7Times staff writer Jerry Crowe contributed to this report.
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grahame.jones@latimes.com
