Beckham makes most of his global influence

"That was one of the most rewarding trips I've ever done in my life," Beckham said in an interview last week. "It was a lot more satisfying than anything else. Obviously, there's a lot of devastation, but there's a lot of good work that is happening. I came away not happy but satisfied with everything that I'd seen that was going on.

"It was hard to see the malnutrition center and different children along the way and different families along the way, but it was great to see the great work that UNICEF is doing."

Beckham has made such journeys before, and they offer the ultimate contrast to other, more glamorous and glitzy trips he has taken during the MLS off-season.

And travel he has.

In the last five months, Beckham visited almost every continent. He has been to North America, to Europe, to Africa, to South America, to Australia, to Asia. He somehow managed to miss Antarctica.

"There's still time," he joked. "I was cold enough in New York last night, so I'm not sure I want to go to there."

The "last night" came last week when he was in New York at a swank black-tie affair with Pele. Sharp contrast to Sierra Leone, where most have to get by on a dollar a day and disease and hunger cause one out of four children to die before their fifth birthday.

It has been a frenetic five months for Beckham, part of it helping the Galaxy go global by playing exhibitions, part of it furthering the Beckham brand, and part of it humanitarian.

The soccer side of things drew mixed reviews. The Galaxy played in front of more than 80,000 in Sydney but only 10,000 in Shanghai. Australia was also where, in a sponsor-driven event, Beckham had the chance to compare his kicking game to that of some rugby league and Australian Rules football stars.

"I quite enjoyed that," he said. "To be able to kick one soccer ball, one rugby ball, one Australian Rules football right next to the Opera House and looking out at the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I got some great pictures from that."

In Brazil, Beckham helped launch a sports-themed luxury resort that will include his third academy, the David Beckham World of Sport, with a 10,000-seat stadium and eight soccer fields in the coastal resort of Natal, one of the cities that hopes to stage World Cup matches in 2014.

Does Brazil, a five-time world champion, really need help with soccer?