Lalas Speaks Out On Galaxy, Beckham

Three months after being dismissed as the Los Angeles Galaxy’s president and general manager, Alexi Lalas chose a very public setting – ESPN2 - to describe exactly what he thinks is wrong with the franchise. Speaking with Rob Stone as part of the pre-game show for Thursday’s playoff clash between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution, Lalas fielded a question from Rob Stone about the problems that plagued the Galaxy all season and what can be done to fix them.
“I’m a little hesitant to talk about it because I don’t want it to appear self-serving or bitter,” he began with a grin. “I believe in accountability and I believe in responsibility, and as the president and GM, regardless of what the circumstances were, I’m responsible for it. I paid the ultimate price and I accept that.

“I think that [Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena] needs to make one of those guys captain,” suggested Lalas. “You need to send a message that nobody is bigger than the club, whether you’re David Beckham or whether you’re Tristan Bowen, an 18-year-old coming into the club. Everybody has to understand that it’s the team first.

“If I regret anything, it’s that I recognized that early on and I probably didn’t do enough in order to correct that situation.”

Having accepted the bulk of the blame for the Galaxy’s recent downturn in results, Lalas went on to another hot topic, David Beckham and his recently-announced short-term loan to AC Milan.

“When you talk about David Beckham, it’s about so much more than what he is on the field, for better or worse. The reality is, he’s going to do whatever it takes to play with the [England] national team. That’s fine. I was a little disappointed with the way that it all came down with him and his folks. I mean, hello, a courtesy telephone call, a little bit of respect to call the coach so that [Arena] knows what’s going on, knows that you’re being shopped around. But sometimes the tail wags the dog.”