Beckham Offering Crossing Clinic for MLS Players

David Beckham, the greatest crosser of the ball the game has ever seen. If only he would teach other MLS players just how he crosses the ball so well…

Yes, David Beckham has a Masterclass and of course it’s for crossing the ball.

After forging an iconic career at Manchester United and Real Madrid, David Beckham spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy and became the epicenter of Major League Soccer from 2007-2012. Here are all 18 of his goals he scored for the Galaxy, in order, featuring some classic free kicks and long-range strikes.

With all the time-off David Beckham will have when the AC Milan season ends on May 31st, and before he’s due back with the LA Galaxy, representatives said that he’s going to run a soccer camp for various MLS teams, with a focus on crossing. It was either that or spend time with Tom Cruise or Manny Ramirez while he’s in LA.

Beckham will play for England on June 6 in their World Cup qualifier versus Kazakhstan and then again on June 10 versus Andorra. But there’s a long break before he’s able to play for the Galaxy and England doesn’t play again until they face the Netherlands in a friendly on August 12.

The roughly month and half long break gives him enough time to fit in three crossing clinics for a few MLS teams. Specifically, MLS teams with outside midfielders who are having trouble whipping the ball into the box.

Here are the tentative dates Beckham has set for his crossing clinic. Some players might have to pass a crossing fundamentals exam before being able to attend his crossing clinic:

  • June 19 and 20 – Dallas
  • June 26 and 27 – Seattle
  • July 3 and 4 – Columbus

Before Beckham returns to LA he’ll take a short vacation with Posh and the boys, but then he’ll return to the LA area to organize the clinics. He will train with the Galaxy but run the clinics on the weekends when he’s not playing in the games.

“I enjoy running camps and would often help out with clinics while I was with Manchester United,” Beckham said.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything but the quality of crossing in the MLS is terrible, so I want to do what I can to help out. This is really more for youth players who are watching games on TV though. They don’t have any crossing role models in the MLS, or won’t once I leave,” he added.

Beckham was forced to wait to rejoin the MLS until the international transfer window opens on July 15, so he misses the 17 games of the 30-game 2009 MLS season. Becks first game for the LA Galaxy will be on July 25 at Kansas City.

He may also run some clinics after the Galaxy season finishes, since he’ll have to wait until January and the opening of the next international transfer period before he’s able to rejoin AC Milan.

“I still want to get LA into the playoffs before I leave,” Beckham said. “But if I want to play in the World Cup with England, then I can’t play in the MLS, I have to play in Europe.”

Becks said he also wanted to run the clinics to continue in his role as an ambassador for US soccer and the MLS. He hasn’t given up on the league just yet he said. Plus, what with Posh busy in the fashion industry, he needed to find something else to do on his free weekends.

He’s offering a discount for players who are making the league minimum and for those who are under 18. He’s also waiving the clinic fee for some players just cause they really need the help. He won’t name names though Beckham said. There are a few Galaxy players who have received invitations though.

Living legends Paolo Maldini and Ryan Giggs may join Beckham for a few of the clinics. Beckham has teamed up with with two sponsors for the clinics: Adidas and an unnamed Internet company. They’re branding the clinics, ‘Bend it Like Beckham 3.0’.


This article should really have been posted on April 1st, but the truth is, Beckham should run a few crossing clinics for MLS players. Especially when he can whip a ball into the box like the one in the video below.

This was when he was playing for Real Madrid and the only Ronaldo around that mattered was the Brazilian one. Take a look at how Beckham crosses the ball perfectly to Ronaldo.

Update: Beckham has of course retired from the game and is now trying to buy an MLS team, but still, we wish this was true and he actually would run some crossing clinics.