The Spotlight was on David Beckham’s Swollen Ankle, but it was Chelsea’s John Terry and his Broken Toe that Stole the Show
England’s Chelsea F.C. took on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a sold out exhibition game more highlighted for David Beckham’s debut rather than the talented Chelsea squad. After losing to the MLS All-Stars last year with his B squad, Chelsea head coach Jose Morniho came prepared to win with his A squad of world famous names.
Chelsea dominated the majority of the game with many chances up top consisting of wide shots. Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou were constant threats to the Galaxy defense. The Galaxy’s opportunities were few and far between, not too surprising with Chelsea’s stacked roster. However, with legendary Petr Cech in goal, the Galaxy would remain scoreless.
The unselfish passing style of Chelsea was top notch as expected and anyone who doubted their finesse were given a treat from Andriy Schevchenko and Salomon Kalou. Schevchenko would dish a beautiful give and go pass to Kalou setting up a beautiful across goal pass that was sadly called offside. However, this one play truly showed what separated the European powerhouse from the MLS team.
The focus of the game was obviously David Beckham who would enter the field in the seventy-seventh minute after nursing his swollen ankle. Cameras throughout the game flashed on either him and his unlaced shoe or his wife and her many Hollywood friends. Beckham’s first touch was a beautiful long ball over to the right half of the field barely being mishandled. Becks would go on to have a handful of other touches, with one bad one causing a turnover. The Galaxy fans had a scare as Beckham fell after a 50-50 clash with a Chelsea player. Luckily, Beckham was all smiles and would play the rest of the game.
The real highlight of the game was the Chelsea captain John Terry who won the game for Chelsea in the 48th minute, scoring the only goal of the game with a left footed, low rocket in the box, which nailed off the Galaxy’s right post to go in. While Beckham waited until the game was almost over to come in with his swollen ankle, John Terry chose to start with a broken toe on his right foot to be the same consistent force for Chelsea that he always is, further showing why he earned the captain status for England over top notch players like Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard. No one could doubt the heroic performance of John Terry as he went on to rightfully earn the Honda Player of the Game for the match.
Matthew D Hogan is a student of creative writing, with interests in sports and pop culture.
