By Simon Evans
SEATTLE, Nov 19 - David Beckham, one win away
from claiming the MLS title with L.A Galaxy, said on Thursday
that despite the troubles that have accompanied his time in the
United States he had never considered abandoning the team.
Beckham will line up against Real Salt Lake in Sunday's MLS
Cup final but his first two seasons in the U.S. saw little
success for the team and plenty of controversy.
The England midfielder's decision to miss the first half of
this season to complete a loan spell with AC Milan in Italy led
to Galaxy fans booing him on his return.
A book, released around the same time he returned to Los
Angeles, about his first two years with the club also painted
an unflattering picture of the club's dressing room.
But after training on Thursday and before flying to Seattle
for the final, Beckham said he had never considered walking
away and returning permanently to Europe.
"No, not at all, never. I always committed myself to the
MLS and committed myself to (Galaxy owner) Tim Leiweke and the
whole franchise," he told reporters. "I always said that I
would see it through.
"There's never a smooth road. There are always a few bumps
along the way and there has been.
"But that's kind of been my career. There have always been
ups and downs -- more ups than downs but that's the way it is,
that's life."
Beckham, who will return to Milan in January for another
loan spell, said while it had been an achievement for the
Galaxy to reach the MLS Cup final, which will decide the league
title, it would mean little if the team failed to take the
championship.
"At the end of the day we've done well this season. We
deserve to be where we are, but we still haven't won anything.
"We might have won in our division, but it means nothing;
you want to win everything. So that's what we're going for."
"At the moment we're enjoying the success of the club and
it would be nice to win the game.
"But there's still a lot of hard work to do before then. We
know it's a tough game against Salt Lake, so we're preparing
and I'm sure we'll be ready."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this
story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)