July 21: Beckham Makes U.S. Debut

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After all the hype about his coming to America, his hurt ankle, and his belief in the future of soccer in the U.S., David Beckham made his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy on this day in soccer history in 2007 when the Major League Soccer team played Chelsea in a friendly.

The Blues went on to win the match 1-0 but it was the England superstar that many of the fans came to see that day. The crowd included an A-list of Los Angeles top celebrities including Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria, Mary-Kate Olsen, Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy, Alicia Silverstone and rocker husband Chris Jarecki, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Drew Carey and was just the start of the circus that would follow golden balls in the U.S.

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The Beckham posse did not get to see much of the superstar, however. With his ankle still causing him problems, Beckham did not enter the match until the 78th minute. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United midfielder had eight touches in the match including 1 corner kick.

"It was a good performance from the team," David Beckham said after the match. "We just lost one nil. My 15 minutes, it was nice to get out there. I haven't trained all week. I hadn't kicked a ball yet today. It was just nice to be out there with the lads and get this game over and done with. I enjoyed it."

David Beckham did not make his Major League Soccer debut until August 9 when the Los Angeles Galaxy travelled to RFK Stadium to play D.C. United in a Thursday night match. The soccer match had the same result as the Chelsea match with the Galaxy losing! 1-0.

And also on this day in soccer history in 2003, Damien Duff was signed by Roman Abramovich's Chelsea for a then record fee for Chelsea of 17 million pounds ($27 million)

Soccer Birthdays

1950 Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer1953 Brian Talbot, British footballer1960 Fritz Walter, German footballer1963 Kevin Poole, English footballer1965 Gudni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer1968 Brandi Chastain, American soccer player1978 Gary Teale, Scottish football player1981 Titus Bramble, English footballer1981 Joaqun Snchez, Spanish footballer1984 Liam Ridgewell, English footballer1988 Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer1989 Chris Gunter, Welsh footballer