Planet Soccer

Just how dumb are CBC for paying out good money to a dung head like Molinaro for writing utter rubbish about something he knows nothing about, and then printing it! He knows as much about football as my dog does about algebra. Does this represent the calibre of journalism in the rest of the CBC.

Very accurate assessment. His skillset is borderline useless in the modern game. I've been saying that for years. The only thing hes done is keep England for developing truly game changing winners. Had he been able to run or play defence in a holding role he might have been useful and had a career befiting the hype, but he couldn't or wouldn't. He is a relic (the game stopped being about exclusively about length about two decades ago), and the sooner hes done in big time soccer the better.

I hope the CBC is paying attention to how many people agree that Molinaro is a poor journalist at best. I suppose I should accept that "soccer" journalists in Canada are mostly ignorant fans. (Craig Forrest and James Sharman excluded.) Did Molinaro ever watch the Cosmos in the 70's when Pele "dominated"? When Pele arrived in 75 the Cosmos missed the playoffs. They were better when Chinaglia arrived in 76 but still lost out in the playoffs. It wasn't until Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto arrived in 77 that the Cosmos won the Soccer Bowl. So Pele, too, benefitted from other star players around him. No single player can dominate a soccer game if he doesn't have great players around him or her. No, Beckham isn't the greatest player ever, but he was a great player. Bobby Charlton wouldn't have advised ManU to sign a 16 year old kid if he was a "one-trick pony", nor would Alex Ferguson kept him around. Give him props where he deserves them and don't hate him just because he is prettier than you are. Please find someone else to cover "soccer".

Finally I got someone to take my my side as it relates to Beckham. Watching him play over the years have fully convinced me that he is really a one trick pony. He is totally a one dimensional player. However, of recent his only trick is beginning to fail him badly. He could barely make a convincing cross or serve a free kick that a baby can't save. CBC thanks for expposing him.

haha! thank you at least someone realizes Becks is a one-trick pony! So far his "good looks" and his wife got him a career. He is a marketing product, not a soccer player... there's close to nothing to back it up. The only way he would have success in the states is if players would let themselves be intimidated by the european star...
And no name calling please...

Molinaro should be writing for one of the gossip rags for all the credibility he brings. Beckham is an amazing player and the "one trick pony" label comes simply because he chooses the quickest, most efficient way to create a scoring chance every time he touches the ball. Any soccer coach will attest that a deftly touched long pass is far preferable to trying to dribble through a crowd over the same distance. Becks is simply a level above in terms of his athletic intelligence. Molinaro is a hack who can neither play the game nor analyze it very well.

I am not so sure if Beckham is as much a one-trick pony as Mr. Molinaro claims, or that Beckham was useless for England in the World Cup this past summer...
Let's see, Beckham scored an amazing goal, in his vintage-style free kick against Ecuador in the round of 16 when the English side was struggling to put the ball in the Ecuadoreans' net. That goal lifted England to the quarterfinals. They went on to lose those quarterfinals against the Portuguese, in a penalty shoot-out, in a game when the English players dominated on the pitch. I would not call that a bad World Cup, just an unlucky one. You can't always get what you want, right?
Beckham may be aging a bit and he may not always be the greatest player on the field, but he's got an amazing gift, has entertained millions of people around the world (and is the no1 sports celebrity in recent history, hands down). Journalists will always have an opinion on him, but the guy is okay in my books.

I agree entirely with Molinaro! Beckham was, is and will remain the most over-rated player in professional sports. It is plain to anyone that has seem him play throughout the years that he has limited skills other than a great free kick and long ball.
There are hundreds of players that are more complete, impactful and dominating. He is only a threat to anyone who takes his skills seriously and picks up his expensive contract.

To say the guy has never had skills as Molinaro seems to be claiming is false. You don't make a side like Man U for your looks or marketability. Sir Alex keeps good footballers - not good fashion models. Beckham made his name on his playing ability and the "rock star" following came later on AFTER he'd established himself as a good player. As far as World cup failures, that's also probably overstated. Beckham is the ONLY englishman to score in 3 world cups and his last minute free-kick goal in 2002 WC qualifying put Enlgand into the WC where I should remind everyone Beckham was coming off a broken metatarsal injury. Yes, Beckham is overated today but to call him a one-trick pony is false and misinformed. There are, and have been, many better players then him with a more complete game but that doesn't mean this guy wasn't good. The guy has had a great and successful career and he should be given his proper dues.

How many of you that are slating Molinaro are ManU fans? Open your eyes for a minute and yo'll realise that most of what he (Molinaro) is saying is spot on. Bex has only ever won 5 tackles in his career and as Fergie knows, his stock plummeted as soon as he took up with Posh. That said I hope he does well wherever he goes and also hope he brings some good exposure to the MLS should he come this way.

Go Toronto FC!!!!!

While I don't like Molinaro as a journalilst for this particular subject, I do like the fact that he has pegged Beckham for the sham that he is. So he scored in three World Cup tournaments, big deal, he's one of the few players lucky enough to be in favour with three successive national coaches, and to be given the chance to perform for his country. Scoring the free kick that qualified england for WC 2002 was a great moment indeed, but only as great as one's ability to forget about the dismal qualifying diplays that came before that. I think one trick pony is a bit too harsh on Beckham, since his field of vision and deft ability to float passes and free kicks is an underrated talent ( who feeds the strikers anyway?). However, he would benefit greatly if he learned how to defend. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he is the worst defensively skilled captain that England has ever given the armband to.

P.S If Molinaro happens to not "stay on" would CBC be interested in fielding me (or anyone else with a little soccer knowledge) as a journalist?

What I continue to find amusing is how many people seem to think Beckham needs to be exposed or is a sham! The guy plays soccer and takes money from people who value his soccer skills or want to use his image. The obsessive media and ignorant public built him into a "God", not Beckham, and now they hate him for it and are trying to "expose" him or destroy the very image that THEY created! I have never heard Beckham claim he was the most versatile or greatest soccer player ever, or that he was God. I admire that he mostly seems bemused by it all. I can hardly criticize him for taking advantage of it. People should ask themselves why they are throwing so much hate at the guy.

Who did do good for England in the last series of world meets?

Rooney was the WC supposed saviour and look how well he did, look how well the entire team did. Beckham scored the only goal of an important match doing what he does best, freekicks.

I admit he is far past his prime, but lets not blame him for the underachieving England team.

Beckham can't play like how he did and must retire. he most certainly is an overrated player. There are better players out there such as Zidane who need credit. GO Zidane

Sorry John, but your analysis is WAY off.

Sure, most star athletes show sings of rust once they reach Beckham's age, especially in soccer. But to say he's a one-trick pony is ridiculous! Thanks for showing your true bias, Mr. "Journalist"!

Is he a great player now? No. Was he ever the best player in the world? Likely not. But to say he's a one-trick pony and won awards on the backs of other is a joke. Even you have to admit he was once an elite player and who even now has pretty mad skills.

I have an idea for your next blog entry. Tell us all again how much you love your precious Italy.

Hey Jordan -- why are you ragging on Craig Forrest? And are you not aware that he isn't a 'fan,' but of course the former Canadian international keeper who lead Canada to victory in the Gold Cup in 2000?

Or did you only start watching football this year?

Not only is Molinaro a hack who tries to pass off his personal opinions as analysis, but he's lazy too...half this article was cut and pasted from his previous Beckham article.

Molinaro is correct Beckham is the is definitely the most over-rated player on the planet and is definitely a one trick pony. It is quite obvious that most of the acheivements that he has was due to the marvelous team mates he had around him both for his former club Man U and country. Beck's football style is too one dimensional for my liking and in the world today there are many more complete footballers around. Real should also get rid of Beck because he is a total waste of money and if a contract extension is granted I would be really disappointed.

Dear John,

Thank you for your assessment of David Beckham. As a Real Madrid fan of many years, I watched them reach their zenith in 2000 and then with the arrival of Zizou, maintained it through 2002 with a Champs League win (Zidane's goal, one of the greatest ever) and a domestic championship. Then, the dominos began to topple, first with the arrival of Ronaldo (which spelled the end of a great Spanish tandem of Raul and Morientes who scored buckets of goals), and then of course Beckham's arrival. This broke my heart. I knew the end was nigh, as Beckham was and forever will be a one trick pony. It was no coincidence that his arrival coincided with Real Madrid's tour to the Orient, where Beckham already reigned supreme. From a marketing standpoint it was brilliant, but what the brain trust at the Bernabeu didn't do (as most world leaders don't do in moments of crisis or great change - history has shown us this) is consider the long term effects. Sure Beckham was a great guy to have in the line up in those promotional games, and I'm sure his jersey has sold better than that of Casillas, or Zidane, or Roberto Carlos, but he's been dead weight ever since (despite impressing for a short while in a semi-defensive midfield role).

He is a one trick pony, and good riddance. He was part of a Galactico era in Madrid which wasted away the last great years of Zizou's career (I can't type his name without feeling heavy at heart, and somehow responsible), and a number of other players who deserved a better end. Let him go to the Galaxy, and when I watch him from my soon-to-be-beloved Toronto FC season seats, I will feel much better than I did when I was in Madrid at the Bernabeu for his debut in the Castillian capital, as he will be playing for the enemy.

I used to hate Beckham. Watching him closely in the last World Cup, I grudgingly gained respect for him. Sure, he isn't the greatest player in the world, but he played quite solidly. Tell me, who in England can replace him? They aren't exactly stellar without him; witness the loss to Croatia.

Of course, I'm still depressed about Ilhan Mansiz's knees, so maybe I'm not thinking rationally.

He's slightly more than a one trick pony. But not much more. The great George Best indeed said it best:
"He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right."

And props for saluting the genius of Giggsy.

Football blah blah Beckham blah blah blah Real Madrid blah Man U blah Italy blah all the other third world countries. Blah blah blah blah Zidane, Zizou blah all the other one name players. Blah blah blah World Cup blah blah Euro Cup blah Gold Cup.

Does anyone born in this country actually care about a game played almost exclusively by non-North American players in non-North American countries by teams that they can't even locate on a map? Only about 20 people will read this post anyway, what a waste of good internet blog space. I'd rather read something about Montreal's resurgance in hockey and so would a couple of million other people.

I can hardly wait for the next North American league (MLS) to fail due to lack of interest.

To say that Beckham was a washout at the World Cup is a bit of an overstatement- especially in the case of 2006. There were only 4 goal scorers for England in the tournament and Becks was one of them. Not only was his goal a great one that very few players could have scored, his cross on the Peter Crouch goal was world class. To single him out for having a bad World Cup is foolish considering the whole England team was lacklustre- notably Lampard, Rooney, and the defenders in general.
Simply put, Beckham can do things with the long ball that no one else can. Maybe his skill set is limited but there aren't many teams who could offer someone more capable for corners, crosses and free kicks. Excelling at one aspect of the game has made great players out of the likes of Van Nistelrooy, John Terry, Roy Keane, Ronaldo and many others.

1. Beckham is on the bench because if you look through the depth on the real madrid roster, you'd see that there is much young and skilled talent to be played.
2. He is aging and with that goes his ability to play a full 90, to say becks was never an elite player able to dictate the pace of a game is the biggest load of crap. Clearly you didnt watch the premiership in the late 90's, he dominated games for manchester united. Nationally he may have flopped but so has the rest of the squad, you can point the finger at him but then you can point out the other guys for doing way less than he did. For his club he was always a useful and huge part of the game.
3. He has not fallen out of favour with Madrid, they wouldnt be so eager to sign him back he they didnt like him. But when you have better conditioned tools in the shed, obviously he isn't expected to start or play a full 90.
4. Molinaro clearly a bunch of articles and complied his own article. This isn't journalism its just a bunch of crap he decided to write.

For my money in set pieces he is still one of the top 5 most dangerous players in the world, and thats a talent that you actually have to understand the game of football to relieze.

If Beckham is a one-trick pony, why did Molinaro name three tricks ? Poor judgement

Pele was a washout too when he came to the NASL and himself has said that just last month in Toronto for GOL-TV promotion.Pls.check your stuff before printing nonsense.Beckham was great player in his youth and stil now has one of the best free kick and corner specialists in the world.Coming to MLS would do him no favours right now since many top clubs i.e Tottenham,Blackburn stil covet him.Maybe in a few years he could help Toronto FC.

Wow such a diverse group of opinions Well here's one more. Molinaro is not a credible journalist. Please only write about things you know , or take the time to research. Beckham was a true superstar in the 90s ManU days He made a difference in every game he played. He is not a strong defensive player, granted, but when you have an offensive thourobred you don't ask him to pull the plow.
Past his prime, absolutely still a good specialist when it comes to set piece play.

Although he is slowing with age, Beckham still has much to offer European football. He may no longer be Real Madrid calibre, but that hardly makes him a one trick pony. His precision passing along with his playmaking acumen makes him one of the best midfielders still today.

Many smaller clubs in England, as well as the rest of Europe would jump to sign him. However, I think his fame is better suited for the MLS and the lucrative endorsements that would come with it.

Plus Victoria would be able to frolic with the hollywood types.

He's clearly very limited, especially in comparison to Reyes, his direct competition in the Real Madrid team. The Man U 1999 squad was an alignment of the heavens in its midfield quartet, defense, and attack, and Beckham had a critical role to play although I think Yorke, Schmeichel, Keane and Stam were probably the most important cogs. In terms of the attention he gets vis-a-vis his skill, Beckham's is the greatest discrepancy I can think of in soccer history. He's the most famous player on the planet, but he's not Tiger Woods. Critical football watchers--not mere dilettantes or people overawed by blond locks--know that he will disappear into soccer oblivion the moment he hangs up his boots. That moment has already begun.

man a lot of you guys just dont get it. Beckham was ALWAYS a one trick pony. The reason why he dominated at Man U is beacause boring long ball/length dominated soccer was still in favor in the premiership at that time. This is the same reason why England and Beckham always underachieved at the International level, they were playing a style of soccer that was about a decade out of date. Once the premiership updated about 5-8 years ago, he was obsolete and totally out of his depth. His skillset singlehandedly smothered one of the alltime great offences at Real. The reason why england suffer now is that the new system is dedicated to modern soccer (i.e. Width being the cheif focus) but have many players developed in the old system. However they have some very exciting young players in Defoe and Cole that will help bring the new system in. Within one WC cycle england will be more competitive then ever.

Hey "JC"

If you think it's such a waste of space, then why are you reading it? You filled what you suggest is valuable space with nothing but "blah blah blah".
If you don't have anything worthwhile to say, which evidently you don't, then stay out: a speechless pundit? That's a first.

What's with you and Beckham John...did he piss in your well or something?

I think the problem is that this isn't an article, per se, but a "blog," and really, you can pretty much say anything you want in a blog and not have to defend it. So to call Molinaro a "journalist" might be overstating things. If this were an actual "article," the author would definitely have to defend his position quite a bit more stringently than he has, but that's just me.

But really good perspectives on both sides I'd have to say. Agree or disagree, but Beckham is wanted by teams and sports teams rarely sign people simply for their looks or their wives, yes? By that simple rationale Beckham has to be a good player; greatest, hardly, but pretty damn good.

Just curious why you would post the JC Ontario blog entry?

Guess its an opinion but why waste our time reading through it when all it is bashing something that other people love? Blogs are full of this stuff (and I recognize the irony in my response).

Sorry JC, but NothA merica is just one little corner of this world and hockey just another sport - just because one is born, or lives, in Canada doesn't mean that one has to drool over hockey or bash others for bing passionate about another sport. If you can't appreciate it keep it to yourself.

As for Beckham, as usual, the 'story' usually lies within two extremes. He's had a solid career, he's been a PART of a great premiership side and you can't blame one person for a team's suceess or failure in major tournaments - if he's brought joy to fans then great - he never said he was the greatest and I'm sure would be the first one to acknowledge his limitations.

In the present moment Madrid fans have every right to question his contributions or whether another may be a better addition to the club in his place but to 'go after' Beckham becuase of his limitations seems to be really beside the point.

Well said Mr Milarno.

Beckham is vastly overrated as a fotballer, though he's possibly unequalled when it comes to selling perfume. He has consistently uderperformed at the the World and European Cups and hasn't led his team to a lot of glory, has he?. Though an useful player at Man U; it was people like Roy Keane who made that team what it was.

Without players in the middle to send home his crosses, he won't be all that useful at Galaxy, though being in LA will give him the opprtunity to sell more t-shirts and cologne.

While I do agree Beckham is limited in his abilities none can underestimate the impact he has had on world football. On & off the pitch.

He is one of the most recognised people in sport &, as it has been said before, Sir Alex would not have kept him around for so long if he wasn't talented enough. Nor would Madrid have been after him.

I've never been a huge fan of him myself but if he is to be considered a one trick pony then I'll remember him for the last minute free kick against Greece that sent England to World Cup '02. He single handedly won that game. A one trick pony who has an incredible knack for pulling that trick out when most needed.

Dude..how can you say Beckham is a one trick pony?? You and everyone who agree obviously haven't been watching much FOOTBALL in the past 10 years.. Beckham was THE stand out player for England in this year's world cup in Germany.. it was his free kicks and goal assists that enabled them to make it to the quarter finals..and just look at England now without him. Beckham first made his name with his talent NOT his so called 'celebrity lifestyle'!! Atleast i'm not alone when i say he is one of the greatest players ever! He isn't highly rated by the best footballers in the world for nothing! Furthermore you only have to look at his dedication, commitment and the sheer respect that he receives from his team mates to see what an uber professional he is!! I just don't get why there is so much Beckham bashing from people! Grow up already!

why the hell is everyone so stuck up about England and its stupid players. they are not football players. They are to football what paris Hilton is to Hollywood, useless.

For once, I'm in tune with James Molinaro. The great late George Best's take on David Beckham:

'He can't kick with his left foot, he can't head the ball, he can't tackle and he couldn't run fast enough with a tornado behind him...otherwise he's allright.'

Beckham has been a curse for Real Madrid fans since he arrived. To think, that Real passed up on the world's greatest talent in Ronaldinho because he was 'too ugly' and settled on the world's most overrated player because he was too marketable. Aldous Huxley must be rolling around in his grave. I wonder when the English will figure out what a sham Beckham really is. I'm almost sure Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Eric Contana have already figured that out.

When we witnessed Beckham miss a penalty shot during Euro 2004, the writing was on the wall.

That being said anything that builds some excitement within North America cannot be all that bad.

Speaking of the best player ever, the ranking on rankopedia.com has Pele first, Maradona second and Zidane third. Beckham is not in the top 10!

While I wouldn't call myself a Beckham fan I must disagree. Quite honestly calling his performance at the 2006 World cup a washout is certainly not acurate. While England (who had potential to take it all) underperformed Becks actually played reletivly well. I don't call two goals and at least two setups for Crouch and others a washout. While I agree he is far fom the best export England can offer. I think it will become obvious he is of far greater quality than 90% of the MLS

Molinaro wake up how can you say beckham is a one-trick pony. if all you can see is DB's free kicks then you realy dont no that much at all do you. what about how DB led the england team through all the games, players just did not see him as a great player who could cross the ball like no other, every player in the england team respected him because of his work rate an passion for the team and game. DB would cover the pitch defending striking on the left the right wining the ball creating openings trying to make the team take the lead and defend it. as the captin he could lift the team at very low points in a game when DB is on the pitch he led by example and the team followed this. now looks at englands performances without him shocking low work rate no passion and no england player can seem to cross the ball now im not saying england cant win without him but for a these reason they sure do need him. now Molinaro how can you say DAVID BECKHAM is a one-trick pony