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Several fans have made their displeasure known with banners and as LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham played his first home game for the club after his return from a loan spell at AC Milan.
The 34-year-old England midfielder who missed the first half of the Major League Soccer season after extending his spell with the Italian side was booed and jeered at during the game.
Ironically, the Galaxy were playing Milan in a friendly and Beckham confronted angry fans at half-time
"The majority of fans have been great. It was only one or two that, you know, it was to be expected. I expected it to a certain point. Sometimes it goes beyond it. It went beyond it a couple of times."
The boos were louder than cheers as the players were introduced prior to kick-off and every touch from the former England captain was jeered early on by sections of the 27,000 sell-out crowd. Beckham had to be escorted off the field by security as he walked over to an area of seats to confront jeering fans during half time.
One supporter jumped down and had to be restrained before being taken away.
"They were saying things that really weren't very nice," Beckham said. "There's always going to be a certain reaction. The majority of fans here wanted to watch the game and the great players and I think they enjoyed themselves."
Beckham got some payback in the 64th minute, when he took a corner kick in front of his most virulent critics in the so-called "Riot Squad" and watched as teammate Bryan Jordan headed the ball home. He turned to the fans to share his glee, even if they wanted no part of it.
"I'm not disappointed because it doesn't affect me," he said of the boos. "At the end of the day you can't be liked by everybody."
Beckham was taken out in the 75th minute after a strong performance. He finally tipped the jeers/cheers meter in his favor, but he will be a polarizing figure as long as he's here, an obligation that lasts at least through the MLS season.
This was supposed to be a friendly game, but the fans' venom toward Beckham became the overriding story. Landon Donovan, restored to the captaincy he was forced to relinquish to Beckham in 2007, said he expected the story to change.
"If he keeps playing like that, I'm sure people are going to be behind him," Donovan said.
And maybe not entirely.
Beckham played in Galaxy's 3-1 win at the New York Red Bulls during his first game back in the US and with six games of the MLS season remaining his side are third in the Western Conference.
eNowNow.com
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