West Ham Visit brings back Memories for Becks

While few MLS players have experianced playing against great English teams such as West Ham, who will be playing against the MLS All-Star’s in Toronto tomorrow, one player in particular was born and raised just a few miles from the Hammer’s East London stadium. For David Beckham West Ham’s arrival brings more then just the opposing team.

Wednesday after training with the MLS All-Stars, Beckham, who played for Manchester United, had this to say about playing against the club his neighbor’s cheered for:

“It’s great, being an East End boy, playing against West Ham so many times for Manchester United, and also scoring against West Ham, which didn’t go down well with a few friends.”

Beckham is also looking forward to a little friendly competition:

“It’s always nice to play against a quality team. They’re a team that’s got some good players. They’re working toward the start of the Premiership. Of course, it’s great to play against good opposition and it will be a tough game. We’re looking forward to that. You always want to play against good players and good teams and we’re up against that.”

Landon Donovan, Beckham’s Galaxy and MLS All-Star teammate added his opinion as well:

“My guess is he’s [Beckham] going to take it very seriously. He usually does. He knows that this league is better than people give it credit for, especially in England.”

Beckham also commented on the level of play in the MLS:

“It’s a higher level than everyone thinks. I realized that when I came here, because I had a lot of time, especially last season, to just sit and watch the games. Especially this year, the level of play has gone up.”

Toronto FC defender Jim Brennan, who is the lone All-Star representative for the host team, was also eager to show the world what the MLS has to offer:

“You want to show how good the players are in this league and how good the standard is.”

The MLS All-Stars look to continue a four year tradition of beating foreign opponents. Starting in 2003 with a victory against Mexico’s Chivas 3-1 and continuing with a win against England’s Fulham 4-1 in 2005. In the past 2 years the All-Stars haven’t allowed a goal, beating England’s Chelsea 1-0 in 2006 and Scotland’s Celtic 2-0 last season.

Via Fox Soccer