Galaxy braced for Beckham to land in City of Angels

The mood that surrounds his arrival in Los Angeles may suggest otherwise, but David Beckham's new manager had a simple message for the most famous footballer on the planet: he is coming to America to win matches. Alexi Lalas is the president of the LA Galaxy and the architect of the groundbreaking deal that brought Beckham to the club - and he has a more pressing concern beyond the hype of the new galactico in a city full of stars.

Come Friday, Lalas will be next to Beckham as he addresses his new public at the club's Home Depot Center stadium; on Sunday, Lalas was watching the club's reserves play the Kansas City Wizards in front of a handful of fans on a training pitch. Once Beckham arrives the Galaxy will cease to be a sporting curiosity in the southern part of the metropolis and have a star whose billing can compete amid the celebrity clamour that dominates in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Life will change for ever at the 27,000-capacity stadium although some might say not soon enough for a club who are in fifth place in Major League Soccer's six-team Western Standings. They may have four games in hand on the leaders Houston Dynamo - whom they trail by 16 points - but so far the season has not been kind to Lalas' club. Beckham will certainly put, as he says "butts on seats", but he will also have to win some games too.

"From day one it has been about soccer: he wants to win championships," Lalas said, also claiming that the first question that the club asked themselves before signing Beckham was: "Is this a player who is going to help us win games?"

The fanfare around Beckham's debut against Chelsea on 21 July will doubtless be extraordinary, although once Hollywood has embraced him he will hit the road for games against FC Dallas, Toronto and DC United as his side try to claw something back from the season.

The LA Times cranked up the interest yesterday with a profile about Beckham that dominated the sports pages. "Working-class boy to Man U" was the headline in an article that went back to his Chingford roots and was surely the first LA Times piece to quote a Waltham Forest council worker. Beckham's role in Major League Soccer is certain to be a great deal more wide-ranging than pinging in a few free-kicks for his team. He will, Lalas said, give the league an "injection and a platform", although, as a man who stands on the precipice of a unique experiment, Lalas was also circumspect.

"We recognise it will not all go perfectly and a part of my job is to manage expectations," Lalas said. "We are going to win with David Beckham and we are going to lose with David Beckham. We will not win every single game and he is not going to score five goals every single game. People will appreciate just watching him live and seeing why he is such a great player.

"We have to recognise he is not a robot, he is a human being and we want to make sure he is comfortable with a brand new team. It will take a while for him to adjust. This is unlike any year that any MLS team has ever had. It's unique in terms of the attention, the scheduling, the pressure, the focus and the scrutiny. Without a doubt the pressure has been ratcheted up since the announcement. The eyes of the world are upon us now and we want to make sure we use that to our gain. It's all been crazy, but a good crazy."

In the tradition of most American sportsmen, Lalas is an assured performer with the media, and he will need to be in the next few weeks and months. The only time his temper was tickled was on the subject of the standard of football in the MLS, which he defends with a vehemence. Nevertheless, it is a question that is likely to dominate Beckham's Friday press conference.

"We certainly don't have the history nor do we have the resources that they [big European clubs] are able to put behind their team," Lalas said. "But I will say that this perception that he is coming to a league that will somehow stunt his growth as a player is completely false. When people analyse the league and take the time to educate themselves, what they will find is a much more competitive league than many around the world.

"Because of the structure I think any player, regardless of it being David Beckham, they can develop here. And when they do return to their national teams they will be players who are mentally and physically at the top of their game because of the kind of competition that exists."

Lalas restated his promise to "drive David to the airport" when it comes to the midfielder's England duty. He confirmed that the former England captain will be released to play in the friendly against Germany on 22 August, even though the Galaxy face a game on 18 August against New York Red Bulls and another against local rivals Chivas USA just one day after the Wembley match.

"We will maximise the time he has here for the benefit of the long term," Lalas said. "There will be a lot of people who come to the stadium for maybe the first time to see a Galaxy game or even a soccer game. That's OK - you have to get them in the door and get butts on seats. They will leave with their David Beckham fix but also, hopefully, an appreciation of the Galaxy that lasts long beyond his contract."