GALAXY TRYING TO ADD ANOTHER STAR IN ZIDANE MLS TEAM, INTERNATIONAL STAR REPORTEDLY IN NEGOTIATIONS.Byline: PHIL COLLIN Staff Writer It looks like the Galaxy is making room in its universe for one more Galactico. Zinedine Zidane “Zidane” redirects here. For other uses, see Zidane (disambiguation). Zinedine Yazid Zidane (IPA: [ˌzineˈdin jaziːd ziˈdan]; born 23 June 1972), popularly nicknamed Zizou , the French star who retired after the 2006 World Cup final, is apparently butting heads in negotiations to rejoin former Real Madrid teammate David Beckham  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. with the Galaxy this season.
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander (Alexi) Lalas (born June 1 1970, Birmingham, Michigan) is a former Greek-American soccer defender, who became one of the most famous soccer players in the United States after he played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. said over the weekend that the Galaxy have made an offer to the 1998 World Cup champion and team president Tim Leiweke told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport that "we have contacted his entourage about coming to play for us this year. He knows our door will always be open. His contract won't be a problem." It might not be a problem, but any deal does face obstacles, particularly after the 2007 season. Teams are allowed only one designated player to be signed for more than $400,000 unless they acquire another DP via a trade, which the Galaxy did. Beckham will take one slot and ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. , Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982 in Ontario, California), is an American professional soccer player on the Los Angeles Galaxy, who is the joint all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team (along with Eric Wynalda). would take the team's other DP spot, but a one-year league rule says Donovan's spot won't count until next year. So the Galaxy have the leeway to have Beckham, Zidane and Donovan under contract at least for this year. "I can't comment about specifics of any of the negotiations we have. All can say is we continue to court the best players we possibly can," Lalas said Tuesday. "I would certainly think this player would be an asset to any team." Lalas refused to say if he expected an imminent signing of "Zizou," the World Cup's Golden Ball winner despite his ignominious ig·no·min·i·ous adj. 1. Marked by shame or disgrace: "It was an ignominious end ... as a desperate mutiny by a handful of soldiers blossomed into full-scale revolt" Angus Deming. head-butt of Italy's Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI,[2][3] (born August 19, 1973 in Lecce), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who currently plays for Serie A club Internazionale, sometimes known as Inter Milan. in the final. "We're discussing possibilities with a number of players and many negotiations take time," Lalas said. "If we feel it's appropriate to spend that time, we will. It all depends how much we think that player will help the Galaxy." Leiweke has reportedly traveled to France to speak with representatives of the 35-year-old Zidane, who played alongside Beckham, who turns 32 in three weeks, from 2003-06 at Real Madrid. At the same time, it remains to be seen how the chase for aging international stars connects with fans hoping MLS See multilevel security. does not spend itself into oblivion. The Chicago Fire (Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco) and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Red Bulls (Colombia's Juan Pablo Angel) have made recent acquisitions for the league (which pays the first $400,000 of every DP contracts). "It's an individual decision," Lalas said. "Each team decides whether the designated player route is something they want to do. There are obvious benefits for the team that does do it. There are other benefits to the rest of the teams. "The acquisition of David Beckham isn't only going to help the Galaxy. It will help every team in the league." phil.collin@dailybreeze.com (310) 540-4201 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) French star Zinedine Zidane might be David Beckham's teammate with the Galaxy. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images |
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