SOCCER SUPERSTAR HAS PERFECTED HIS U.S. PITCH.

Byline: PAUL OBERJUERGE

CARSON - It was a pitch-perfect performance.

David Beckham arrived in Major League Soccer on Friday, and we have to say he nailed the landing. Perfect 10s all around. And that's not even including his wife, "Posh Spice" Victoria, who actually pulled off the diva-as-doting-wife thing. But more on her in a moment.

So many things could have gone wrong. Introducing a sports personality that way, in a setting so overwrought, so overblown, so over the top ... 500-plus credentialed media, 5,000 fans in a corner of the Home Depot Center stands, confetti flying. Live television.

Beckham's ego could have erupted. He could have missed cultural cues. He might have been crude or flip or arrogant or rude, the way celebrites of any ilk so often are.

None of that happened. In fact, the Galaxy's new, megastar midfielder was relentlessly charming. Enthused but not cocksure.

Confident but not haughty. Eager to lead but equally eager to blend in.

And of course, impeccably groomed and boyishly handsome.

This guy could sell some tickets. You bet. And if he actually can play the game a little? Crank up the money machine.

What was most striking was how he said all the right things without the appearance of being coached. A skill precious few athletes have achieved, we can assure you.

His to-the 7/8fawning-public remarks were brief, 2minutes and 23 seconds. As if he were so media-savvy, he knew ESPN and Fox needed to break for commercials.

He said he relishes challenges, and joining the Galaxy (and making it an important club, he diplomatically didn't add) "is one of the biggest challenges of my career." He said he loved being in Los Angeles and added, "in our life, everything's perfect."

Fans love to hear that.

Later, in unhurried, closed-door sessions with media members, Beckham handled every question as if it were startlingly penetrating, made eye contact with the humblest hack and answered thoughtfully -- while artfully navigating several land-mine-dangerous topics.

No, he's not in Los Angeles to pursue a career in film or television under the cover of "Galaxy playmaker."

"That's not going to happen," he said. "I'm here to play football only. Sorry, soccer."

And about referring to the game, almost exclusively on Friday, as soccer, not football? Taking on the American usage?

A reporter asked him if he thought Americans should just get used to calling the game football, like everyone else on the planet.

"No," he said, "because the tradition in America is American football. That's what everybody knows when they hear (the word). Calling it soccer is not a problem for me."

Many Americans cringe when they hear soccer called "football."

Because we know what "real" football is. For Beckham to grasp that indicates that the man is very clever, or very well-schooled.

And, no, he's not better than his new teammates. He is keen to fit in with them.

"I think once I'm in with the lads and we're training two or three days, they'll see what I'm like as a person," he said. "They'll see that I just want to be part of the team."

They also will decide, he suggested, "that the stuff that surrounds me and comes with me as a person, as a player, I've always handled it in the right way, I believe. And teammates, once they've played with me or had me in the team for a few days or a few weeks, they realize I've always been in football to play football."

Or soccer. He promises to "get it right" as he goes along.

And then there's the charitable activities he and Victoria have planned. "That's one of the things we are very passionate about," he said. "We know how celebrities can make a difference. I intend to do that in America with some sort of charity for children."

And Victoria? Posh? The stick-thin singer was stunning in a hot pink ("fuchsia," the woman from "People Magazine" insisted) dress with matching handbag and stiletto heels.

She posed coyly for the phalanx of photographers, one skinny leg pushed forward, but then slipped quietly into the VIP crowd as the serious soccer business began. A good call, by husband and wife, considering some seem to believe she is a bit overreaching and/or manipulative.

In all, a smashing first day for the new boy, and now we more clearly can see why the club and the league is so excited about securing him for five seasons.

"We're scratching the surface," said Tim Leiweke, boss of AEG, the company that owns the club, reflecting on surging ticket and merchandise sales. "This is pretty good, but it gets better than this."

Presumably, it gets better when Beckham actually takes to the playing field, a week from today. As club president Alexi Lalas put it, "Let the games begin!"

And let David Beckham get on with taking over Los Angeles.

[e-mail]

[phone]