David Beckham says he's chomping at the bit to finally face his old club Saturday when the Los Angeles Galaxy host Real Madrid in a football friendly at the storied Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Beckham spent four superb seasons with the La Liga giants before leaving in 2007 to try his luck in North American football. He won the Spanish crown in his final season there.
"To be facing Real Madrid for the first time since I left, it?s emotional," Beckham said. "You get attached to a club, you get attached to people in a club."
"I spent four amazing years at Real Madrid. To go from a club like Manchester United to Real Madrid, it really doesn?t get much better than that in football. I?ve got many friends still there, many friends as players and fans and throughout the club as well."
Beckham moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003.
Last year, Real and the Galaxy met in a friendly in front of a crowd of over 89,000 at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.
The Galaxy took a 2-0 lead before Real Madrid roared back and won the match 3-2, but Beckham couldn't play because as he was rehabilitating a torn Achilles tendon.
"It was disappointing because you always want to play in those games," Beckham said. "They?re exciting games, especially in front of a capacity crowd. Hopefully I?ll be good for this one."
This year Beckham has missed time with the Galaxy battling a back injury but he hopes to go against Real Madrid which would also be his first game since the birth of his fourth child. His last game with the Galaxy was Saturday against Chicago.
That was one day before his wife, Victoria, gave birth to their first daughter, Harper Seven. The celebrity couple also have three sons -- Brooklyn, 12; Romeo, 8; and Cruz, 6.
Victoria Beckham tweeted on Thursday about her love for the new baby.
"Baby Harper is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen, I have fallen in love all over again!!!" she wrote on her Twitter account. "We all feel so blessed and the boys love their baby sister so much!!! X VB"
Saturday's contest will be played at the 93,000-seat Memorial Coliseum instead of the Galaxy's regular park, Home Depot Center. The Coliseum is the only stadium in the world to host two Olympic Games, 1932 and 1984.
Source: AFP
