The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America - Paperback

by Grant Wahl (Author)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The book that rocked the sports world with its explosive revelations of a bitter feud between David Beckham and American star Landon Donovan--and how they overcame their differences to lead the L.A. Galaxy to the championship final, now updated with a new Afterword

"Far more than merely a soccer book, The Beckham Experiment brilliantly explores--and exposes--that odd place where sports and celebrity collide."--Jeff Pearlman, author of Boys Will Be Boys

In 2007, David Beckham shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Could he pull off what no player had ever accomplished and transform soccer into one of the most popular spectator sports in America? It was a bold experiment: failure meant a team, a league, a sport, and Beckham himself might miss their chance to hit primetime in the U.S.

With unprecedented access to the Galaxy and one-on-one interviews with Beckham, veteran Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl provides behind-the-scenes accounts, on the road with the team and inside the locker room, to reveal just what happened on and off the field when the most renowned player in the world left the glamour of European soccer to play in a country that has yet to fully embrace the sport

With The Beckham Experiment, Wahl presents a vivid account of ego clashes and epic winless streaks, rivalries and resentments, big gambles and great expectations, cultural and class collisions, and ultimately the volatile mix of celebrity and professional sports that was the Beckham experiment.

Author Biography

Grant Wahl was one of the world's leading soccer journalists. He was the owner and creator of the Fútbol with Grant Wahl website and podcast, did television work for CBS Sports, and produced documentary films. His book The Beckham Experiment was the first soccer book to make the New York Times bestseller list. Wahl spent twenty-five years at Sports Illustrated, where he wrote more than three dozen cover stories. He covered thirteen World Cups (eight men's, five women's). Grant Wahl died in 2022.