Can Beckham go the distance?
New York, LA, London, Moscow, Sydney鈥ver the next three months, David Beckham is embarking on a world tour which Posh and the rest of the Spice Girls would be proud of.
Take the middle of October for example: four crucial games in nine days, travelling across 20 time zones, more than 24 hours in the air and barely the chance to draw breath - let alone recover - in between.
Beckham is going to be doing more flying than Superman. And the fear for Steve McClaren and England is that American soccer鈥檚 newest super hero is heading for a fall.
Is it really tenable for a 32-year-old to play in Minnesota, then London, then Moscow and 33 hours later back in Los Angeles - all in the space of nine days (October 10th to 18th)?
Maybe it is, but when two of those games are critical Euro 2008 qualifiers - against Estonia and Russia - can England really bank on Beckham to be at his best?
. It has told us that the chronic effects of jetlag are bound to affect his performance and increase the risk of injury. And if you think Beckham can coast through his club games, think again. LA Galaxy are facing their own qualification fight - to reach the end-of-season play-offs.
Their general manager, , was typically honest in his interview with us - for footballing and financial reasons, .
Those close to the former England captain argue that he is no different to the likes of Ronaldinho and Gilberto who manage to perform for both club and country across different continents. In fact, they say if England qualify for Euro 2008, he will be freshest man in McClaren鈥檚 squad - Galaxy's season ends in December and doesn't start again until April.
As for jetlag, a source close to Beckham politely pointed out to me that he won't be travelling at the back of a plane with kids behind him screaming in his ears.
It's a fair point - and nobody doubts his commitment to the cause or his unceasing ability to confound the critics. But if Beckham had known in January that an England recall beckoned, would he have signed up for ? We'll never know but now he has to find some way of coping.
His new home is nicknamed 鈥淭he City of Angels鈥 - over the next few months, Beckham could do with a pair of wings.
